Red Tide Status Update for December 28, 2018

Current Conditions Background concentrations of the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, were observed in one sample collected from Southwest Florida this past week. Additional details from statewide sampling are provided below.

• In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background concentrations in one sample collected from Manatee County.
• In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was not observed in samples collected from Santa Rosa or Gulf counties.
• Along Florida’s East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed in samples collected from Brevard County nor offshore of Martin County.

No fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were reported this week (please see https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/health/fish-kills-hotline).

Respiratory irritation was reported over the past week in Northwest Florida (in Escambia County) and Southwest Florida (in Manatee, Sarasota, and Collier counties). Additional details are provided in the Northwest Coast and Southwest Coast reports.

Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides for Pinellas to northern Monroe counties predict net northern transport of surface waters, and variable movement at depth.

Due to the holiday next week, the next available report will be the full report on Friday, January 4^th. Please check our daily sampling map which can be accessed from the top of this page.

This information, including maps and reports with additional details, is also available on the FWRI Red Tide website. The website also provides links to additional information related to the topic of Florida red tide including satellite imagery, experimental red tide forecasts, shellfish harvesting areas, the FWC Fish Kill Hotline, the Florida Poison Information Center (to report human health effects related to exposure to red tide), and other wildlife related hotlines.

To learn more about various organisms that have been known to cause algal blooms in Florida waters, see the FWRI Red Tide Flickr page. Archived status maps can also be found on Flickr.       

The FWRI HAB group in conjunction with Mote Marine Laboratory now have a Facebook page.  Please like our page and learn interesting facts concerning red tide and other harmful algal blooms in Florida.

Additional information regarding the current status of algal blooms in South Florida is being consolidated and posted on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s website: https://floridadep.gov/dear/algal-bloom.