Current Conditions
Over the past week, the red tide organism Karenia brevis was detected in 172 samples along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were present in 62 samples: three in and offshore of Pasco County, 24 in and offshore of Pinellas County, three offshore of Hillsborough County, two in Manatee County, 17 in and offshore of Sarasota County, three in Charlotte County, six in Lee County, and four in Collier County. We continue to use satellite imagery (USF and NOAA NCCOS) to help track this patchy event. Additional details are provided below.
- In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to high concentrations in and offshore of Pinellas County, low to medium concentrations offshore of Hillsborough County, very low to medium concentrations in Manatee County, background to medium concentrations in and offshore of Sarasota County, background to medium concentrations in Charlotte County, background to medium concentrations in Lee County, background to high concentrations in and offshore of Collier County, and very low to low concentrations offshore of Monroe County.
- In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background concentrations in Bay and Gulf counties, and low to medium concentrations in and offshore of Pasco County.
- Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
Reports of fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were received along the Florida Gulf Coast over the past week from Pasco, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Lee, and Collier counties. For more details, please visit https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/health/fish-kills-hotline and https://visitbeaches.org.
Over the past week, respiratory irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported via the Beach Conditions Reporting System and/or the Fish Kill Hotline along the Florida Gulf Coast in Pasco, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Lee, and Collier counties. For recent and current information at individual beaches, please visit https://visitbeaches.org and for forecasts that use FWC and partner data, please visit https://habforecast.gcoos.org.
Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides for Pasco County to northern Monroe County predict variable movement of surface waters and net eastern/southeastern transport of subsurface waters in most areas over the next 3.5 days.
The next status report will be issued on Friday, March 17th. 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.
