Red Tide Levels Low In Time For Mother’s Day

SARASOTA, FL — Tampa Bay area residents and visitors with big Mother’s Day weekend beach plans may find the weather iffy at times, but the water should be nice. The red tide bloom that’s plagued the region’s coastal waters for months hasn’t exactly gone away, but conditions are improving.

Over the past week, only one incident of red tide-related respiratory irritation was reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That incident occurred on May 5 in Sarasota County’s Nokomis. No fish kills or other related concerns were logged in the FWC’s Red Tide Status update report issued Friday.

While red tide concentrations are on the downswing, FWC reports the bloom hasn't gone away entirely. The organism that causes red tide was found in background to very low concentrations from samples collected in Pinellas County south to Lee over the past week.

Red tide, also known as Karenia brevis, is a naturally occurring organism found in Gulf of Mexico waters. When it accumulates in large amounts, it can kill fish and cause respiratory problems for 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.

According to FWC, red tide was found in water samples as follows over the past week:

• Pinellas County – background concentrations in two samples
• Manatee County – background concentrations in three samples
• Sarasota County – background to very low concentrations in five samples
• Charlotte County – very low concentrations in one samples
• Lee County – background concentrations in two samples

To check on the conditions at local beaches, Mote Marine’s online tracking tool is available for use. 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.

Map courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission