“Florida Gulf beaches are closed,” one erroneous Facebook comment read.
Another made the false claim that “the Gulf is blood-red with red tide.”
What next? Communist scientists manufactured and released K. brevisfrom a lab in China?
Red tide can be a menace, deadly to aquatic and avian life, harmful to human life, creating environmental and economic crisis.
But misinformation about red tide abounds on social media and elsewhere in the digisphere.
So it’s important for islanders to know where to turn to learn about the quality of our waters and the health of our beaches.
And, if you want to be an islander who does good, you can share knowledge and resources with vacationers and confused would-be visitors inquiring on that blasted Facebook about crimson waves washing over their island paradise.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission maintains the go-to resource page for red tide at myfwc.com/research/redtide. There people can find links to a map indicating K. brevis concentrations, weekly reports, forecasts and a fish kill database.
The fish kill database — useful to anyone heading out with a tackle box or wondering what’s floating in the canal — can be searched by county, date and “probable cause.”
From the phone, people can call 866-300-9399 and get an FWC red tide status report. For months, the status has been: “A patchy bloom of the red tide organism Karenia brevis persists …”
For those wondering if a scratchy throat is red-tide related, a useful resource is visitbeaches.org, maintained by Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota to provide beach conditions for many Florida destinations.
According to visitbeaches.org, the following conditions were observed Aug. 10 at Manatee Public Beach in Holmes Beach: calm surf, no crowds, no drift algae, slight respiratory irritation and “many” dead fish.
The same day at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach there were crowds, “some” dead fish and slight respiratory irritation.
The federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also offers a variety of tools for monitoring red tide, including a new Red Tide Respiratory Forecast that provides a near real-time prediction of whether beachgoers can expect red tide conditions on individual beaches at three-hour increments throughout the day.
Call up the forecast map at habforecast.gcoos.org to see information for the Rod & Reel Pier in Anna Maria, as well as Cortez Beach and the Coquina Beach boat ramps in Bradenton Beach.
The risk for respiratory irritation for 5 p.m. Aug. 12? Forecasted at “moderate” at all three locations but there would be days and times when the forecast would differ depending on the island location.
“Red tide impacts can be really variable because of wind patterns,” said Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, an environmental health scientist who conducted the first studies documenting the impacts of Florida red tide blooms on human health.
Kirkpatrick added, “There are very few days when all beaches will be affected by red tide and often your favorite beach is only affected for part of the day.”
So the respiratory forecast lets people see which beaches might be impacted by red tide and at what time of the day, allowing them to plan beach walks and other outdoor activities.
So use this tool and others to inform and guide.
As for facts about red tide, I’m partial to university webpages, including the University of Florida’s hot topics page at ifas.ufl.edu, which explains:
- Red tides are caused by a massive growth of tiny, microscopic algae.
- In Florida, microscopic algae named Karenia brevis often cause red tides.
- Karenia brevis is always present in the waters, usually in small numbers, and forms red tides when conditions are just right for growth.
- Red tides often begin in late summer or early fall, and can last for days to months.
- Red tides move and change shape with tides, currents and winds.
- Karenia brevis is a fragile algae and in rough conditions like surf it will break into small pieces and release noxious particles and chemicals into the air in wind-blown aerosols.
- Karenia brevis produces chemicals called brevetoxins, which acts on the nervous system. Brevetoxins can cause large fish kills by paralyzing fish and preventing them from breathing. And brevetoxins in wind-blown aerosols can affect breathing in people and their pets.