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Red tide heads south to Key West
By SUZETTE PORTER
Article published on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006 |
PINELLAS COUNTY - Only small traces of red tide have shown up in the last several water samples taken in Pinellas County waters by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.
Jeremy Lake, FWRI spokesman, said on Friday that the bloom has moved south. The latest reports show medium concentrations of red tide in waters around Key West.
However, just because the highest concentrations are currently being found in more southern waters, doesn't mean that the bloom has left Pinellas County for good, Lake said.
Lake said the red tide in Key West is part of the same bloom that is currently showing up in only trace amounts around Pinellas. But because it is the same bloom, it's possible for concentrations to go back up in Pinellas at any time.
Red tide is constantly moving with the flow of the water, he said. For example, water samples taken in Lee County mid-week did not detect much in the way of red tide. Water samples taken in the same areas at the end of the week showed low to medium levels.
"Red tide could be gone during December and then come back in January," Lake said. "It's just not possible to tell where it will go."
Lake said rumors that cooler temperatures can affect the bloom are not true.
"Temperature is not that much of a factor," he said.
Red tide has not been as big of a problem in 2006 compared to the bloom that persisted through 2005 and six months of 2004.
"This bloom is definitely not as virulent as last year's, which is good for the recovering ecosystem," Lake said.
According to the Dec. 8 report, concentrations of Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, were extremely patchy along the southwest Florida coast with levels at most alongshore locations ranging from not present to low.
A small area of medium concentration still existed near Gasparilla Pass in Charlotte County. K. brevis populations remained elevated at some offshore areas, with low concentrations detected 22 to 24 miles offshore of Sarasota County and medium concentrations detected about 15 miles north of Key West. A fish kill was reported in southern Collier County although a cause has not yet been determined.
The FWRI Red Tide Status Line, 866-300-9399, is now available to callers to hear a recording detailing red tide conditions throughout the state. FWRI updates the recording each Friday by 5 p.m. after sampling efforts for the week have been completed and analyzed.
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Article published on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006
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