SARASOTA, Fla. — There's something a little fishy going on at our Sarasota County beaches.
Red tide has been detected in background to medium levels up and down the coast in samples taken on Tuesday.
It's the harmful algal bloom that can kill fish and cause respiratory illnesses in people.
Local health officials have issued an alert for people to use caution at nearly every beach in the county, including Lido Beach, Siesta Key Beach, Turtle Beach, Nokomis Beach, North Jetty Beach, Venice Beach, Service Club Beach, the Venice Fishing Pier, the Ringling Causeway, Brohard Park Beach and Manasota Key Beach.
Here's what health officials recommend:
- Do not swim or wade around red tide as it could cause skin irritation, rashes or sore eyes
- Stay away from affected beaches, especially if you have a chronic respiratory condition
- Close windows and run your A/C if you live in the area
- Do not eat molluscan shellfish or distressed fish from affected locations. If they are caught alive, some fish can be safe to eat as long as they're filleted
- Keep pets away from waters and dead sea life
Red tide isn't uncommon this time of year — especially given that the area was just hit with back-to-back hurricanes that could fuel the growth of the toxic algae.
While this certainly isn't good news, it doesn't mean you have to avoid the beach altogether. There are tools to check the conditions at specific beaches, including if there have been any reports of respiratory irritation or dead fish.
How to check for red tide
FWC's red tide map shows what level of red tide, from background to high, has been detected at each beach.
Mote Marine Laboratory's beach condition map allows you to see everything from sunset time to water temperature to crowd size to reports of debris, respiratory irritation, dead fish, etc.
FWC's red tide resource page explains the differences in what you can expect from background, very low, low, medium and high levels of red tide.
