Marine scientists at Mote Marine Laboratory, the University of South Florida and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are monitoring a bloom of red tide in the northeast Gulf of Mexico that is slowly drifting to the south-southeast, a Mote press release said.
The release said the bloom is about 20 miles offshore between Pinellas and Dixie counties, about 90 by 60 miles.
“No impacts have been detected along the shore this week,” the Aug. 13 press release said.
Scientists are entering the area daily and testing the waters, the release continued.
Advisories on the movement of the bloom will be issued by Mote daily.
For updates on the red tide movement, the release said, people can go on the Internet to myfwc.com/redtidestatus.
A red tide is a higher-than-normal concentration of a microscopic alga, a plant-like organism. The species that causes most red tides in Florida is Karenia brevis (K. brevis).