Red Tide Status Update: 2/28/25

Over the past week, red tide was detected in 46 samples collected from Florida’s Gulf Coast. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were not observed.

We continue to use chlorophyll satellite imagery (USF, NOAA NCCOS) to track offshore patches suspected to contain K. brevis, and images vary from day to day. Images from February 27 show slightly elevated chlorophyll levels offshore of the Panhandle region and from Pinellas to Monroe counties in Southwest Florida.

Additional details are provided below.

• In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to very low concentrations in and offshore of Pinellas County, background to low concentrations in and offshore of Hillsborough County, background to low concentrations in and offshore of Manatee County, background to low concentrations offshore of Sarasota County, background to very low concentrations in and offshore of Charlotte County, background concentrations in Lee County, and background concentrations offshore of Monroe County.
• In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background concentrations in one sample collected from Bay 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 (from and/or offshore of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Collier, and Monroe counties).

Respiratory Irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported over the past week in Southwest Florida (from and/or offshore of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, 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 net southwestern to southern 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 Wednesday, March 5. 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.       

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