Current Conditions
A patchy bloom of the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, persists along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Over the past week, K. brevis was detected in 130 samples. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were observed in 45 samples: 17 in and offshore of Bay County, three offshore of Gulf County, one in Franklin County, one offshore of Dixie County, two offshore of Levy County, five in and offshore of Pinellas County, six in Manatee County, nine in Sarasota County, and one offshore of Lee County. Thanks to our partners at USF and NOAA, we are using satellite imagery to track patches of elevated chlorophyll (as a proxy for algal biomass) along and offshore of the Panhandle (from Bay County extending eastward), along and/or offshore of the Big Bend, and along and/or offshore of Southwest Florida (from the Pasco/Pinellas County line to Lee County).
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 Manatee County, background to high concentrations in Sarasota County, very low concentrations in 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 concentrations in Escambia County, background to high concentrations in or offshore of Bay County, very low to medium concentrations in or offshore of Gulf County, very low to medium concentrations in Franklin County, background to medium concentrations offshore of Dixie County, background to high concentrations in or offshore of Levy County, and background concentrations 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 the Florida Gulf Coast in Bay, Gulf, Franklin, Taylor, Dixie, 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 the Florida Gulf Coast in Gulf, Franklin, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, and Lee counties. For recent and current information at individual beaches, please visit https://visitbeaches.org/
Red Tide report courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
