Red Tide Worsens On Florida Gulf Coast From Clearwater To Everglades City; Fish Kills In 9 Counties [View all]

[hatrack]

EDIT

In most places, with the wet season winding down and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers easing up on releasing polluted water from Lake Okeechobee, the toxic algae that had become a key election year campaign issue had dropped to relatively low levels. Fish kills were down and so were the coughing fits among beach-goers.

But in the weeks following the storm, red tide that is already considered the worst in a decade has roared back.
On Monday, state wildlife officials logged high to medium levels along beaches from Clearwater to waters off Everglades City and in the Panhandle. Fish kills were reported in nine counties from the Panhandle around the tip of the state to the Space Coast. Along the Atlantic coast, levels capable of killing fish and causing respiratory distress remained along Cocoa Beach and in Martin County, but had dropped from Friday to Monday along other stretches of the Treasure Coast.


EDIT

While hurricanes can mix up the ocean and sometimes even provide a healthy flush — following Hurricane Irma guides in the Key and Ten Thousands Islands happily reported a surge in fish — red tides require more than a one-time flush. Polluted run-off from a storm’s heavy rain or retreating storm surge also likely provide the blooms with an injection of fuel. As Michael crossed the Gulf as a fierce Category 4 storm, Shay said temperature data show heavy mixing occurred across the long steep slope of the Florida Shelf where the red tide algae, Karenia brevis, live. Water from the shelf was then pushed ashore as Michael passed to the right, he said.

Michael, Shay said, in effect did the opposite of Hurricane Irma, which occurred in September 2017 a month before Mote Marine Laboratory scientists first detected red tide off Sarasota in October, and he suspects helped trigger the current bloom: As it slid up the coast, Irma sucked water off the coast and sent algae-laden water from the bottom ashore.

EDIT

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article221148120.html