Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County Issues Red Tide Alert
The beach water samples taken on Monday 9/27 have come back from Mote Marine Lab with elevated cell counts indicating the presence of red tide at many of our beaches. Today DOH Sarasota is in the process of changing the beach signs at those beaches to show “red tide present”.
The beaches that will be posted with “red tide present” will include Longboat Key, Bird Key Park, North Lido, Lido Casino, South Lido, Nokomis Beach, North Jetty, Venice Beach, Service Club, Venice Fishing Pier, Brohard, Caspersen, Manasota Key, and Blind Pass.
Only two beaches had zero cells and will not be posted at this time (Siesta Key and Turtle).
Remember, Some people may have mild respiratory symptoms. Those who have existing breathing problems might experience more severe effects.
Normally, those symptoms disappear once you leave the beach or go inside.
Our weekly sample results are posted atwww.ourgulfenvironment.net.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, (FWC) is doing twice weekly updates on red tide for the state athttps://myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/, including a sampling map that is updated daily.
Current beach conditions can be checked at Mote Marine’s website,https://visitbeaches.org/.
The National Centers for Costal Ocean Science (NCCOS) forecasts for Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in the Gulf of Mexico can now be found athttps://coastalscience.noaa.gov/research/stressor-impacts-mitigation/hab-forecasts/gulf-of-mexico/.
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