16,000 Redfish to be Released throughout Florida Counties Most Affected by Red Tide

SARASOTA (WWSB) - One of red tide’s biggest victims was a popular species we find on the Suncoast - Redfish. The Coastal Conservation Association of Florida is now actively releasing thousands of these fish into our waters.

In hopes to bring the numbers back up, here’s a look at the process to tag and prepare the adult redfish for the red tide recovery plan.

The Coastal Conservation Association has been working with Duke Energy to produce this new generation of redfish in their maricultural center at Crystal River.

They will be releasing 16,000 of them in the eight counties of Florida that were affected the most which are Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties. Each county will receive 2,000 juvenile redfish ranging from four to six inches. Plus, also having 25 adult redfish that are between 21 and 31 inches.

The group has already began releasing the redfish in the northern counties, and will be releasing them locally in Sarasota Bay on March 6th.

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