Red tide continues to bring fish kills, breathing irritation to Anna Maria Island

Red tide’s patchy presence around Anna Maria Island and coastal Manatee County continues this week, with fish kills and breathing irritation caused by the harmful algal bloom documented at varying levels around the island.

County staff continue daily cleaning efforts to get dead fish off of the beaches. As of Wednesday, more than 40 tons of red tide-related debris, including dead fish, had been sent to the landfill.

Tourists and locals who have shared their experiences on social media have mixed accounts of the red tide conditions. Despite sprinklings of dead fish and areas of murky water, many say they have still been able to enjoy their time on the island. Others say the red tide-laced air has induced coughing in some beach areas.

The latest water samples reported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission show that algae levels are still strong in area waters.

For the first time during the current red tide event, a “high” concentration of Karenia brevis, the organism that causes red tide, was detected at the north end of the island. The sample, collected Monday near Rod and Reel Pier in Anna Maria, showed K. brevis counts of more than 1 million cells per liter.

On Monday, medium levels of red tide also were documented around the middle of the island near Holmes Beach and to the south of the island around Bradenton Beach. Three of those samples were collected on the Intracoastal side of the island, and one was collected on the Gulf side.

Low levels of algae were documented in Palma Sola Bay as well is in two samples in the Gulf of Mexico, west of Anna Maria Island.

Pinellas County, which has been experiencing the worst red tide impacts in the Tampa Bay area, is finally getting some relief this week as levels of the toxic algae recede near the shoreline.

Meanwhile, red tide still maintains a strong hold on shorelines to the south of Manatee County. Bloom levels of K. brevis were observed up and down Sarasota County’s coastline in recent days, including high concentrations around Longboat Key, Lido Key and at the south end of Casey Key.

Red tide forecast and conditions

Over the weekend, a forecast from the University of South Florida and the Florida Wildlife Research Institute showed that red tide might be waning around Manatee County. However, the latest models predict bloom concentrations could linger around Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key and coastal Manatee County through at least Saturday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has recently launched a respiratory conditions forecast that allows people to check up-to-date red tide conditions on individual beaches. As of Wednesday afternoon, very low to moderate levels of irritation were predicted for beaches on Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key. See the latest respiratory forecast at habforecast.gcoos.org.

Mote Marine Laboratory also provides daily updates on the red tide impacts via its beach conditions tracker, which is updated by lifeguards. See the latest reports at visitbeaches.org.

Red tide safety

The Florida Department of Health offers the following advice for people who visit beaches that may be affected by red tide:

• Do not swim around dead fish.
• If you have chronic respiratory problems, consider staying away from the beach as red tide can affect your breathing.
• Do not harvest or eat molluscan shellfish or distressed/dead fish. If fish are healthy, rinse fillets with tap or bottled water and throw out the guts.
• Keep pets and livestock away from water, sea foam and dead sea life.
• Residents living in beach areas are advised to close windows and run their air conditioner (making sure that the A/C filter is maintained according to manufacturer’s specifications).
• If outdoors, residents may choose to wear paper filter masks, especially if onshore winds are blowing.

This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 6:15 PM.