The beaches on St. George Island are showing all of the signs of red tide, including fish kills and respiratory irritation

The beaches on St. George Island are showing all of the signs of red tide, including fish kills and respiratory irritation.

Red Tide is an organism known a Karenia Brevis that in large enough concentrations releases a neurotoxin that can kill fish and even affect people.

Red tide generally causes skin irritation and irritation in the lungs and throats in humans.

People began reporting the fish kills on social media late last week, and there have been numerous complaints of nose and throat irritation by people walking along the beaches.

David Zierden of the Florida Climate Center tweeted over the weekend that he felt the effects of red tide and he believes the persistent easterly flow has brought red tide to our area.

Red tide is generally monitored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission which takes takes and tests water samples from numerous locations along the Gulf Coast.

The FWC generally releases its mid-week water sample results on Wednesday so there could be more information on the concentrations of red tide in the waters then.

Red tide is not common in our area, though we have seen some large blooms in the past in 2005 and 2015.

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