Cough? Itchy Eyes? Red Tide Strikes Florida

Red Tide has stricken all along the southwest coast of Florida according to Florida Fish and Wildlife.  It is still unclear if red tide has stricken Brevard County or the rest of the Atlantic coast of Florida because no samples have been taken.

 

Southwest Region: A bloom of Karenia brevis, the Florida Red Tide organism, has been detected in samples collected alongshore of northern Collier County. This bloom is likely a continuation of the bloom reported late September through early November, although this is the first report of alongshore detection in several weeks. Medium to very low concentrations of K. brevis were measured alongshore of the bloom patch, which has been approximated with the use of satellite images to be 25 miles long and extending offshore approximately 15 miles. In locations outside of the bloom, K. brevis was not present or was present only at low concentrations.

Karenia brevis was not detected in samples collected alongshore of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties or alongshore and offshore of the Florida Keys (Monroe County).

Bloom Boundary: The K. brevis bloom currently extends alongshore and offshore of Sanibel Island (southern Lee County) and northern Collier County with the highest concentrations detected alongshore at Barefoot and Vanderbilt beaches in Collier County.