Red Tide Clean-Up Underway In Sarasota Parks: City

SARASOTA, FL — Red tide cleanup is underway in Sarasota as crews with the debris management contractor, Ceres Environmental Services, Inc., work to clear city-owned parks, rights-of-way and some waterways of marine debris.

“The amount of debris they're encountering is relatively low. That could change, though, as the wind and tides change,” the city wrote Monday in a Facebook post. “We will continue to monitor conditions closely and respond accordingly.”

The crews will work at the following parks, according to a city news release:

• Bayfront Park/O’Leary’s
• Bird Key Park
• Centennial Park/10th St. Boat Ramp
• Ernest “Doc” and Eloise Werlin Park
• Hart’s Landing
• Indian Beach Park
• Ken Thompson (boat ramp, fishing piers, playground area)
• New Pass
• Nora Patterson Bay Island Park North Park
• Sapphire Shores Park
• Tony Saprito Fishing Pier
• Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
• Whitaker Gateway Park

Special garbage collections are also available for city residents picking up dead fish on private property, the city said.

Residents are asked to double-bag the marine debris collected and contact the Solid Waste Division in advance at 941-263-6170 for a special courtesy pickup on a Wednesday or Saturday.

Red tide is present at all Sarasota County beaches, though the amount of debris hasn’t met the criteria for the county to enact its beach cleaning policy, Jonathan Poyner, Siesta Beach coordinator, said in a video released Friday by the county.

Still, the county has increased its beach raking at Siesta Beach to Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while South Lido and Lido beaches are being raked Tuesday and Thursday, he said.