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Red tide is on the march along beaches in the Tampa Bay area

Map of red tide along Pinellas, Sarasota and Manatee counties
karen.atwood
/
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Heavier concentrations were found this week at several beaches in Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties.

Anyone heading to the beaches in the Tampa Bay area might want to keep a watch out for red tide.

Heavy concentrations of the toxin were found this past week at four beaches in Sarasota County and at Anna Maria Island in Manatee County and Fort De Soto in Pinellas County.

In Sarasota, those locales are Manasota Beach, Brohard Beach, Venice Inlet and New Pass Dock on Sarasota Bay.

Fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were reported off Pinellas, and along Manatee and Sarasota beaches.

Respiratory irritation was also reported over the past week in Sarasota County.

Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides for Pinellas County to northern Monroe County predict northwestern movement of surface waters and southeastern movement of subsurface waters in most areas over the next 3½ days.

Map of red tide hotspots
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Map of red tide hotspots

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Steve Newborn is a WUSF reporter and producer at WUSF covering environmental issues and politics in the Tampa Bay area.
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