FWC RED TIDE REPORT JANUARAY 3, 2025
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Current Conditions
Over the past week, the red tide organism Karenia brevis was detected in 54 samples collected from Florida’s Gulf Coast. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were observed in nine samples: three from and offshore of Pinellas County, four from Sarasota County, and two from and offshore of Lee County. Satellite chlorophyll imagery (USF, NOAA NCCOS) continues to vary from day to day. Imagery from January 1st and 2nd revealed a patchy region of elevated chlorophyll suspected to contain red tide along southern Sarasota County and offshore of Charlotte to Collier counties. On both days, some areas were obscured due to cloud cover, making it difficult to discern the full extent of the patch; we continue to closely monitor incoming data.
Additional details are provided below.
In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to medium concentrations in and offshore of Pinellas County, background to low concentrations in and offshore of Hillsborough County, background to low concentrations in and offshore of Manatee County, background to medium concentrations in Sarasota County, low concentrations in Charlotte County, background to high concentrations in and offshore of Lee County, and background to very low concentrations in Collier County.
In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at very low and low concentrations offshore of Hernando County.
Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
Fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were reported to FWC’s Fish Kill Hotline and other partners over the past week for Southwest Florida (along Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties).
Respiratory Irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported over the past week in Southwest Florida (Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties). For forecasts that use FWC and partner data, please visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Gulf of Mexico Harmful Algal Blooms Forecast.
Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides for Pinellas County to northern Monroe County predict variable movement of surface and subsurface waters over the next 3.5 days.
The next status report will be issued on Wednesday, January 8th. 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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