Red Tide Status Update for January 8, 2021

Current Conditions
A patchy bloom of the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, persists in Southwest Florida based on sampling conducted over the past week. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were observed in 25 samples collected in and along Lee and Collier counties, from Captiva to South Marco Beach. The most recent satellite imagery (USF, NOAA) indicates that patches of elevated chlorophyll extend 35-40 miles offshore of Lee, Collier, and Monroe counties. Additional details are provided below and please check our daily sampling map for the most up to date results. 

• In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to very low concentrations in Charlotte County, background to high concentrations in Lee County, and medium to high concentrations in Collier County. K. brevis was not detected in samples from Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota counties.
• In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
• Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.

In Southwest Florida over the past week, fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were reported in Lee and Collier counties. For more details, please visit: https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/health/fish-kills-hotline/.

Respiratory irritation was reported over the past week in Southwest Florida in Lee and Collier counties. For current conditions, 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 surface and subsurface waters in most areas over the next four days.

The next complete status report will be issued on Friday, January 15^th. Please check our daily sampling map, which can be accessed via the online status report on our Red Tide Current Status page. For more information on algal blooms and water quality, please visit Protecting Florida Together.

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.