TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is keeping a close eye on red tide popping up along the Gulf Coast. Red tide has been detected in samples from Pinellas County all the way down to Monroe County over the last week, according to the FWC.

What You Need To Know

  • FWC detected red tide in samples collected from Southwest Florida waters, including in Pinellas and Manatee Counties.

  • Red tide can cause skin and respiratory irritation, as well as dead fish, according to the FWC

  • Experts recommend checking red tide levels before going to the beach and using common sense if you're swimming in an area with red tide

Kate Hubbard, a research scientist with the FWC, said the agency has been tracking the red tide current since October, but the bloom concentrations they’re now seeing have developed over the past several weeks.

Even though it’s early in the calendar year, Hubbard said it’s actually normal to see red tide this year. The season typically starts in late summer, but can carry over into winter, Hubbard explained.

Hubbard said the red tide they’re watching is unpredictable and has already gotten stronger and weaker again.

“It’s not like we have a bloom throughout that entire area. It is still patchy and we are still seeing it change quite a bit from day to day,” she said. “It’s hard to say whether or not that trend will continue - whether it will continue to contract, expand or whether again my hope is that it will just start to contract and then go away. But we’re keeping a close watch on the entire state in case things go a different way.”

The main concerns with red tide are how it affects people’s health and wildlife. Even low to medium concentrations of red tide can cause respiratory irritation and dead fish, according to the FWC. Hubbard said dead fish have been reported in a number of areas.

“It’s just good to be mindful of the fact that there might be red tide around,” she said. “If people aren’t feeling well, it’s good to try to get into an air-conditioned area and air conditioning is generally good at filtering out some of those toxins.”

If you do head to a beach where there’s red tide, every person reacts differently to it, Hubbard explained.

As of Monday Feb 27, Hubbard said the bloom likely pushed back to the south, but she and her team continue to keep a close eye on how the wind and water circulation are moving it. 

“I hope that things will be much better, but the reality is I just don’t know,” she said.

The FWC has crews out sampling water frequently and Hubbard recommends beachgoers check red tide levels before heading to the water.