Dear Friends & Neighbors,

2016 NASA imagery showing an algal bloom on Lake Okeechobee (Public Domain, Presented at: WindermereSun.com)

Red Tide current status map, as of June 5, 2020 (https://myfwc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=87162eec3eb846218cec711d16462a72, Presented at: WindermereSun.com)

(Please click on red links & note magenta)

For updated global info & data on COVID-19, please click HERE.

For updated global data & graphs on COVID-19, please click HERE.

For COVID-19 cases and death counts in USA by state, please click HERE.

For COVID-19 cases in Florida, please click HERE.

Just received a message about the Red Tide, in italics, below:

Current Conditions
The red tide organism, Karenia brevis, was observed in one Southwest Florida sample over the past week. Additional details are provided below.

• In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was present at very low concentrations in Manatee County.
• In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
• Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.

No fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were reported over the past week (please see https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/health/fish-kills-hotline).

No reports of respiratory irritation were received over the past week.

Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides for Pinellas to northern Monroe counties predict net northwestern transport of surface waters and variable movement of subsurface waters over the next four days.

The next complete status report will be issued on Friday, June 12^th. Please check our daily sampling map, which can be accessed via the online status report on our Red Tide Current Status page. For more information on algal blooms and water quality, please visit Protecting FloridaTogether.

This information, including maps and reports with additional details, is also available on the FWRI Red Tide website. The website also provides links to additional information related to the topic of Florida red tide including satellite imagery, experimental red tide forecasts, shellfish harvesting areas, the FWC Fish Kill Hotline, the Florida Poison Information Center (to report human health effects related to exposure to red tide), and other wildlife related hotlines.

To learn more about various organisms that have been known to cause algal blooms in Florida waters, see the FWRI Red Tide Flickr page. Archived status maps can also be found on Flickr.    

The FWRI HAB group in conjunction with Mote Marine Laboratory now have a facebook page.  Please like our page and learn interesting facts concerning red tide and other harmful algal blooms in Florida.

Florida’s red tide task force is preparing to give new recommendations to state lawmakers on how to prevent red tideFlorida’s red tide task force is preparing to give new recommendations to state lawmakers on how to prevent red tide, in the video “Florida’s red tide task force set to deliver new recommendations to state lawmakers“, below:

In April of 2020: It is early April, and we are already seeing algae blooms starting in and around Lake Okeechobee. It has been very warm with not much rain for the first three months of 2020. We have been spraying the aquatic plant life that filters nutrients out of water. By killing the plants, we kill mother natures filtering of the water.  With no plants to filter the water, algae start to feed on the nutrient-rich water. I think 2020 will be a very bad year for us, in the video “Blue/Green Algae and Red Tide Forecast for 2020“, below:

The state has wetlands that were built with taxpayer money and they’re doing a great job of cleaning the water. The problem is that less than a quarter of the water being treated there is actually from the lake, most of it is from sugar farms, in the video “Scientists say Florida has the solution to red tide“, published in October, 2018,  below:

In Florida, a toxic algae bloom that began last fall has killed dolphins, sea turtles, manatees, even a whale shark. And the toxins are not only devastating to wildlife, but difficult for humans and the economy as well. William Brangham reports from Sanibel Island on the slow-moving catastrophe, in the video “Florida’s toxic red tide is a perfect storm for the Gulf Coast“, published in September, 2018, below:

In October of 2018: From rising sea-levels to toxic algae, Florida voters have a host of water problems on their minds this election season. Governor and Republican Senate candidate Rick Scott saw his poll numbers slide as ‘red tide’ algae bloomed. Scott’s critics blame him for cuts to environmental programs. His supporters say a Scott win may mean more help from the Trump administration. Lisa Desjardins reports, in the video “Will ‘red tide’ algae in Florida turn some Republican voters ‘blue’?” below:

Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com

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