Red tide has been confirmed along Florida beaches, from Pinellas County down to Sarasota.

  • Red tide has been detected in parts of Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota
  • The bloom is typical for this time of year, FWC says
  • FWC is monitoring the Gulf along SWFL, taking water samples

Red tide is nothing new -- the naturally occurring microscopic algae has been documented along Florida’s Gulf Coast since the 1840s. According to scientists, the blooms occur every year.

Blooms, or higher-than-normal concentrations, of the Florida red tide alga, Karenia brevis, frequently occur in the Gulf of Mexico at this time of year (late summer or early fall). Red tide begins in the Gulf of Mexico 10 to 40 miles offshore and can be transported inshore by winds and currents.

Researchers at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are currently working with the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, the Florida Department of Health, Mote Marine Laboratory, the University of South Florida, NOAA, and other partners to monitor a bloom of K. brevis currently localized in Southwest Florida.

FWC has documented several reports of fish kills in parts of Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties. The piles of dead fish on beaches and waterways are leaving something else behind - an awful smell. 

Red tide can also cause respiratory problems and coughing in some people.  

Water samples collected on September 19 and 20, in response to fish kill reports from Manatee County, showed the first “high” cell concentrations (>1 million cells per liter) of K. brevis since April.

During the past two weeks, K. brevis has been observed at lower concentrations in other samples collected in Southwest Florida from Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Lee and Collier counties.

The FWC posts red tide status reports on Wednesdays and Fridays. To view this report and to track red tide blooms, visit MyFWC.com/RedTide. To report fish kills, contact the FWC Fish Kill Hotline at 800-636-0511 or submit a report online.