Red tide fish kill hits South County beaches
Red tide has been detected at Stump Pass in Englewood. The algae bloom has caused a fish kill on the beach noticeable last week.
PHOTO / MATT HOUSTON
Staff report
Herald Tribune
Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 1:45 p.m.
FL-
More than seven tons of dead fish have been scooped from Sarasota County beaches in just two days, as a persistent bloom of toxic red tide algae plagues the coastline.
The bloom is mostly lingering offshore of Charlotte Harbor, but patches of the algae also have been found as far south as Lee County and as far north as Manatee. Although dead fish have washed ashore as far north as Casey Key, the epicenter of the carnage is Manasota Key, which is shared by Charlotte and Sarasota counties.
The bloom began affecting the region last week and is the first since 2007 to have wide-ranging and lingering impacts. Red tide wreaked havoc in Southwest Florida around this time last year, but reports of dead fish were spotty.
The good news is that winds should begin to blow the bloom and the dead fish offshore in the coming days, said Jason Lenes, research associate at the University of South Florida.
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