A patchy bloom of the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, persists on the Florida Gulf Coast.
Over the past week, K. brevis was detected in 118 samples.
Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were observed in 55 samples: two offshore of Hernando County, 13 from and offshore of Pasco County, five from and offshore of Pinellas County, one offshore of Manatee County, 24 from and offshore of Sarasota County, six from and offshore of Charlotte County, and four from and offshore of Lee County. Additional details are provided below.
- In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to high concentrations in or offshore of Pinellas County, background to medium concentrations in or offshore of Manatee County, background to high concentrations in or offshore of Sarasota County, medium to high concentrations in or offshore of Charlotte County, and background to medium concentrations in or offshore of Lee County.
- In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at very low to medium concentrations offshore of Hernando County and background to high concentrations in and offshore of Pasco County.
- Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
Fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were reported on Florida’s Gulf Coast offshore of Citrus, Hernando, and Pasco counties, and in Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, and Lee counties over the past week.
Respiratory irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported over the past week on Florida’s Gulf Coast in Pasco, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, and Lee counties. For recent and current information at individual beaches, please visit https://visitbeaches.org/.
Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides for Pinellas to northern Monroe counties predict net southern transport of coastal surface waters and net southeastern movement of subsurface waters in most areas over the next 3.5 days.
FWC-FWRI is working closely with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and other partners on the Piney Point response effort. Status updates and results are posted on the Protecting Florida Together website (https://protectingfloridatogether.gov/PineyPointUpdate) and on the Tampa Bay Estuary Program website (https://shiny.tbep.org/piney-point/).
Support journalism by clicking here to our GoFundMe or sign up for our free newsletter by clicking here
Android Users, Click Here To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. It’s Free And Coming To Apple Users Soon