If you wind up in St. Petersburg/Clearwater area, you can catch a ferry from Ft. DeSoto to Eggmont Key for shelling.

quote:

Originally posted by sunburn:
See: https://www.google.com/search?...ap&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Clearwater is as far south as I would go. Friends on Sanibel told me last night that a line of vacationers were at several rental agencies screaming for a refund....

I know those are the current conditions, but is common for the rest of the coast to stay that way historically? Red tides have a tendency to last for a long time around Sanibel, but do they disperse quicker along the rest of the coast?

Stay as far away as you can.

quote:

Originally posted by sunburn:
Friends on Sanibel told me last night that a line of vacationers were at several rental agencies screaming for a refund....

Did the people get their refund? Have your friends been having any health effects from the red tide?

I'm betting a few credit card companies are getting calls about charges as well. I wonder if they will back people up?

Hacking, coughing , stinging eyes, nasty stinky air to breathe is standard for a strong red tide. No idea on refunds, just helping with due diligence before you want one.

I heard a county employee that spends a lot of time at the beaches as part of their employment has now died. Cause of death? Lung failure caused by red tide.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
I heard a county employee that spends a lot of time at the beaches as part of their employment has now died. Cause of death? Lung failure caused by red tide.

Wow. Was that on the news down there?

quote:

Originally posted by Ackks:

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
I heard a county employee that spends a lot of time at the beaches as part of their employment has now died. Cause of death? Lung failure caused by red tide.

Wow. Was that on the news down there?

Is that confirmed or is a brother's sister's former roommate told ya?

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Is that confirmed or is a brother's sister's former roommate told ya?

I couldn't find anything about it, but I'll be watching Spaceballs now.

I live on the east coast side near where the discharge algae bloom is. I travel to the west coast for work. I can tell you first hand that the media reports do no justice to the real thing. When you dilute the salinity of the local ecosystem with green water, shit gets bad.

The harmful algal bloom (HAB) tracking tool shows these maps of the projected trajectories for the upper and lower water columns.

http://ocgweb.marine.usf.edu/h..._water_column_R4.png

My parents were in Ft. Myers for a few weeks earlier this summer. They visited Sanibel and Ft. Myers beach. Said they heard about it on the news but didn't see anything at either of the beaches when they were there.

The local networks seem to cover it for a few seconds during their nightly broadcast, but they don't have much on their websites.

It is now hitting Anna Marie Island and projected to hit the Treasure Island/Clearwater area next. Fingers crossed it doesn't get stuck in the bay.

https://content.govdelivery.co...CC/bulletins/20440aa


FWC waives rules in response to red tide cleanup

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) continues to monitor the red tide affecting southwest Florida. Red tides are common along Florida’s Gulf coast, and fish populations have been resilient to the impact even after severe and prolonged red tide events.

At Gov. Rick Scott’s direction, the FWC has mobilized all available resources to mitigate naturally occurring red tide, and executive director Eric Sutton has waived rules through an executive order to expedite the removal of dead fish – regardless of applicable bag, size, or possession limits or of season or area closures – from shoreline, inshore or nearshore areas in the following counties: Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas.

Please do not remove sawfish, marine turtles, manatees, dolphins or whales. Report sick, injured or dead sawfishes to 1-844-4SAWFISH (472-9347). Report sick, injured or dead marine turtles, manatees, dolphins and whales to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-3922. Currently, we have over 30 biologists on site responding to the event.

“Having lived in south Florida for many years, I know how impactful these naturally occurring red tide events can be to local communities,” said Eric Sutton, executive director of the FWC. “We are actively working with local authorities in the most impacted areas and stand ready to provide assistance to local communities.”

Our research teams are assessing the impacts of the fish killed as a result of this event to inform potential management actions.

The Florida Department of Health suggests using gloves and, if experiencing respiratory issues, a mask, when participating in removal efforts. To learn more about the health effects of red tide, visit FloridaHealth.gov/, scroll over “Environmental Health” in the top blue bar and select “Red Tide” under the subheading “Water.” All dead fish and marine life must be disposed in compliance with local safety, health and sanitation requirements.

For specific details about FWC Executive Order 18-33, visit MyFWC.com/About and click on “Executive Orders.”

Some woman on a local Facebook page said it was caused by Trump's environmental policies .

Fish, marine mammal and sea turtle kills can start when levels reach 10,000 cells per liter, according to the FWC.

Levels in the Sanibel area have been measured at 100 million cells per liter and higher, according to the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation.

https://www.news-press.com/sto...lue-green/914596002/

I am blessed that my canal in Southwest Cape Coral has not been obviously affected. If I travel to the eastern shore you can smell it bad.

Most places have measured it at 2.5 million around Saninbel, but now they are saying 100? I don't know if I buy that one. That sounds a bit like wildlife people trying to get attention.