A red tide bloom can be harmful for sea turtles. It can be deadly for hatchlings.
Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring reports 179 sea turtle nests have hatched as of Oct. 23, releasing 12,571 hatchlings to the Gulf of Mexico.
Also, the group reported Oct. 23 that two unhatched nests remain on the island.
With these nests yet to hatch and several thousand new sea turtle hatchlings feeding some 25 miles offshore, news of a red tide bloom is potentially devastating to the tiny sea turtles.
Blooms of karenia brevis, the red tide organism, can cause sea turtles to swim in circles, become lethargic and display a lack of coordination, including head bobbing, twitching and jerky movements. Sea turtles, if rescued while affected by the toxin, can be treated, though it may take up to 50 days for the toxin to fully leave the turtle’s system.
Red tide is a harmful algal bloom that occurs when algae reach higher-than-normal concentrations. The red tide organism gives off brevetoxins. The toxins are harmless in small, background-level concentrations of about 1,000 cells per liter of water or less, according to FWC.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, once a bloom occurs, the toxin can affect up to several hundred square miles.
Karenia brevis, blooms in the Gulf of Mexico typically in the spring or early fall. Blooms of red tide can last from a few weeks to several months or more.
Once the organism reproduces to reach high, or bloom, levels, the released toxins can kill fish, shorebirds, shellfish and other marine animals.
The low to medium amounts of karenia brevis in the water around Anna Maria Island reported Oct. 22 by Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, are relatively harmless to sea turtle hatchlings, according to the FWC.
If the red tide blooms to higher levels, or the hatchlings encounter too much of the toxin, it can cause the tiny turtles to become ill. High levels of red tide toxin can cause death for sea turtles and their hatchlings.
At least two people living on Spring Lake in Holmes Beach reported numerous dead fish were present the weekend of Oct. 24-25. The land-locked lake has underground drainage that connects to the canal/bay waters for stormwater outfall.
For more information on red tide, visit myfwc.com.
For more information on AMITW or to report a sea turtle in distress, call 941-778-5638 or email suzilfox@gmail.com.
