ANNA MARIA ISLAND – For the first time since April, Manatee County – and Sarasota and Pinellas counties to the south and north – are free of red tide, according to Friday’s Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission weekly report.
Water samples collected in Manatee County from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1 showed no red tide, which may have been pushed out to sea by recent storms or stifled by recent cold weather.
Despite the absence of red tide in local water samples, fish kills and respiratory irritation related to red tide were reported in Manatee and Sarasota counties, possibly due to airborne algae from other locations.
The toxic algae bloom has plagued Florida’s central west coast since April, when 215 million gallons of contaminated water was discharged into Tampa Bay from Piney Point, a former phosphate plant.
The water contained the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus, which act as fertilizer for red tide. The discharge was approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to prevent contaminated water in a holding pond on top of a compromised gypsum stack from flooding the area. Piney Point is the subject of three pending lawsuits and is in receivership. Remaining contaminated water on the site is intended to be stored in a deep injection well; a permit is pending with FDEP.
Red tide produces a neurotoxin called brevetoxin that can cause respiratory irritation, coughing, and more serious illness for people with severe or chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma, emphysema or COPD, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Health officials recommend that people experiencing symptoms stay away from the water and go inside to an air-conditioned space with closed windows and a clean A/C filter. Wearing masks, especially during onshore winds, is also advised.
Health officials warn against swimming near dead fish, and advise keeping pets away from dead fish and seafoam, which can contain high concentrations of red tide. Pets are not allowed on Anna Maria Island’s beaches but are allowed on the Palma Sola Causeway on Manatee Avenue.
Officials also warn that consuming shellfish exposed to red tide can cause neurotoxic shellfish poisoning.
Updated forecasts are available at habforecast.gcoos.org and at visitbeaches.org.
