algae bloom

This is the first confirmed report of red tide since last year. A plume had been spotted by satellite photo during the past week.

The outbreak of the harmful algal blooms has shown up in medium and high concentrations along the Gulf coast this month.

Red tide has been found at beaches along the Gulf Coast since shortly after Hurricane Ian made landfall. It is finally being pushed back out to the sea.

Winds from the north expected during a major cold front coming through Thursday should push the red tide offshore or back to the south, away from the beaches.

By analyzing nine years of data, Florida researchers confirmed what other scientists, activists, fisherman and others have observed anecdotally for years.

Researchers will look to sediments for information on past blooms and what they can tell us about today's events.

Blue-green algae blooms can impact human health and ecosystems, including fish and other aquatic animals. Many types of blue-green algae can produce toxins.

Whether or not researchers discover brevetoxins in the pesky flies, the results are expected to be scientifically relevant.

State wildlife officials say in their midweek report that toxic red tide blooms, which originally started in Southwest Florida, continue to spread north.

The pet's family had been boating on a canal that had algae toxin levels nearly three times higher than what is considered harmful to humans.