FWC RED TIDE REPORT (FEBRUARY 9, 2023)
VIEW MAP OF FLORIDA COUNTIES BY CLICKING ON "READ MORE" BELOW.
Current Conditions
Over the past week, the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, was detected in 114 samples from and offshore of Southwest Florida, and three from Northwest Florida. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were present in 31 samples from Southwest Florida: six in Sarasota County, 19 in and offshore of Lee County, two offshore of Collier County, and four in and offshore of Monroe County. Additional details are provided below.
- In Southwest Floridaover the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to very low concentrations in Pinellas County, background concentrations in Hillsborough County, background to low concentrations in Manatee County, background to medium concentrations in Sarasota County, low concentrations in Charlotte County, background to high concentrations in and offshore of Lee County, background to medium concentrations in and offshore of Collier County, and background to high concentrations in and offshore of Monroe County.
- In Northwest Floridaover the past week, K. brevis was observed at background concentrations in one sample each from Santa Rosa, Bay, and Gulf counties.
- Along the Florida East Coastover the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
Over the past week, reports of fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were received in Southwest Florida from Charlotte, Sarasota and Lee counties, and offshore of Monroe County. For more details, please visit https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/health/fish-kills-hotline/ and https://visitbeaches.org/.
Respiratory irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported via the Beach Conditions Reporting System and/or the Fish Kill Hotline over the past week in Southwest Florida in Sarasota County (Lido Key Beach, Manasota Key Beach, Nokomis Beach, Siesta Key Beach, Venice Beach, Venice North Jetty Beach), Charlotte County (Stump Pass), and Lee County (Anglers Beach, Bowmans Beach, San Carlos Bay, Wulfert Channel). 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 Pinellas County to northern Monroe County predict net northwestern movement of surface waters and net southeastern transport of subsurface waters in most areas over the next 3.5 days.
The next status report will be issued on Friday, February 10th. 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.
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