Dead fish washed up Feb. 13 on Englewood Beach, thanks to a red tide that’s been blowing around the Gulf of Mexico and other coastal waters since October, 2022.
Dead fish washed up Feb. 13 on Englewood Beach, thanks to a red tide that’s been blowing around the Gulf of Mexico and other coastal waters since October, 2022.
ENGLEWOOD — Sarasota County officials issued an update Wednesday about the presence of red tide at area beaches.
The message: It’s still around.
The algae known as Karenia brevis bloomed off the coast of Southwest Florida shortly after Hurricane Ian made landfall on Sept. 28, 2022.
Some scientists say the bloom was spurred by the churning effect of the category 4 hurricane on the Gulf of Mexico, sweeping latent algae off the bottom and bringing nearer the surface where it could feed on nutrients and grow and spread along coastal waters from Clearwater to Naples.
Officials issued a health advisory in late 2022, and another one Feb. 8. The advisory warns people with respiratory conditions to stay away from areas where the red tide is present, which includes beaches and bays. The algae gives off a gas that can cause coughing and sore throats.
The advisory remained in effect this week as red tide “is present at all county beaches,” Wednesday’s county update states.
The update also clarifies Sarasota County’s beach-cleaning policy.
“Each morning, Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources staff evaluate county public beaches and access points to determine if red tide impacts and marine debris wash-up meet the beach cleaning policy threshold. If accumulated debris meets the threshold, mechanical or manual (hand picking, rakes) are deployed,” the update states.”
“As of March 8, fish-kill and marine debris removal has not begun.”
Sarasota County Parks Recreation and Natural Resources staff rakes public beaches on Siesta and Lido keys weekly, but it has nothing to do with fish kills, the advisory states.
Charlotte County rakes Englewood Beach every two weeks, outside of the turtle nesting season which runs from May 1 through Oct. 31, according to Tommy Scott, the county’s Community Services director.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s latest online map shows the presence of red tide in low, medium and high concentrations off Manasota Key and Englewood, Boca Grande Pass, Venice beaches, Nokomis and Casey Key beaches and Sarasota beaches, including Siesta. Samples collected over the past week also show it in bays and around the mouth of Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
Post a comment as anonymous
Report
Watch this discussion.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.