Red tide found in Bay County waters

(Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.) A patchy bloom of the Florida red tide organism, Karenia brevis, persists in Southwest Florida from Pinellas to Collier counties.  Over the past week, Karenia brevis was observed in background to high concentrations in six samples collected from Pinellas County; background to medium concentrations in thirteen samples collected from Manatee County; very low to high concentrations in thirty-eight samples collected from Sarasota County; very low to low concentrations in six samples collected from Charlotte County; background to medium concentrations in nineteen samples collected from Lee County; and background to high concentrations in seven samples collected from Collier County. Karenia brevis was observed at background and very low concentrations in two samples collected from Northwest Florida (Bay County), and at background concentrations in one sample collected from Florida’s East Coast (St. Lucie County). Additional samples collected throughout Florida over the past week did not contain K. brevis. Fish kills affecting multiple species have been reported along Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, and Collier counties over the past week; respiratory irritation was reported at Barefoot Beach (Collier County) on 10/16, Gasparilla Island (Lee County) on 10/19, and Manatee Beach (Manatee County) on 10/21. Forecasts for Southwest Florida by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides show net southern movement of surface waters, and southern, onshore movement of subsurface waters between southern Pinellas and Collier counties over the next 3 days. 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.

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