Red Tide Mid-Week Update for February 22, 2023

Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC

FWC

Current Conditions
Over the past week, the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, was detected in 107 samples from and offshore of Southwest Florida, and one from Florida’s East Coast. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were present in 59 samples from Southwest Florida: five in Manatee County, 18 in Sarasota County, nine in Charlotte County, 21 in and offshore of Lee County, five in and offshore of Collier County, and one offshore of Monroe County. We continue to use satellite imagery (USF and NOAA NCCOS) to help track this event, and recent images indicate the presence of elevated chlorophyll patches offshore of Charlotte, Lee, Collier, and Monroe counties (see report map for imagery from 2/21). Additional details are provided below.

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

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

Respiratory irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported via the Beach Conditions Reporting System and/or the Fish Kill Hotline over the past week in Southwest Florida in Pinellas County (Boca Ciega Bay, Pass-a-Grille, Treasure Island Beach), Manatee County (Anna Maria Island Rod & Reel Pier, Anna Maria Beach, Coquina Beach, Longboat Key Beach, Manatee Beach) Sarasota County (Caspersen Beach, Englewood Beach, Humphries Park, Lido Key Beach, Longboat Key, Manasota Key, Manasota Key Beach, Nokomis Beach, Siesta Key Beach, South Brohard Park, Turtle Beach, Venice Beach, Venice Fishing Pier, Venice North Jetty Beach), Charlotte County (Don Pedro Island Ferry Landing, Gasparilla Pass, Oyster Creek Park Kayak Launch, Palm Island Resort Beach, Stump Pass), Lee County (Gasparilla Island Lighthouse, Gasparilla Island State Park South Lighthouse, Lynn Hall Beach, Tarpon Bay Road Beach), and Collier County (Cape Romano Island, Gullivan Key, Lopez River, Lowdermilk Park, Naples, Naples Beach, Naples Pier, Panther Key, Round Key, Turtle Key, Vanderbilt Beach, Vedado Way Beach Access in Naples). 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 north/northwestern movement of surface waters and minimal net transport of subsurface waters in most areas over the next 3.5 days.

The next status report will be issued on Friday, February 24^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.