FWC Red Tide Update For 12.2.22

Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC

FWC

Current Conditions
The red tide organism, Karenia brevis, was detected along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Over the past week, K. brevis was observed in 72 samples. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were present in 40 samples: one in Manatee County, 31 in Sarasota County, one in Charlotte County, five in and offshore of Lee County, and two in and offshore of Collier County. Additional details are provided below.

In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to low concentrations in Pinellas County, very low to medium concentrations in Manatee County, low to high concentrations in Sarasota County, very low to medium concentrations in and offshore of Charlotte County, background to medium concentrations in and offshore of Lee County, and background to high concentrations in and offshore of Collier County.
In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background concentrations in Bay County.
Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.

Reports of fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were received in Southwest Florida from Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties over the past week. For more details, please visit: https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/health/fish-kills-hotline/.

Respiratory irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported via the Beach Conditions Reporting System over the past week in Southwest Florida in Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties. Reports of respiratory irritation from these counties were also received through the Fish Kill Hotline. For recent and current information at individual beaches, please visit https://visitbeaches.org/ and for forecasts that use FWC and partner data, please visit https://habforecast.gcoos.org/.

Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides for Pinellas County to northern Monroe County predict net western-southwestern movement of surface waters and net southeastern transport of subsurface waters in most areas over the next 3.5 days.

The next status report will be issued on Wednesday, December 7^th. Please check our daily sampling map, which can be accessed via the online status report on our Red Tide Current Status page. For more information on algal blooms and water quality, please visit Protecting Florida Together.

This information, including maps and reports with additional details, is also available on the FWRI Red Tide website. The website also provides links to additional information related to the topic of Florida red tide including satellite imagery, experimental red tide forecasts, shellfish harvesting areas, the FWC Fish Kill Hotline, the Florida Poison Information Center (to report human health effects related to exposure to red tide), and other wildlife related hotlines.