But it has been gradually inching north toward the Tampa Bay region. Right now, the algae is most prevalent in the waters off of Sarasota, Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Robert Weisberg, a professor of physical oceanography at the University of South Florida, who has studied these events for more than two decades.Ī map from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission published on November 8 shows the extent of the current red tide off Florida's southwest coast. Though not nearly as widespread as the last one, this latest outbreak is showing fairly high algae concentrations, according to Dr. Ron DeSantis created a Red Tide Task Force that is studying the causes of these blooms. In response to last year’s historically bad tide, Florida’s new Republican Gov. While red tide has occurred for centuries, the 2017-2018 event was the fifth-longest on record, and only the second since 2007 to hit Florida’s east, southwest and northwest coasts at the same time. “Now, we’re looking at months.”įlorida’s red tide is caused by a species of algae called Karenia brevis, which release neurotoxins that can be deadly to wildlife and can even cause breathing problems in humans on land. “If you’ve been here 20 or 30 years, red tide was an event that was around for a weekend or a week,” he said. It’s the length of these red tides and their close succession that is so troubling, said the 32-year Naples resident. In a place that bills itself as an idyllic getaway, the foul state of the water is threatening to spoil the natural beauty that makes Florida’s southwest coast a vacation destination to begin with, Thompson worries. Last year, he says, many weren’t staying as long or were staying away completely because of the severity of the red tide. Tim Thompson, another Naples resident who owns an interior design firm along with his wife, says much of his business is dependent on clients coming down to their vacation homes. “We got hit really hard last year, and we just can’t take any more,” D’Antuono said.įish are washed ashore near Sanibel during the historic red tide of 20. So far, he said, this red tide does not appear to be as bad as last year’s, and he can still find clear water to fish and dive in.īut in a line of work that is intimately tied to the health of the ecosystem, he is worried about how much more it can bear. Scientists say it is difficult to predict where the tide is heading next, or how long it will last.īut residents who experienced the last one are worried – about their health, the wildlife and whether their businesses can endure another prolonged outbreak.īill D’Antuono has lived in Naples for nearly all of his 33 years, and leads fishing and diving expeditions off the Florida coast. Now, the toxic algae has returned to the waters off southwest Florida and has begun to slowly creep up the state’s Gulf coast over the past month. “All I could think to myself was, ‘Here we go again.’” “I really thought we were going to get lucky, but then I walked out to the beach and smelled that all too familiar smell of dead fish and felt that scratch in my throat from the toxins in the air,” said Gill, a Naples resident. A black grouper that washed ashore in early November may have fallen victim to this latest red tide.
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