Manatee County and Longboat Key staff will be collecting fish from Longboat Key’s entire 10-mile stretch of beach on Thursday and Friday, March 9 & 10.  We appreciate the collaboration and support from Manatee County in the fish kill cleanup efforts. 

Red tide persists from Naples to the Tampa Bay area.  Respiratory irritation experienced is not related to the fish kill itself, but the result of the surf and wave action on the beach creating aerosolized algae toxins which become airborne and carried by the wind.  Winds from the North and East tend to push those aerosolized toxins offshore thus alleviating some of the respiratory issues related to red tide.  Offshore winds from the South and West tend to push it across the island

 The most current information on red tide can be found by visiting Florida Fish & Wildlife website at https://myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/

Mote Marine & Research Laboratory reports current Beach Conditions on their website at https://mote.org/research/program/environmental-health/beach-conditions-report-red-tide-information

NCCOS, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science is a great resource as well https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/science-areas/stressor-impacts-mitigation/hab-forecasts/gulf-of-mexico/

The Town’s website also has links to the Department of Health and to other valuable resources  www.longboatkey.org