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After a week of declining red tide concentrations, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says levels are on the rise again.
In a report released on Friday, officials said the concentration of Karenia brevis red tidal organisms are between 5 and 25% higher than last week. Last week, the agency said the conditions had improved by more than 25%.
Bottom-to-middle concentrations of red tide algae blooms were found in 13 off-shore samples of manatees, the CC said. In Sarasota and Manatee, experts have detected traces of Trichodesmium, a cyanobacterium that scientists believe can merge with K. brevis to form a "brown tide" was detected 10 miles off the coast.
Officials say that tropical storm Gordon probably created surface currents that displaced the proliferation of the red tide toward the northwest.
In Sarasota, red tide levels are 5 to 25% lower than last week. Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County is issuing a non-bathing notice at Caspersen Beach and Bird Key Park Beach due to high levels of enterococci.
The red tide continues to be a nuisance for environmental, economic and recreational reasons along the Gulf Coast of Florida. Scientists say they do not know exactly when algae will dissipate, but blooms usually peak in September or October.
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