Sarasota County Red Tide update, Aug. 2

Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources (PRNR) staff continue to monitor and assess public beaches and access points for seaweed accumulation and red tide impacts. See below for today’s conditions report:

Red Tide is present at all 16 beaches in Sarasota County, and patrons will see red tide notification signs posted. As staff evaluated beach conditions today they noticed similar red tide impacts from Friday, and through the weekend, reporting mostly minor and moderate respiratory irritation and marine debris.

There are no Red Tide cleanup operations underway/planned for today, but staff will continue to evaluate conditions daily to determine if the beach cleanup policy/operation will be activated.

Staff identify and update red tide impacts on county beach daily after 11:30 a.m., on the Red Tide status report page, using the following conditions, which are also used for beach cleaning operations criteria:

• Major – debris fills greater than one 5-yard truck per two-mile continuous section of beach.
• Moderate/Major – debris fills approximately one 5-yard truck per two-mile continuous section of beach.
• Moderate – debris observed is approximately 2.5 – 5-yards per two-mile continuous section of beach.
• Minor/Moderate – debris observed is approximately 2.5-yards per two-mile continuous section of beach.
• Minor – debris observed is less than 2.5-yards per two-mile continuous section of beach.
• None – normal conditions.

The beach cleanup policy was approved by the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners in 2013, to provide direction for managing the removal of seaweed, dead fish and other marine debris left behind from storms and tidal changes. The policy allows Sarasota County to collect/remove marine debris manually or mechanically that span more than two-miles of public beach and are not naturally removed by tidal cycles.

Community members are encouraged to register for the Red Tide Newsletter by clicking the red button on the top right of the scgov.net Red Tide webpage, and check beach conditions at visitbeaches.org.

For more information, visit scgov.net/redtide to view the Red Tide status report.