Weather Service Issues Red Tide Hazard Statement For Beach Goers

TAMPA BAY, FL — As the toxic red tide blooms migrate out of Tampa Bay to the Pinellas County coastline from Tierra Verde to Tarpon Springs, the National Weather Service issued a beach hazard statement warning residents headed to the beach that they risk getting sick.

Prompted by an easterly breeze that's blowing red tide spores toward the beaches, the beach hazards statement was issued at 11:30 a.m. Friday and lasts through at least 10 p.m. Saturday.

As further warning, the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County has posted signs along Pinellas coast beaches advising resident that red tide may cause eye, throat and skin irritation, coughing or sneezing and more severe symptoms in people with respiratory problems.

“People with asthma, emphysema or any chronic lung disease may be more sensitive,” said the weather service in its advisory.“Irritation may vary by beach and throughout the day.”

While the algae blooms have begun moving out of the bay, bringing relief to St. Petersburg, red tide is now hugging the 35-mile stretch of coastline along Pinellas County. The Florida Wildlife and Conservation Commission said residents and businesses in both southern and northern Pinellas County could see an increase in fish kills.

In its red tide status update issued Friday, the FWC said K. brevis, the organism that causes red tide, was detected in 126 water samples from Sarasota County to Pasco County with medium to high concentrations found in 10 samples in Pasco County, 29 samples in Pinellas County, four samples in Hillsborough County, four in Manatee County and 22 in Sarasota County.

Concentrations of 1 million cells or more per liter of water tested is considered to be a high level of red tide.

High levels were detected at Anclote Key Beach, John's Pass Park Beach, Pass-A-Grille Beach, Madeira Beach, Treasure Island, La Contessa Pier, Terra Ceia Point and Indian Rocks Beach.

Medium levels (100,000 to 1 million cells per liter) were found at North Anclote Key, Pier 60 at Clearwater Beach, Mullet Key Bay Pier, Sand Key and Hurricane Pass. Click here for the map with the latest red tide status.

The FWC reported mass fish kills in Hernando, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota and Lee counties over the past week as well.

As of Tuesday, 1,442 tons of dead fish and other marine life killed by the toxic algae in beaches, canals and inlets have been removed from Pinellas beaches, canals and inlets.

It's not only a nuisance for residents but Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, the county's tourism bureau, is concerned about the impact of red tide on tourism during one of the peak vacation seasons.

Due to the costs to clean up the fish kills, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman appealed to Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency, which would make affected municipalities eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency funds.

However, DeSantis declined to issue such an order.

Instead, following a boat tour of the area Wednesday, the governor pledged to reimburse the county $2.1 million for the cleanup and then directed state and local agencies to "take an all-hands-on-deck" approach to continuing the effort.

That approach is fine with Robin Miller, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber, which has more than 1,000 members. She said declaring a state of emergency would cause more harm than good, signaling to vacationers to avoid Pinellas County.

“In my 14 years as president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber, this is by far the best cohesive effort from the state and local municipalities I have ever seen," she said.

Christian Obenshain, owner of Pier Dolphin Cruises and a fourth-generation St. Petersburg native, said he appreciated the responsiveness of both state and local government to the concerns of business owners.

"As a captain out on the water, my No. 1 priority is always the safety of the people on my boat," he said. He added, however, that his bread and butter depends on running cruises seven days a week so vacationers can see dolphins and other marine wildlife swimming in their native habitat. He just wants the fish kills cleaned up so he can get back to business as usual.

House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, said the governor and Legislature aren't turning a blind eye to the red tide problem.

"Over the years, including this past session, we have appropriated millions for red tide research and mitigation, and will continue to make sure our water is safe and pristine for all Floridians to enjoy," he said.

On June 17, DeSantis hosted a roundtable in St. Petersburg to discuss the state’s efforts to combat red tide.

“Gov. DeSantis has made it clear that the state is committed to ensuring impacted communities have the support they need today and moving forward," Shawn Hamilton, interim secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, said. "The DEP will maintain its presence in the region to ensure continued collaboration and the most comprehensive event response.”

“Having spent much of my life in southwest Florida, I know the impacts these blooms can have on our communities and that working together is critical," said FWC Executive Director Eric Sutton.

He said he and Hamilton have been "deploying all collective resources during the ongoing red tide event in the greater Tampa area."

Actions include:

• DEP is providing financial assistance to local governments to assist in cleanup efforts. To date, DEP has committed $2.1 million to Pinellas County to cover cleanup costs incurred for both Pinellas County and the city of St. Petersburg.
• DEP and FWC have significantly increased monitoring and sampling efforts in Tampa Bay and the surrounding waters. The number of samples processed in Tampa Bay increased by 165 percent from June 2020 to June 2021.
• The state and county health departments are relaying health information to impacted communities, including placing signage in affected areas.

The FWC Research Institute in St. Petersburg is also deploying new technology to combat red tide.

For the first time, the institute is using a robot that collects samples every 20 minutes, providing "unprecedented information about how many red tide cells there are at a given time and the behavior of those cells.

The Imaging Flow CytoBot uses flow cytometry and laser-induced fluorescence to capture high resolution pictures of individual phytoplankton in the water. It can generate 30,000 images per hour. It allowed the FWC to process more than 500 water samples last week.

"In terms of Karenia brevis bloom research, these instruments can help capture early onset of bloom events and serve as an early warning, track their progression over time, and show when a bloom has passed, among a great many other things," said researchers.

DeSantis said red tide has been on his radar since he took office in 2019, the same year Tampa Bay experienced one of its most catastrophic red tide events in history.

At that time, he issued an executive order reactivating the state's long-dormant Red Tide Task Force and created the FWC's Center for Red Tide Research, which has poured more than $14.5 million in funding into research.

Additionally, in his first legislative session, DeSantis signed into law Senate Bill 1552, which established the Florida Red Tide Mitigation and Technology Development Initiative, a partnership between FWC and Mote Marine Laboratory to develop technologies and approaches to control and mitigate red tide and its impacts.

The bill provided a $3 million annual appropriation to the initiative for six years, totaling $18 million.

See related stories:

• Red Tide Combined With Fish Kills Can Make Residents Doubly Sick
• County Workers Busy Cleaning Up Fish Kills Caused by Red Tide
• Beach Goers Warned Of Red Tide; Workers Clean Up Fish Kills
• Treasure Island And Pass-a-Grille Waters Test High For Red Tide; Residents Complain About Stinky Fish Kills