Low red tide detected off Charlotte County coast

Water sample results show red tide has been found off the coast of Charlotte County, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Samples taken in the Manasota Key and Placida area show “low (>10,000–100,000) red tide populations.

Watch Fox 4’s Alex Orenchuk’s report on red tide in Charlotte County:

Low red tide detected off Charlotte County coast

Although samples taken in late October showed concentrated red tide off the county’s coast, there were a few fish kills and reports of respiratory irritation.

Fox 4.

“It was scary for a couple of days, I mean we had a few days with some pretty good fish catches,” said Capt. Ed Glorioso ofEvil hooks for fishing.

Despite moderate presence Red tide confirmed near Placida Glorioso said he hasn’t seen much impact on the water or fish populations.

“We had one little scare that lasted two or three days and then it kind of went away,” Glorioso said. “Luckily we had strong easterly winds that helped push everything out and hold it in, so it went better than expected this year.”

Fox 4.

Brandon Moody, the county’s water quality manager, said he hopes the nutrients that fuel red tide blooms weren’t as abundant in the water after Hurricane Milton as after past storms such as Hurricane Jan.

“We’re hoping that the amount of nutrients that contributed to the red tide bloom after Jan won’t be there, hopefully not after Milton,” Moody said.

Even though the impact is minimal so far, Glorioso, a member of Captains for Clean Water, told Fox 4 he advocates for better water management in the event of future hurricanes.

“We’ve had such an influx of people, but the way we handle water has largely remained the same,” Glorioso said. “So we really need to look at how we manage water during these hurricanes, before and after them to really keep us from having problems again.”