What to know about red tide this weekend in Sarasota and Manatee

Jesse Mendoza, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·3 min read

Dead fish killed by red tide continue to wash ashore in Sarasota and Manatee counties, fouling some of the region's most popular beaches during peak tourism season.

This weekend gusty winds are expected to cause some risk of respiratory irritation at local beaches and continue to blow dead marine animals and foul odors toward shore.

Red tide:Even with persistent red tide, Sarasota waterfront business is booming

Fish carcasses foul up local beaches

Visitors tip-toed around dead fish that dotted Lido Beach this week as red tide continues to impact local beaches during the height of tourism season.
Visitors tip-toed around dead fish that dotted Lido Beach this week as red tide continues to impact local beaches during the height of tourism season.

Dead fish killed by red tide continue to wash ashore in Sarasota and Manatee, but the two counties have different approaches to cleaning up debris.

Manatee County began raking dead fish from local beaches in November, soon after red tide began last year. The county has collected about 9,000 pounds of dead fish since then, but 7,000 pounds of the debris were raked from local beaches in just the past two weeks.

Meanwhile, Sarasota County follows strict guidelines for cleaning up fish kills and has not mobilized so far this year to clean up dead fish. The county does rake Siesta Beach regularly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and Lido Beach on Thursdays, although that maintenance is not related to red tide. The city of Sarasota is beginning its cleanup of parks and rights-of-way soon, and special garbage collections are now available for residents picking up dead fish on private property.

Respiratory irritation is back in the Sarasota area forecast

Moderate to high risk of respiratory irritation is forecast for beaches in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Collier, Lee and Pinellas counties over the next 36 hours, according to an advisory by the National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science issued at 6 a.m. on Friday.

Most beaches on Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key and Sarasota County are forecast for moderate risk of respiratory irritation until at least Saturday evening as wind gusts pick up this weekend. Only Turtle Beach, Venice Beach, Caspersen Beach and Englewood Beach are forecast for low, or very low, risk during that time.

Visit www.redtideforecast.com for the most up-to-date forecast information for local beaches.

Local beach forecast: www.redtideforecast.com

Red tide bloom impacts most of Southwest Florida

The red tide bloom has spread as far north as Clearwater in Pinellas County and past Naples in Collier County to the south as of this week, according to sample data published by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Samples found medium to high levels of Karenia brevis, the organism that causes red tide, on Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key and most of Sarasota County beaches over the past week, and high concentrations were measured near the Ringling Bride, New Pass and Central Broadway Park in Sarasota Bay.

Florida red tide map: Current status

Mote Marine ambassadors report local beach conditions online daily, including information about water conditions, the amount of dead fish found on each individual beach, and surf conditions.

Visit www.visitbeaches.org for the most recent local beach reports published by Mote Marine.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: red tide, dead fish and respiratory irritation in Sarasota and Manatee