ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Pete is dealing with a red tide outbreak, and loads of dead fish are being removed from its shorelines and waterways.
St. Petersburg Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin said in a tweet Friday that 25,000 dead fish have been removed from St. Pete, including 15,000 in the past 24 hours.
"Please be patient as our dedicated servant leaders work to clean our waterways," the deputy mayor wrote.
This comes at Pinellas County is seeing the highest concentrations in the state of Karenia brevis, the algae that causes red tide, according to the latest report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The map shows high levels focused around St. Pete's coastal areas.
The update also mentions reports of fishkills related to red tide in Pasco, Pinellas, and Hillsborough counties as well as respiratory irritation in Pinellas and Sarasota counties.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) says it is too early to say if the fish washed up by Hurricane Elsa were killed by red tide, but FWC has seen recent ride tide fish kills along Bayshore.
It's also too early to say whether the winds from Elsa were able to push red tide cells out farther into the gulf or bring them in closer to shore.
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