Listen:
Florida’s Harmful Algal Bloom Task Force met in St. Petersburg Tuesday and gave an update based on recent satellite images.
The task force was reactivated in 2019 by Governor Ron DeSantis to focus on strategies to research and control red tide.
They are monitoring Karenia brevis, the organism responsible for red tide.
Red tide occurs in the Gulf of Mexico and can irritate some people’s skin and breathing, and kill marine life.
Florida is still experiencing a patchy bloom. Katherine Hubbard is the task force chair.
“It’s been a very dynamic bloom, changing from day to day and week to week,” Hubbard said.
Satellite imagery from the University of South Florida shows a large reduction in the intensity of the bloom since it peaked after Hurricane Milton- But it also shows it has extended along the coastline.
“It seems to have sort of calmed down, at least, in intensity – but also extended across a bigger part of the coastline,” Hubbard said.
It also shows that it has moved south across the west coast of Florida, as far as the Keys.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation website showed low to no amounts of the red tide organism Karenia Brevis in Hillsborough and Pinellas County last week.
The task force discussed red tide mitigation efforts, including further water testing along the coast.
Leave a Reply
