Florida’s coastal waters are currently clear of the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, with no observable presence in samples collected statewide over the past week. This positive report comes as welcome news for residents and visitors, indicating a period of respite from the naturally occurring harmful algal bloom.
State environmental agencies, including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), continue to monitor conditions using advanced tools such as satellite imagery from the University of South Florida (USF) and NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) to track nearshore and offshore water dynamics.
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In a further encouraging sign, no fish kills suspected to be linked to red tide have been reported to the FWC’s Fish Kill Hotline or other partner organizations during the last week.
Similarly, there have been no reports of respiratory irritation, a common symptom associated with red tide blooms, across Florida.
For those seeking ongoing updates and forecasts, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Gulf Coast Harmful Algal Blooms Forecast provides comprehensive data and predictions. Additionally, the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides offers specific forecasts for Pinellas County to northern Monroe County, predicting variable movement of surface and subsurface waters over the next 3.5 days.
Due to the upcoming holiday, the next official status report will be issued on Friday, July 11th.
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