Red tide persists in Northwest Florida

In Northwest Florida, reports of fish kills were received for Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, and Franklin counties.

Bloom concentrations of the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, persist on Florida’s Southwest, Northwest, and East coasts. Also, local fish kills were reported over the past week. Additional details are provided below.

Red Tide Mid-week Update for October 31, 2018

In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed in samples spanning Pinellas to Monroe counties. Relative to last week, K. brevis concentrations generally increased from southern Pinellas to Collier counties. Observations of >1,000,000 K. brevis cells per liter (“high” concentrations) occurred in and/or offshore of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, and Sarasota counties. “Medium” K. brevis concentrations were detected in these same areas, and in and/or offshore of Charlotte and northern Lee counties

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In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed in and/or offshore of Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Bay Counties, with “medium” concentrations observed in and/or offshore of these counties, and “high” concentrations occurring only in Bay County samples.
Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was observed from Brevard to Miami-Dade counties. “High” concentrations occurred only in Brevard, Indian River, and St. Lucie counties, and “medium” concentrations occurred in these same general areas but extended further south to Martin County. Relative to last week, K. brevis concentrations increased in parts of Brevard, Indian River, and Martin counties and decreased in Palm Beach County.

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Fish Kills
In Southwest Florida, reports of fish kills were received for Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota counties. In Northwest Florida, reports of fish kills were received for Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, and Franklin counties. Along the East Coast of Florida, reports of fish kills were received for Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, and Palm Beach counties.

Respiratory Irritation
Respiratory irritation was reported over the past week in Southwest Florida (in Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota and Lee counties).

Forecast
Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides for Pinellas to Monroe counties predict net northern transport of surface waters and net southern movement of subsurface waters in most areas over the next three days. Three-day forecasts for Escambia to western Gulf counties predict net eastern surface transport and net northeastern subsurface movement in most areas.