SARASOTA, Fla. — A harmful red tide bloom in the gulf has not let up and continues to creep up the Tampa Bay area coast. It has impacted some early spring break season plans for many.
Over the next 36 hours, health officials say to expect a high risk of respiratory irritation from the red tide at some beaches.
There are high concentrations of Karenia brevis, the organism that causes red tide, as far north as the Dunedin causeway.
Similar levels are present at Clearwater Beach and Treasure Island in Pinellas county and at some beaches in Manatee and Sarasota counties. At Lido Beach, it was practically empty with a few people and the air was overpowered by the stench of dead fish that had washed up ashore.
It's not a comforting sight for many vacationers and tourists and business owners have said they are feeling the pinch.
"The air quality is bad. The stench is bad. The whole thing is bad," Julie Joe, a tourist whose daughter was hospitalized recently with respiratory symptoms caused by red tide, said.
For many tourists, especially first-timers like Joe, the situation has been frustrating.
The red tide bloom was first detected in August and has continued to persist in the moderate to high range and has fluctuated in impact and intensity depending on wind patterns.
The toxins are not just bad for marine life, they are incredibly bad for people, especially with long-term exposure.
"It's not very pleasant and I don't think it's very healthy and I don't think I'm going to stay out too long," Joe said.
In Manatee County, teams have been actively monitoring and responding to the red tide along the coast since November. County officials said they have removed a ton of dead fish from area beaches.
They also said in the last month alone, as the impact increased, crews have collected about 7,000 pounds of fish from the beaches and waterways.
The situation is impacting many of the boating and kayaking activities and services.
"These natural occurrences happening during spring break is the worst time ever especially when we are having some of the best weather," Kerry Daniel of Suncoast Adventure Tours and Charter boats said.
Since 2010, Daniel has operated his boat charter tours in Osprey. While he recalled two other red tide blooms that were much worse than the ongoing, he said the situation is still too inconveniencing.
"This is more annoying than anything right now because some days it's fine out here, there's no problem at all and then some days it seems to come back," Daniel said.
Daniel said he and some of his friends in the local boat charter and tour business have had a number of cancellations. For himself, he admits the impact has not been major because of tourists' demand for tours and vacation experiences but would prefer not to deal with it in the first place.
"If you don't want to go out or you've got respiratory problems underlying issues, you may not want to get out on the water. I'm just kind of letting them know what to expect and if people want to cancel, certainly we're not holding them to that reservation," Daniel said.
In addition, Sarasota Memorial Hospital has reported that they are seeing a slight uptick in respiratory issues from the red tide at their urgent care facilities.
Officials said the key is to plan by using frequently updated apps to find locations with the least impact.