Fish kills and Red Tide blooms are being observed in more Florida counties, most recently in Northwest Florida.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission reports Red Tide blooms have now been spotted in Santa Rosa, Gulf, and Bay counties. The commission says Bay county has a “medium” concentration of the organism that causes Red Tide. There are also fish kills in Walton, Bay, and Gulf counties, along with reports of respiratory problems due to Red Tide in Gulf county.
The Florida Department of Health’s Joe Scully says, “The first thing is if you have any chronic respiratory issues you should definitely avoid areas where Red Tide is present; so asthma, COPD, emphysema, bronchitis.”
Neither organization could comment on the exact location of the Red Tide blooms.
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