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In anticipation of the holiday weekend, the beaches of South Florida seem so far to be spared from the worst of a toxic red tide.
Results released Friday in Broward County revealed only small amounts of algae responsible for the proliferation of red tides on two beaches, in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood. Earlier in the week, state officials confirmed moderate levels – enough to cause symptoms but not to close beaches – near Haulover Park in Miami-Dade County.
On the coast, in Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast, conditions were worse: significant amounts were found in a Jupiter Park with moderate clusters at Jupiter Inlet and the Loxahatchee River.
Miami-Dade officials closed beaches north of Haulover on Thursday after receiving late confirmation from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which is conducting red tide testing for # 39; State. But Mayor Carlos Gimenez has decided to reopen his beaches Friday before the Columbus Day weekend, after talking with environment and health officials about the results.
The reports provided by the county on Friday show the highest amounts of Karinia Brevis, the algae at the origin of the flowers, occurred near the nudist beach of the park. But if the quantities were classified as moderate, they barely crossed the threshold of 100,000 cells per liter, only 104,000 cells near the beach and 127,667 cells per liter off the coast.
The samples near Crandon Park, Miami Beach and North Shore Park were much lower.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which publishes health forecasts for the Red Tide, has advocated moderate respiratory disorders between Miami-Dade and St. Lucia counties, based on sampling and forecasting. wind and current. However, NOAA oceanographer Rick Stumpf, who helped create the newsletter, said the warnings were broad and the conditions were actually more uneven. A new forecast reflecting more precisely the conditions is being developed and should be ready this fall for the Gulf Coast.
"We have a goal for each beach every day, even though, realistically, it will not work that way," he said. "We are trying to push further towards the storm scenario, where you can have thunderstorms every day, but you have a radar that can tell you when."
The rare blooms along the Atlantic coast were probably carried by the Florida current of the Gulf of Mexico, where blooms have been raging for nearly a year, strewing dead fish beaches and emptying hotels, restaurants and restaurants. other waterfront businesses. The fish killed on the Atlantic coast have been dispersed until now. Dozens of dead fish have appeared over the weekend in Palm Beach County, where the flowers seem so far denser and the Florida current is getting closer to the shoreline.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, red tides have only appeared eight times on the east coast. They appear regularly in the Gulf, where seaweed germinates at the bottom of the Florida plateau before being thrown to shore, where coastal pollution can aggravate them. This year's red tide, which began off Sarasota in the fall, exploded in Pine Island Sound following heavy rains in May, which also resulted in the release of polluted water from Lake Okeechobee.
Red tides have been occurring in the Gulf every year since 1994. Florida Wildlife Conservation officials said that because of inconsistent controls, it was impossible to know if the tides would get worse.
Follow Jenny Staletovich on Twitter @jenstaletovich
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