What red tide? Manatee beaches see resurgence as concentrations fade — for now

Red tide isn’t ready to move on from Manatee County beaches, but Tuesday’s visitors didn’t seem to mind one bit.

When Lisa and Kevin Herrmans, tourists visiting from Ohio, strolled down Coquina Beach in the morning, they didn’t notice anything off about the water, the air or the number of people on the beach.

“Is there something wrong? You tell us,” Lisa said when asked her thoughts on the day’s beach conditions. “We think it’s beautiful out.”

The water at Coquina was a bit darker than normal and VisitBeaches.org, a beach conditions monitoring website, listed respiratory irritation conditions as “slight,” but more than a hundred people lounged alongside the water.

“We’re only here for a few more days, but we’ve been in the water and we don’t stink,” Lisa said.

Further north, red tide’s presence wasn’t quite as subtle.

Beachgoers are unbothered

Hundreds of beachgoers sat along the shore at Manatee Public Beach on Tuesday afternoon, even though the water carried a murky green tint. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released a red tide report Friday that detailed a drop in red tide concentrations by between 5 and 25 percent.

Donna Fox recently purchased a home in Manatee County and spends weeks at a time visiting from Illinois, she said. She spent Tuesday afternoon relaxing with a friend on the beach.

“I’ve got a great system going on,” Fox said. “We have neighbors text us for warnings.”

Her last trip to the area was a two-week stint in October, “but the conditions here are nothing to compared to how it was then.”

Fox wasn’t the only one who didn’t have an issue with the beach conditions.

Eric Berthelsen is moving to the area in a few months along with his emotional support dog, Jaeger. They wandered the beach together Tuesday afternoon.

“It is absolutely wonderful out here. It’s beautiful, warm, sunny,” he said. “I haven’t noticed anything in terms of red tide. It’s absolutely gorgeous.”

On the northern tip of Anna Maria Island, Bradenton resident Jim Wiseman walked beneath the cover of a cloudy sky. He described the dark green water as “not so inviting,” but didn’t feel any of red tide’s symptoms, such as wheezing and coughing.

“The water is mediocre, but you can still enjoy the beach,” Wiseman said.

Canadian residents Sheena McCrate and Carolyn Coady visited the area for Ed Sheeran’s Tampa concert last Wednesday. On their first day at the beach, persistent coughing indicated red tide’s presence, but more recently, they said, it’s been fine.

“This is nothing impactful,” McCrate said. “The beach has been busy all weekend and we’ve been in the water almost every day.”

Mote makes its pick

As the Karenia brevis bloom of red tide continues to be cause a financial and recreational headache for Florida’s coast, More Marina Laboratory announced Tuesday that it has chosen a scientist to head its newly formed Red Tide Institute.

Dr. Cynthia Heil leads a research program at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Maine that focuses on water quality, harmful algal blooms and ecosystem management, according to a press release. She is also a former FWC scientist who worked on algal bloom research at USF’s College of Marine Science.

One of Heil’s main endeavors will be researching mitigation of red tide symptoms. In her research at Bigelow, she looked into using substances that could alter water surface tension and bubble formation to help reduce algal toxins that enter the air.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the world-class scientists on Karenia again,” said Heil, who will join Mote on Jan. 1. “Through Mote’s new Red Tide Institute, I hope we can begin finding practical solutions to alleviate the impacts of Florida red tide and safeguard human health and our marine environment.”