TAMPA, Fla. — Blue green algae blooms have been reported in Tampa Bay waters and up and down the coastline.

So what would it take for officials to make the call to shut down beaches?

Officials told Spectrum Bay News 9 shutting down beaches will be highly unlikely.

The Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center said it's really hard for them to even envision a scenario like that.  They told us even during last year's red tide crisis no measure such as a complete beach closure was considered.

Only certain areas were closed off, not all of the beach areas. Officials said the algal blooms in Tampa Bay are not like the ones in Mississippi, which closed off all its beaches. 

To clarify, their 44 miles of water access are shut down — the beaches are still open.

Comparing the incident maps from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Protection to Florida's similar agency, the algal blooms near Tampa Bay waters are different.

While algal reports are scattered around Tampa Bay waters and especially more prevalent in Manatee and Sarasota counties, its toxicity is nowhere near what Mississippi is experiencing.        

A big reason for that is the cause of the bloom likely comes from Mississippi River discharge which flows straight into the Magnolia State's beaches.