ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Samples of red tide were detected in four counties within the Tampa Bay area, according to a report on Friday from the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Different levels of red tide concentrations were found in waters in Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties.
Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties all received background to medium concentrations of red tide while Hillsborough County only received medium concentrations.
Bloom concentrations were also detected in Tampa Bay area counties with one sample offshore of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties each, two in Sarasota County and four in Manatee County, FWC says.
Over the last week, reports of fish kills believed to be related to red tide were found in Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties. The listed three countries also received reports of respiratory irritation from the Beach Conditions Reporting System in the last week.
The next red tide status report from the FWC is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, Jan. 11. To learn more about red tide and water sampling, click here.