Sarasota County staff, working with the Sarasota County Sheriff's Work Offender program, is scheduled to begin clean up operations to remove dead fish on Blind Pass Beach, 6725 Manasota Key Road, Manasota Key on Thursday and Friday. The dead fish are suspected to be the result of a red tide bloom located off shore in the Gulf of Mexico.

SARASOTA COUNTY - Signs of red tide are back at most of Sarasota County's beaches.

Sarasota County staff members working with non-violent offenders from the Sarasota County Sheriff's Offender Work Program have been deployed to Caspersen Beach, 4100 Harbor Drive, Venice, to remove dead fish that have washed ashore. Cleanup efforts also have been scheduled today for county-owned beaches, including Manasota Beach, Blind Pass Beach, Venice Beach and others. The suspected cause of the fish kill is a red tide bloom located offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.

ENGLEWOOD - Dead fish are causing a stink and respiratory problems at Blind Pass in Englewood.

SARASOTA COUNTY - Recent beach water samples collected by the Sarasota County Health Department and analyzed by Mote Marine Laboratory for the algae red tide (Karenia brevis) show a marked increase over test results from last week.

Clean up crews continue to haul off the dead fish lining some south Sarasota County beaches. About four and a half tons worth so far.