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On Monday, August 6, 2018, work crews are cleaning dead fish along Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach, Florida. From Naples, in southwestern Florida, about 135 kilometers to the north, oil spills have invaded beach communities along the Gulf Coast. (AP Photo / Chris O & Meara)
- The storm's windward wind has helped disperse the flowers that have killed thousands of sea turtles and other marine animals in recent months.
- Some areas of Sanibel tested less than one million cells per liter for the first time in two months.
- Officials warn, however, that relief on beaches in the area will likely be temporary.
Tropical Storm Gordon has helped keep the tide away from the shoreline of southwestern Florida, mitigating the effects on beaches in the area where dead fish washing on the ground and noxious odors have recently become the norm. But scientists warn that relief can only be temporary.
The earth wind of the storm helped disperse the flowers that killed thousands of sea turtles and other marine animals in recent months.
Rick Bartleson, a water quality scientist from the Sanibel-Captiva Foundation for Conservation, told Fort Myers News-Pressthat, which causes the red tides, was out of order throughout the region.
"The samples I've examined are very little concentrated," said Rick Bartleson, a water quality scientist at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. "Last Friday, they totaled about 40 million cells per liter and, at Beach Access 1, they are only 40 000. Algiers, Saturday, had 41 million individuals and in three days, 200 000, a drop of 99%. "
According to a report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the red tide was almost undetectable this week in Collier County. In neighboring Lee County, concentrations in the water fluctuated between background levels and 1 million cells per liter.
Some areas of Sanibel tested less than one million cells per liter for the first time in two months.
Generally, marine wildlife can die and respiratory irritation can occur in humans when the cell count reaches 10,000 cells per liter, according to FWC.
(MORE: Water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine rise to record levels after an ocean heat wave)
Even before the storm, a week of offshore winds dispersed the red tide.
During the Labor Day weekend, the beaches previously covered with dead fish were clean and the harmful odors from the red tide had disappeared.
"We were expecting something, the worst"Roy and Pam Oehme, who were visiting Lido Beach, told WWSB.
"When we arrived here, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that there was not too much on the beach," said Oehme. "It was very clean, there was no smell.We kept hearing that even inland, there was a horrible smell, but now these last days, we came here, it was good. "
According to Vincent Lovko of the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, the good news may be short-lived, especially considering this is the time of year when red tides are generally forming off Florida.
"Last Sunday, there was a satellite image that still indicates a strong and intense flowering along the west-central coast of Florida, "Lovko told WWSB." All the way from Pinellas County up to Collier and towards the Keys. "
Red tides caused by Karenia brevis occur naturally and usually develop 10 to 40 miles off the coast in Florida in the fall. The Marine Laboratory and Aquarium notes that there is no direct link between nutrient pollution and the frequency or severity of red tides in Florida. However, when red tides move closer to the coast, they can use artificial nutrients from runoff for growth.
The last bloom occurred in the waters off Lee County, near Fort Myers, in October 2017, but has expanded to include waters just south of Tampa Bay to the border. between Collier and Monroe.. It was the longest bloom since 2006.
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