Sarasota Bay, covering 22,523 acres, is a bay situated in Sarasota County, with the associated WBID(s): 1931, 1968B, 1968C.

The biggest, deepest bay between Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, Sarasota Bay is bounded by Sarasota, Lido Key, Longboat Key, Bradenton Beach, and Bradenton. Well flushed by three passes (Big Sarasota, New, and Longboat) the water is much clearer than in the smaller bays to the south. Improved drainage in the urban watersheds provides more fresh water than historical levels via Whitaker Bayou, Hudson Bayou, and Bowlees Creek. In cooperation with the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, the Southwest Florida Water Management District SWIM Program, the City of Sarasota, and many others, numerous improvements have been made in water quality, seagrass coverage, and habitat restoration in Sarasota Bay. It is an Outstanding Florida Water and shellfish harvesting is conditionally approved in some western portions.