Red tide detected off Pinellas, Hillsborough, Sarasota and Manatee counties
The organism that causes red tide, was detected in 49 samples along the coast of Southwest Florida. But bloom-level concentrations were present in just nine samples.
A week after the fall's first confirmed reports of red tide off the Pinellas County coast, data show concentrations elsewhere off the west coast of Florida.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report issued Friday afternoon, Karenia brevis, the organism that causes red tide, was detected in 49 samples.
However, bloom-level concentrations were present in just nine samples: five offshore of Pinellas County, two offshore of Manatee County and two offshore of Sarasota County.
Lower concentrations were seen in and offshore Hillsborough County and Lee County.
FWC officials say that patches of red tide are shifting daily because of winds and ocean currents.