Red Tide -- especially in the Sarasota to Venice area. also St. Pete up to Clearwater Beach

[JimMIA]

Just a quick heads up -- they are having some red tide/fish kill problems, especially in the Sarasota to Venice areas of Florida's Gulf Coast. The same is true of the St Pete Beach to Clearwater Beach areas.

At the last advisory yesterday, all of the Sarasota sites checked had High levels of Red Tide and all of the Venice sites had Medium. Those levels have been pretty consistent for a week or more. We were planning a trip to Venice in a couple of weeks, but just canceled it.

Here's a link to FL FWC's excellent Red Tide website: https://myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/

And a quick map. On the website you can zoom in very close and get a much more detailed look.

 

[RedAngie]

I was on Marco Island and Naples when they had red tide problems about 25 years ago.

Thanks for the info.

 

[JimMIA]

I was on Marco Island and Naples when they had red tide problems about 25 years ago.

Thanks for the info.

They're clear right now. It's Venice and north of there.

 

[kymom99]

How long does this typically last?

 

[NotUrsula]

How long does this typically last?

This one is bad, fueled by the Piney Point phosphate pit leak at the beginning of the summer. Estimates are that it will recur for several months yet. (This kind of red tide, caused by blooms of the algae Karenia brevis, is not actually red; it's brown, and it's actually a natural phenomenon that has been happening for hundreds of years. However, farming runoff has caused the blooms to grown larger and persist longer than they naturally do.)

It was absolutely horrible in St. Pete right before and after TS Elsa; the storm drove the red tide into the bay, and over the course of two weeks Pinellas County had to remove 600 tons of dead fish from the county's beaches and coastal waterways. The smell just blanketed the whole city early last month. There were large fish, dolphins and manatees in the die-off as well.
Most of the in-shore dead marine life is gone now, and the water looks fairly OK except in certain areas. The thing is, while Karenia brevis is really toxic to marine life, it's also mildly toxic to humans; it causes irritation of the respiratory tract and mucous membranes, so you get a scratchy throat, burning eyes, sometimes a cough, and even painful skin.

 

[kymom99]

This one is bad, fueled by the Piney Point phosphate pit leak at the beginning of the summer. Estimates are that it will recur for several months yet. (This kind of red tide, caused by blooms of the algae Kareniia brevis, is not actually red; it's brown, and it's actually a natural phenomenon that has been happening for hundreds of years. However, farming runoff has caused the blooms to grown larger and persist longer than they naturally do.)

It was absolutely horrible in St. Pete right before and after TS Elsa; the storm drove the red tide into the bay, and over the course of two weeks Pinellas County had to remove 600 tons of dead fish from the county's beaches and coastal waterways. The smell just blanketed the whole city early last month. There were large fish, dolphins and manatees in the die-off as well.
Most of the in-shore dead marine life is gone now, and the water looks fairly OK except in certain area. The thing is, while Kareniia brevis is really toxic to marine life, it's also mildly toxic to humans; it causes irritation of the respiratory tract and mucous membranes, so you get a scratchy throat, burning eyes, sometimes a cough, and even painful skin.

I have a reservation in Madeira beach in November. My husband is in favor of cancelling because of the covid escalation. I have to pay in full by the first of September.

 

[debster812]

We typically go to Marco Island the week after Thansgiving, and stay on the beach. The past 2 years the red tide on Marco has been pretty brutal that week, so much so that the beach was not enjoyable. We are looking now into renting a pool house away from the beach, so if the Red Tide is bad again, we can hang around the pool, and if it’s not, we can drive up to one of the public beach accesses and hit the beach that way.

 

[NotUrsula]

I have a reservation in Madeira beach in November. My husband is in favor of cancelling because of the covid escalation. I have to pay in full by the first of September.

FWIW, I'm not canceling our St. Pete Beach Xmas reservation. IME, once the water gets too cold to swim, red tide isn't that much of an issue for people. The counties affected have been paying shrimpers to sweep limit waters for dead marine life, so most of it will be stopped well offshore once summer ends, particularly as the water cools more. It's kind of a fact of life on Florida's west coast; the key is getting it down to a liveable level.

(Also, FWIW, if you love the west coast and want to help solve this problem, I suggest donation to the Mote Marine Laboratory, which along with academic research partners in Florida, is working on innovative solutions for mitigation. https://mote.org/research/program/red-tide-institute)

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

 

[Breezy_Carol]

We have rented a condo on Sanibel for mid-October. I knew red tide was a possibility but am hoping its not a problem then.

Thanks for the links. They are helpful.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We typically go to Marco Island the week after Thansgiving, and stay on the beach. The past 2 years the red tide on Marco has been pretty brutal that week, so much so that the beach was not enjoyable. We are looking now into renting a pool house away from the beach, so if the Red Tide is bad again, we can hang around the pool, and if it’s not, we can drive up to one of the public beach accesses and hit the beach that way.

We live on Marco. Red tide has not been a problem so far this year for us. Naples is also good right now. But if you even rent a house away from the beach, you might still get some of the effects of red tide away from the beach.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I was in Bradenton the last week in July. It wasn’t as bad there as it was in Tampa Bay, but you could really smell it if you walked on the beach. It burned your nasal passages. I pray for all the marine life. So many sea turtle nests that are hatching just to be thwarted by the red tide.

 

[FQLover]

Funny to see this post right now. I just returned a couple of hours ago from a four night vacation to Siesta Key.

It stormed and rained Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of our (expensive) little vacation. The red tide was just terrible. The fish stench was noticeable even when you first stepped outside the Sarasota airport. When we got to our condo on the Gulf, the smell was gag-awful. The wind was fierce and howling on Tuesday and Wednesday, blowing both the stench and the carcasses ashore. On Wed. morning, three of the resort workers had to transport a large dead sea mammal onto a stretcher/sled like thing and all three of them were all needed to drag the poor beast off the beach. We watched from our 7th floor window, and it was right beneath us, but I couldn't tell what kind of animal it was. It was extremely sad.

My daughter walked the beach each evening before the (invisible) sunset and saw many hundreds of large, dead and bloated fish on the shore, missing eyes and with their mouths gaping open. The workers were up at dawn in their trucks with shovels and garbage bags removing all the carnage.

Despite saving for this trip for a year, we did not step foot in the water. My daughter did hang out on a lounger for some time each afternoon, once it was only drizzle and clouds. She said everyone down there was coughing, including her. Whenever I left the condo for us to go driving or to go to a restaurant, I had massive sneezing fits and my eyes watered, burned and stung. I only coughed a little bit. I blew my nose non-stop. The algae bloom definitely affected me worse than my daughter.

Up on the 7th floor when we wanted to hear the surf, we would slide open the floor to ceiling window. We would instantly cough, and depending on the direction of the high winds, the fish smell would invade the apartment. We'd have to slam that slider closed.

This vacation was a heart-breaker, for our plans not getting to happen, but mainly for the scores of marine life that were dying there every day. We finally had sun, yesterday, our last day. We went to the pool at the far end of the resort away from the Gulf. The wind had died down and we smelled none of the dead fish back there. You heard only occasional coughs from the folks taking refuge in the pool. The water and air temp were both about 90, the sun was shining, and it felt blissful to float and paddle around for four hours. I could finally relax.

My July was too hectic to look up weather trends, red tide happenings, etc. But I would not have gotten any money back on my pre-paid resort, anyway. We have been to Siesta one other time, and the Gulf was turquoise, tranquil, clear and heavenly. That was what I was expecting this time. Not to be, sadly.

 

[dreamingofdisney321]

We have a trip planned for Medeira Beach in a few weeks. Has this improved any or should we consider canceling?

 

[JimMIA]

We have a trip planned for Medeira Beach in a few weeks. Has this improved any or should we consider canceling?

There's a link in Post #1, and the linked website had daily updates.

 

[HeatherC]

This is why we prefer the east coast. The beaches are gorgeous on the west coast, but we seem to hit red tide every time we go. I just feel like the Gulf water stagnates and doesn’t move as much as the Atlantic. Feel bad for all those who vacationing there now. Really stinks….literally and figuratively.

 

[SmallWorld71]

We have a trip planned for Medeira Beach in a few weeks. Has this improved any or should we consider canceling?

This site may help you:
https://www.visitstpeteclearwater.com/current-beach-conditions
My dad said things are starting to improve where he is (Bradenton) but you really want to look at the specific area where you will be. I hope it works out.