Red Tide Concerns Linger Off Florida’s West Coast

SARASOTA, FL — Reports of respiratory irritation and fish kills continue to come in from Sarasota County beaches as a red tide bloom lingers in the region. Similar reports have come in from Manatee and Pinellas counties in recent weeks.

The Florida Department of Health on Monday, Oct. 3 collected 16 waters samples from beaches in Sarasota County. Those samples were analyzed by Mote Marine Laboratory with all 16 showing low to high counts of Karenia brevis, the organism that causes Florida red tide.

“Three locations had high concentrations of K. brevis, including Longboat Key, North Lido Beach and Turtle Beach,” Mote Marine reported Wednesday. “Eight locations had medium concentrations including Ringling Causeway, Lido Casino, South Lido Park, Siesta Key Beach, Nokomis Beach, Venice Beach, Manasota Beach and Blind Pass Beach. Five locations had low concentrations including North Jetty, Service Club Park, Venice Fishing Pier, Brohard Beach and Caspersen Beach.”

See also: Fish Kills Reported in Pinellas, Sarasota, Manatee Counties

As of Tuesday evening, Oct. 4, Mote officials said the Beach Conditions Reporting System had received notification of slight respiratory irritation and some dead fish on Manasota, Nokomis, Venice and Coquina beaches. No reports had come in from Siesta Key or Lido beaches.

Florida’s Gulf Coast has been dealing with on-again, off-again red tide issues for a few weeks. Red tide is a naturally occurring organism found in Gulf waters. When it accumulates in large amounts, it can kill fish and lead to respiratory irritation in people and animals.

Toxins in red tide can “enter the air and cause respiratory irritation among beachgoers, such as coughing, sneezing or a scratchy throat,” according to Sarasota’s Mote Marine Laboratory. Mote scientists conduct year-round monitoring of Bay area waters.

Last Friday, Sept. 30, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported K. brevis in very low to high concentrations in nine water samples taken in Pinellas County. It was found in background to high concentrations from samples taken in Manatee County. In Sarasota County, 31 samples came back with concentrations that ranged from very low to high. Charlotte County had nine sample return with background to high concentrations while Lee County saw four samples test positive for background to medium concentrations.

Florida red tide blooms, Mote noted, can be rather patchy. Beaches with background to high concentrations can be located in close proximity to one another. That means effects might be noticeable at one beach, but not at a nearby location.

Beachgoers with respiratory conditions, such as emphysema and asthma, may be more susceptible to red tide irritants. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recommends these public health tips when red tide is present:

• People who experience issues, such as nose, throat and eye irritations may want to leave the immediate area
• Those with severe or chronic respiratory conditions should avoid areas that are known to have active red tide
• When dead fish are present alongshore, it is advised that beachgoers avoid swimming in the water
• Red tide may also pose a risk to pets. Pets should not eat fish or drink water from water with a high concentration of red tide
• Recreational harvesting of such mollusks as hard clams, mussels and oysters is banded when red tide is present. To find out if harvest of shellfish is available in an area, visit the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture online.

To find out the conditions on local beaches, check out Mote Marine’s online tracking tool. To find out more about red tide and its presence in Florida, visit FWC online.

To report fish kills, call the FWC’s Fish Kill hotline at 800-636-0511 or submit a report online. FWC updates red tide status on Friday afternoons.

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