Red Tide Moving Up FL West Coast, As DeAthsentence Urges Visitors To Enjoy The Beaches

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A pile of dead fish is gathered on the bow of boat as crews use hand nets Thursday, June 17, in the intracoastal waters between Clearwater and Dunedin, Fla. Pinellas County had small boats retrieving dead fish in Dunedin and around Clearwater Harbor Thursday. The fish kill is attributed to the recent Red Tide bloom.


Plumes of toxic oceanic bacteria known as red tide continued to move up the western Florida coast, strewing thousands of dead fish on beaches while state officials tried to reassure Floridians and potential tourists Thursday that the outbreak was being taken seriously but isn’t as bad as it would seem. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday assembled a team of experts in St. Petersburg to describe the work that is underway to better understand and control the latest outbreak.

As the state’s economy continues to emerge from the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, images of beaches littered with dead fish could threaten to keep visitors from flocking to seaside communities during the July 4 holiday. The governor said it was important to let “folks know that these places are open.” “The hotels, the restaurants, the beaches are open,” he said.

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Much of the current outbreak of the red tide bacteria, Karenia brevis, is centered in the Tampa Bay area. Even low concentrations have the potential for killing fish. Higher concentrations could affect some people if they swim in the water or eat contaminated shellfish, including oysters. Fears over red tide prompted Florida officials late last month to briefly prohibit aquaculture farmers from harvesting in lower Tampa Bay, although the ban was lifted about 10 days later.

Experts assembled by the governor Thursday cautioned against linking the red tide outbreak to millions of gallons of polluted wastewater from an old fertilizer plant in Piney Point. The experts said it’s doubtful the wastewater, which contains elevated levels of nitrogen, caused the red tide but acknowledged that it could be compounding the problem by providing nutrients for the bloom. “I don’t think that the red tide was originated as a consequence of Piney Point,” said Tom Frazer, the state’s former science officer and dean of the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science.

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https://www.keysnews.com/ap/state/amid-red-tide-outbreak-florida-beckons-visitors-to-beaches/article_c3aec814-d0b1-11eb-988d-3bb8e3c388fb.html

[NCDem47]

1. DeSantis can sugarcoat it all he wants...

But when folks hit the beach and feel like they are inhaling ammonia, trust me, word will spread and crowds (read: $$$$$) will disappear.