The red tide organism, Karenia brevis, has diminished along the Gulf Coast and was not found Sept. 3 in Manatee County.
Bloom concentrations greater than 100,000 cells per liter were observed in Pinellas and Charlotte counties.
- brevis the week ending Sept. 5 was observed at very low to high concentrations in and offshore of Pinellas County, background to low concentrations in Sarasota County, background to high concentrations in Charlotte County and background to low concentrations in Lee County.
In Northwest Florida, K. brevis was observed in Hernando, Levy and Pasco counties.
On the East coast, K. brevis was not detected.
Fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were reported along and/or offshore of Manatee, Citrus, Hernando, Pinellas, Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee counties.
Respiratory irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported in Pinellas, Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee counties.
For more information, go online to myfwc.com/research/redtide.
— Lisa Neff