Current Conditions
Over the past week, Karenia brevis was detected in six samples along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Thanks to our partners at USF and NOAA, we continue to use satellite imagery to look for patches of elevated chlorophyll as a proxy for algal biomass. Additional details are provided below.
- In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background concentrations offshore of Hillsborough County.
- In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to very low concentrations in Franklin County, and background concentrations in Wakulla County.
- Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
No reports of fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were received over the past week. For more details, please visit: https://myfwc.com/research/
Respiratory irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported over the past week in Northwest Florida in Franklin County. For recent and current information at individual beaches, please visit https://visitbeaches.org/ and for forecasts that use FWC and partner data, please visit https://habforecast.gcoos.org/
Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides for Escambia County to Gulf County predict variable movement of surface and subsurface waters over the next 3.5 days. Net southeastern/southern movement of surface waters and minimal net transport of subsurface waters are predicted from Franklin County to Pasco County. From Pinellas County to northern Monroe County, net southern/southwestern movement of surface waters and southeastern or minimal net transport of subsurface waters are predicted in most areas over the next 3.5 days.
The next complete status report will be issued on Friday, December 10th. Please check our daily sampling map, which can be accessed via the online status report on our Red Tide Current Status page. For more information on algal blooms and water quality, please visit Protecting Florida Together.
This information, including maps and reports with additional details, is also available on the FWRI Red Tide website. The website also provides links to additional information related to the topic of Florida red tide including satellite imagery, experimental red tide forecasts, shellfish harvesting areas, the FWC Fish Kill Hotline, the Florida Poison Information Center (to report human health effects related to exposure to red tide), and other wildlife related hotlines.