Red tide found in water samples from Southwest Florida to Pinellas County

Some dead fish spotted in canals in Venice

Kimberly Kuizon reports

VENICE, Fla. - Red tide has been detected in Southwest Florida and offshore in some areas from south Sarasota County to Pinellas, and researchers are monitoring it.

Nancy Hanson's nose let her know something wasn't right off her Venice balcony. She said she first noticed the smell and started coughing right before last weekend, and her eyes confirmed what her nose was smelling a few days later.

"This week is when all the dead fish started accumulating in the canal, and it was a horrendous smell," said Hanson.

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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Red Tide Status map confirmed that low counts of red tide were found a few miles offshore from the Venice Inlet and off the Venice Fishing Pier. Local beaches like Lido, Longboat and Anna Maria remain in the clear with no dead fish found and only low levels of red tide being observed.

"We didn’t get a lot of rain fall with Milton or Helene. We certainly did with Debby and the further you can get away from the man-made nutrient loads that can exacerbate a red tide, the better it will be," said Dr. David Tomasko, the director of the Sarasota Estuary Program. "So, this wind seems to be pushing the red tide farther away from land, which is good for us in the bay and our beaches."

Tomasko has been collecting water samples and said Sarasota Bay showed no evidence of red tide or bacteria. For the last month, he said a large bloom was present off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico, but winds continue to keep it offshore for the most part.

"We aren’t really seeing evidence of red tide along our beaches, and we aren’t picking it up in our bay," Tomasko said. "It doesn’t mean it’s not there. It’s certainly not big enough to interfere with your vacation or your weekend."

To view the FWC’s red tide status map, click here.

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