PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — After nearly six months, the latest report from FWC shows that red tide is pretty much gone from the Bay area.
- Bay area beaches clear of red tide
- Perfect timing for holiday weekend
- No levels of bloom present in Manatee, Pinellas counties
- FWC Red Tide Status
A few weeks ago things started looking and smelling much better on Pinellas County beaches, however, Manatee County was still experiencing some red tide impacts.
Now, both counties are seeing water levels with background to no levels of the bloom present.
After what was a rough year of on and off impacts.
Beaches in both counties experienced large fish kills for days, even weeks at a time. Dead sea turtles, manatees, and dolphins washed ashore, many of their deaths caused by the bloom.
For the state as a whole, 16 dolphins died from red tide.
Scientists have had their hands full studying each of their deaths to collect data and hopefully lean ways to mitigate the impacts from the toxic bloom.
USF researchers have been studying conditions further off shore since the bloom began dissipating.
What they found is that the concentrations off shore are lower than they previously were.
One researcher said he's optimistic this is a sign that we've seen the worst of the ongoing bloom.