Red tide improving, Sarasota officials say

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Beachgoers in Sarasota County are breathing easier as red tide seems to be dissipating, health officials said Tuesday.

As of March 21, while red tide “is present at Sarasota County beaches,” monitoring is showing continued improvement, the county said in a statement.

Over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to high concentrations in and offshore of Pinellas County, very low to medium concentrations in Manatee County, background to low concentrations in Sarasota County, and very low and low concentrations in Charlotte County.

Reports of fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were received over the past week from Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Lee, and Collier counties.

Respiratory irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported via the Beach Conditions Reporting System and/or the Fish Kill Hotline at multiple sites in Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Lee, and Collier counties.

For recent and current information at individual beaches, please visit https://visitbeaches.org/ and for forecasts that use FWC and partner data, please visit https://habforecast.gcoos.org/.

As part of regular beach maintenance operations, Sarasota County Parks Recreation and Natural Resources staff perform weekly beach raking at Siesta and Lido beaches throughout the year.

On Monday, March 20, routine mechanical beach raking occurred on Siesta Beach and on Tuesday, March 21, routine mechanical beach raking occurred on Lido Beach. Raking will occur Monday, Wednesday, Friday on Siesta and Tuesday and Thursday on Lido.