The latest red tide update shows respiratory issues and fish kills kills in Sarasota County
Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC
For the most updated information on our sample results, please check our daily sampling map
(https://myfwc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html…), which can be accessed via the online status report on our Red Tide Current Status page (https://myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/). Our online status report includes a full detailed Red Tide Report with data tables, regional maps, and an interactive Google Earth map. For more information on algal blooms and water quality, please visit Protecting Florida Together at https://protectingfloridatogether.gov.
The red tide organism, Karenia brevis, persists in Southwest Florida. Over the past week, K. brevis was detected in 70 samples. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were observed in two samples from Sarasota County, 10 samples from Charlotte County, and three samples from Lee County. Additional details are provided below.
• In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background concentrations in Hillsborough County (in one sample), background to medium concentrations in Sarasota County (in 29 samples), background to high concentrations in Charlotte County (in 18 samples), background to medium concentrations in and offshore of Lee County (in 14 samples) and background to low concentrations in and offshore of Collier County (in 8 samples). Samples from or offshore of Pinellas, Manatee, and Monroe counties did not contain red tide.
• In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
• Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
In Southwest Florida over the past week, fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were reported in Sarasota and Charlotte counties. For more details, please visit: https://myfwc.com/…/saltwater/health/fish-kills-hotline/.
Respiratory irritation was reported over the past week in Southwest Florida in Manatee and Sarasota counties. For current information, please visit: https://visitbeaches.org/.
Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides for Pinellas to northern Monroe counties predict variable surface currents with net western transport and minimal net movement of subsurface waters in most areas over the next four days.
FWC-FWRI is working closely with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and other partners on the Piney Point discharge response. Status updates are posted on the Protecting Florida Together website: https://protectingfloridatogether.gov/PineyPointUpdate
The next complete status report will be issued on Friday, April 23rd.
