State wildlife officials detected the red tide organism Karenia brevis in 13 water samples collected along Florida’s East Coast over the past week, with one sample reaching bloom levels.
According to a status update from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the single bloom concentration, defined as greater than 100,000 cells per liter, was identified in Nassau County. Additional testing along the east coast showed very low to medium concentrations of the organism in Nassau County, alongside background to low concentrations in both Duval and St. Johns counties.
Satellite imagery captured on August 27 by the University of South Florida and the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science revealed elevated chlorophyll levels off Nassau and Duval counties. Officials noted they are continuing to rely on satellite data from these partners to monitor conditions nearshore and offshore.
In contrast to the east coast findings, K. brevis was not observed in any samples taken from Southwest Florida or Northwest Florida during the same reporting period.
No fish kills related to red tide were reported to the FWC Fish Kill Hotline or partnering organizations over the past week. State agencies also received no reports of red-tide-related respiratory irritation anywhere in Florida.
Short-term, 3.5-day ocean forecasts produced by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides indicate a net northern movement of surface waters, as well as variable transport of subsurface waters, spanning from Pinellas County south to northern Monroe County.
FWC monitors Florida waters weekly and plans to publish its next statewide red tide update on Friday, September 4.
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