Red Tide In Waters Along Pinellas County Beaches
If you were planning on hitting the beach this weekend, take into consideration that bloom levels of red tide have been identified in waters in our Tampa Bay area.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a hand full of fish kills have been noted since Friday.
This week samples were taken off Indian Shores, Pass-a-Grille, Redington Beach, and Redington Shores. They found medium concentrations of red tide bloom. This could’ve caused the fish kills.
Not only can red tide be harmful to fish and wildlife, but it can also affect humans. If you come in contact with red tide, it’s a good idea to wash your hands or body parts thoroughly. Red tide can also affect you from a respiratory standpoint. A cough, throat irritation, eye irritation are all common reactions. The Florida Department of Health explains that if you have respiratory-related issues, i.e. asthma, you should try to steer clear of red tide because you may experience more problems.
Tourism entities, such as Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, are keeping an eye on reports. And Visit St. Pete/Clearwater communicated with businesses on Wednesday. They asked for feedback on any fish kills and red tide issues.
They texted, “We understand that this couldn’t happen at a worse time given current high demand following a challenging 2020, but we’ll continue communicating as much real-time information to consumers and industry as possible on this page.”
For more on this story, click here.
Some of Tampa’s most incredible hurricane photos…
Remember when the water along Bayshore Boulevard disappeared?
