Local briefs, April 29, 2016

Manatee County snook season closes May 1

MANATEE -- Snook will close to all harvest in Gulf state, federal and inland waters, including Manatee County, starting Sunday.

Seasonal harvest closures conserve Florida's snook populations and help sustain and improve the fishery.

Snook is open to harvest in Atlantic state, federal and inland waters, including Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River, through May 31, closing June 1.

The Atlantic and gulf will reopen for recreational snook harvest Sept. 1.

Red tide clings to Southwest Florida coastline

MANATEE -- A bloom of the Florida red tide organism, Karenia brevis, persists along Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, and northern Lee counties in Southwest Florida, according to the Florida Wildlife Commission.

One sample collected from Okaloosa County in Northwest Florida contained background concentrations of K. brevis.

No fish kills were reported in Southwest Florida over the past week.

Forecasts for Southwest Florida by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides show net southern movement of surface waters and southern onshore movement of bottom waters between Pinellas and Lee counties over the next three days.

FWC: May starts sea turtle nesting season on beaches

MANATEE -- Sea turtle nesting season begins in May on Florida beaches and lasts through October.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recommends residents and visitors follow simple guidelines to help conserve sea turtles and hatchlings.

During nesting season keep your distance from nesting sea turtles and their hatchlings. In Florida, nests are usually marked with distinctive yellow signs and tape, but not always.

Don't shine lights on sea turtles or hatchlings or take photos of them -- including cell phone photos.

Turn off or adjust lighting along the beach to prevent nesting females or hatchlings from getting confused and going toward lights on land instead of the salt water where they belong. Use turtle friendly outside lights on homes and other buildings along the beach. Replace incandescent, fluorescent and high-intensity bulbs with FWC-certified low-wattage, long wavelength options in red or amber. Turn off outdoor lights at night when not needed.

Nesting mothers and hatchling sea turtles can get trapped or confused by beach furniture, which can cover sea turtle nesting areas. Bring furniture such as beach chairs, umbrellas, buckets and tents back to your house, condo or hotel at the end of the day and fill in holes or level piles of sand before nightfall.

Avoid burying umbrella poles in the sand. Use pole-holders or sleeves instead.

Properly dispose of any trash, food or other litter in covered trash cans to avoid attracting predators to the nests.

-- Herald staff reports

This story was originally published April 29, 2016 at 11:19 PM with the headline "Local briefs, April 29, 2016 ."