Just as residents and visitors prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, state environmental monitors have detected a spike in red tide activity along the Gulf Coast.
Over the past week, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) identified the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, in 19 different water samples. The most concerning data comes from Northwest Florida, where five samples in Bay and Gulf counties showed “bloom concentrations,” defined as more than 100,000 cells per liter.
The toxic algae is already making its presence felt on local wildlife and beachgoers. Officials confirmed that fish kills suspected to be related to the bloom were reported across Bay, Gulf, and Franklin counties. Additionally, visitors at Saint Joseph Beach in Gulf County have reported respiratory irritation, a common reaction to the airborne toxins released by the algae.
READ: Flatfish Are Back: Recreational Flounder Harvest Reopens In Florida Dec. 1
Satellite imagery from the University of South Florida (USF) and NOAA is currently being used to track the bloom’s movement. For the immediate future, forecasters predict variable movement of surface waters and a net southeastern transport of subsurface waters from Pinellas County down to northern Monroe County over the next three and a half days.
Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the FWC noted that the next full status report will not be released until Friday, December 5. In the meantime, the agency urges the public to check daily sampling maps available on the FWC’s Red Tide Current Status page before heading to the water.
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