Red Tide that bad??? (Miami, Tampa: allergies, live in, shop)

[beach43ofus]

Mote Marine Scientists do not know what causes it, but they do claim that nutrient rich water can make it worse.

The water being drained from Lake O is more closely associated with Green Slime Algae moreso than Red Tide. I've seen aereal video, and you can see the Lake O green slime coming out into the Gulf.

I read a news article that said this Red Tide Bloom season is the worst SW Florida has seen in 10 years, and some Crackers tell me its the worst one ever! This has been going on for more than 2 months now.

We also now have Red Drift Algae washing up on shore. I dont think its toxic like Red Tide or Green Algae, but I'm not certain. It sure looks bad in the water and on the beaches.

We have a 3 headed snake going on, and its hurting a lot of businesses along the SW Florida coast.

[macrodome2]

Originally Posted by DebbCo

I am wondering the same thing. We are house hunting in the Venice area in a couple of weeks. We are considering our location because of red tide. Is this just an unusual year or is it getting progressively worse?

Look at a map. The Caloosahatchee River/Canal runs from Lake O and empties into the Gulf at Ft. Myers/Cape Coral. Depending on which way the wind and tides are going it's either going to go up north to Venice or south to Naples. There has been so much nutrient rich water dumped into the Gulf in the past few months that the bloom is spreading from Sarasota to Naples at various times, but seems to have concentrated more in the northern Englewood to Sarasota area this year.

We have one beach in Englewood (Manasota) that has been fouled now for over 2 months. Most of June and all of July has been unswimable. Same with Venice Beach. Sharkey's restaurant at the Venice Pier has been loosing business since no one wants to go to a restaurant with the stench of death and coughing due to red tide.

Two years ago, the St. Lucie River which empties in Stuart had green sludge and dead fish in all the canals. That was the summer of 2016. Someone suggested it was not being done during season so as not to affect the tourist/snowbird season, but I think it's more likely because the summer is rainy season.

Everyone on the west coast is writing congressmen and state representatives, but we know that money talks. People vote party and this is a red area. There are two Republicans running for Governor. Ron DeSantis has not taken sugar money. Adam Putnam has taken lots of it. He is the Agricultural Commissioner, that ought to tell you something.

[Tetto]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

I read a news article that said this Red Tide Bloom season is the worst SW Florida has seen in 10 years, and some Crackers tell me its the worst one ever!

Crackers?! White folks?

[logybogy]

The main issue is the Herbert Hoover D-ike is delapodated and 80 years old. They need to release water because in a bad hurricane cat 4 or cat 5 hit the d-like it could fail and kill thousands in the surrounding communities like happened in the 1920's.

Not to mention the ecological disaster if the d-ike failing. It could potentially submerge all the western suburbs in dade, broward, and palm beach county with water.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

This is not just red tide - it is very severe and also toxic algae bloom and very, very bad - manatees are dying - someone posted a video of a dead momma manatee and the poor baby swimming beside it - Even Siesta Key is now bad - I went there yesterday and the water was so brown it was almost black and there were tons of dead fish - big dead ones too.

I am so worried and disgusted - all the beaches from Ft. Myers to Siesta Key are disgusting and empty - you would be an idiot to go in the water.

[Avalon08]

Originally Posted by PBToast

Having never been down during a red tide episode, we are not familiar with the situation in person. By prior years news reports it usually seemed to last about a month? Would that be correct? This year appears to be going on for about 2 months now? Do I have that right? Maybe I should write this down!



Have also read reports that compare 2018 to 2006. Can anyone say if in your experience it's only this bad every 10 or 12 years?


Just looking for more personal input from those living through it.


(I know about the Mote reports, and follow the gov data, looking for residents input). Thanks so much!

My beach is Anna Maria Island but I haven't been there in months, so I don't know if it's affected or not. I do know that a couple years ago, it did affect AMI. I got out of the car at a restaurant on the beach and immediately started coughing. There was literally ONE guy on the beach, when it should have been packed with sunset-watchers. I guess it didn't bother him.

[craigiri]

Bad News!
"The ongoing toxic algae bloom is considered to be the longest red tide outbreak for the Gulf of Mexico in over a decade, and officials say it will most likely last until 2019."

2019?

If this continues we are likely to sell our Sarasota place and look somewhere where the waters seem a bit safer from this.

[craigiri]

Originally Posted by macrodome2

Look at a map. The Caloosahatchee River/Canal runs from Lake O and empties into the Gulf at Ft. Myers/Cape Coral.
Everyone on the west coast is writing congressmen and state representatives, but we know that money talks. People vote party and this is a red area. There are two Republicans running for Governor. Ron DeSantis has not taken sugar money. Adam Putnam has taken lots of it. He is the Agricultural Commissioner, that ought to tell you something.

If people want to fix this they shouldn't "vote party" - and recent Florida History shows they don't (it's a purple state and the populated W. Coast Areas definitely so)....

It's much more complicated than "sugar money". How about "cattle money"? How about "cattle ranch owners wanting to sell to developers money"?

In the bigger picture it's about world view. Some (maybe many) people believe the almighty dollar and "my property rights" (even if in a swamp) trump the common good. Other believe there is a balance. Florida State government, which is really the only hope, is in the former camp (very Red an blatantly money and development driven..).

Knowing the players, my guess is that this shakes out in favor of everyone except the tourists. As large as tourism is, development mile inlands is MUCH bigger. Ag and Cattle and other interests combined with this will leave tourism in the dust.

Sure, you'll still have plenty of tourism in Tampa and Orlando and Miami and elsewhere. But give the powers-that-be, the Sarasota area will have to "take one for the team" and grin and bear it.

Obviously that is my opinion, but if past is any prologue, it is what will happen. Tourists of the future can go to the mall and mote-inland and see "what it was like" in the olden days of clean beaches and water.

[jean_ji]

Originally Posted by craigiri

Bad News!
"The ongoing toxic algae bloom is considered to be the longest red tide outbreak for the Gulf of Mexico in over a decade, and officials say it will most likely last until 2019."

2019?

If this continues we are likely to sell our Sarasota place and look somewhere where the waters seem a bit safer from this.

It is true this outbreak is the longest in a decade, is been 9-10 months long at this point already. You left out the decade before though. The longest Red Tide in that decade lasted for 12+ months during 2005 with a slight break and continued into 2006.
https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/08/u...d-tourism.html

I don’t fault you for wanting to leave, what is going on in the Gulf now is horrible. You likely will join many others here selling their homes, even if the Red Tide doesn’t continue. One time like this is already too much for many.

[craigiri]

Good general article - shows that environmental enforcement is trackable - and, of course, way DOWN in FL.

Commentary: Florida's great green algae disaster