TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. – Red tide resurfaced with a vengeance on Pinellas County beaches this weekend.
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Dead fish and eel covered the coastline, with areas between Madeira Beach and Pass-a-Grille hit particularly hard where waters were reported to be dark and discolored, according to a chart on the county’s Facebook page.
Fish kills first began showing up on Pinellas beaches last week.
On an otherwise perfect beach-weather weekend, most spots along the coast were virtually empty.
“There's no one here. It's crazy. I've never seen the beach like this,” said Kara Devereux, who visited Treasure Island with her children Saturday afternoon.
At the popular beachfront bar Caddy's on the Beach, a sign in the window on Sunday said: "We have decided to close... for the safety of our staff and loyal guests."
"We know it's a natural thing that's going to happen to us and we have to deal with it as business owners running bars and restaurants on the beach but it's been a tough week or two," said Caddy's general manager Ken Hautmann.
"Hopefully people understand as fast as it comes, we hope it goes."
Hautmann said they hoped to be able to reopen on Monday.
County crews and contractors worked throughout the weekend removing dead sea life both onshore and off.
Crews are expected to continue cleanup efforts Monday morning.
Conditions seem to improve somewhat farther north toward Clearwater Beach, where cloudy water was being reported, and south toward Fort DeSoto Park, where clear water and a mild odor was being reported.
The most recent water samples collected and tested by the county on Sunday showed at least medium levels of red tide present along nearly the entire Pinellas County coastline.
Pinellas County's beach conditions site is being updated twice daily — in the morning and afternoon. You can check the conditions, here.
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