Red Tide Status Update: 1/29/25

Over the past week, red tide was detected in 34 samples collected from Florida’s Gulf Coast. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were observed in five samples from Southwest Florida: one from Charlotte County and four from Lee County. 

We continue to use chlorophyll satellite imagery (USF, NOAA NCCOS) to track offshore patches suspected to contain K. brevis, although images for Southwest Florida have been obscured by cloud cover over the past few days. Based on satellite imagery from January 28, chlorophyll patches were observed to have intensified since last week, covering areas offshore of Charlotte, Lee, Collier, and Monroe counties. An ongoing, offshore research cruise has confirmed the presence of K. brevis in these areas of high chlorophyll signatures.

Additional details are provided below.

• In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to very low concentrations in Pinellas County, low concentrations in Hillsborough County, background to low concentrations in Manatee and Sarasota counties, very low and medium concentrations in Charlotte County, very low to high concentrations in Lee County, and background to very low concentrations in Collier County.
• In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at very low concentrations offshore of Hernando County.
• Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.

Fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were reported to FWC’s Fish Kill Hotline and other partners over the past week for Southwest Florida (Sarasota, Lee, Collier, and Monroe counties). 

Respiratory irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported over the past week in Southwest Florida (Sarasota, Lee, Collier, and Monroe counties). For forecasts that use FWC and partner data, please visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Gulf of Mexico Harmful Algal Blooms Forecast.

Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides for Pinellas County to northern Monroe County predict variable movement of surface waters and net southeastern transport of subsurface waters in most areas over the next 3.5 days.

The next status report will be issued on Friday, January 31. Please check our daily sampling map, which can be accessed via the online status report on our Red Tide Current Status page. For more information on algal blooms and water quality, please visit Protecting Florida Together.

This information, including maps and reports with additional details, is also available on the FWRI Red Tide website. The website also provides links to additional information related to the topic of Florida red tide including satellite imagery, experimental red tide forecasts, shellfish harvesting areas, the FWC Fish Kill Hotline, the Florida Poison Information Center (to report human health effects related to exposure to red tide), and other wildlife related hotlines.

To learn more about various organisms that have been known to cause algal blooms in Florida waters, see the FWRI Red Tide Flickr page. Archived status maps can also be found on Flickr.       

The FWRI HAB group in conjunction with Mote Marine Laboratory now have a facebook page.  Please like our page and learn interesting facts concerning red tide and other harmful algal blooms in Florida