Red tide, would it put you off?

[sophiepop]

We were there in 2018 and we always stay a couple of night in Clearwater and we didn't find it bad at all. I was expecting the worst too! We went to Johns Pass for a drive and noticed a few dead fish but again, the smell wasn't there at all.

We were October though so I'm not sure if the worst had passed by then?

[Sandra & co]

We were in Cape Coral in 2018, we had red tide and had a good time but my lot still swum and came out coughing. There were dead fish and we didn’t go to as many beaches as we planned. We had a lovely pool overlooking the water and boats going past so loved it anyway. If it’s just beach time I wouldn’t go but if you can do other things then do.

[babbymint]

Originally Posted by ChrisS

The summer of 2018 was exceptional as toxic cyanobacteria regularly released by the Corps of Engineers, from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River, which feeds into the Gulf of Mexico between North Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, clashed with red tide and caused a terrible time for W/SW Fl. Fort Myers Beach closed down, it was a ghost town, nobody visited and some businesses that closed didn't re-open. The stench from rotting marine life was sickening. All manner of marine life died, including a 15 foot whale shark which washed up on Sanibel. We winter on Bokeelia and bar plodging on/off the boat, as the general water quality is questionable our personal choice is not to go in Florida's oceans.

The following years haven't seen such serious issues, red tide remains in the Gulf, but then it always has, and the clean water campaign is strong and whilst we don't go in the oceans thousands happily do so without incident. The red tide situation quickly eases as sea temps drop but nobody can predict red tide Sept movements this far out.

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I've travelled to Fort Myers many times and never been affected thankfully.
I've looked at the archived maps and there seems to be no pattern to it - I kind of assumed it was related to temperature, but looking at the maps, some bad blooms have been in the cooler winter months too, while summer levels are ok! We (might be) spending some time on AMI this year, but now I'm not so sure!

[ChrisS]

Originally Posted by Moorlandman

DO NOT GO! We went to AMI island in July 2018 and it was terrible. I could barely breathe and I do not suffer from asthma. Water was awful so no swimming. Just avoid

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Have a word with yourself and stop scaremongering, it was three years ago when you encountered the worst situation seen in years due to 'perfect' circumstances - as said, 2018 was exceptional when Lake O releases clashed with red tide, and whilst it may occur in the future it has not occurred since.

[ChrisS]

Red tide, in general, is year round, but oft off coast, wind and tide dependent as to it's direction.

Don't let what occurred in 2018 put you off if you want to visit E/SW Fl. In circa 27 years of SW Fl travel I've been affected by red tide once, in 2003 [hubs was ok and he has a lung issue], when we were in a beach cottage on the private section of Manasotta Key beach - 'private beach' tends to mean the County don't collect/clean up washed up dead marine life. It was our first encounter, and whilst red tide itself is natural, scientists say there's evidence that massive blooms may be partly caused by human activities. For me the red tide affect were mild cold type symptoms.

We're content to stay on the island even when red tide is in, we don't go boating at that time but it's never affected us further, based on Pine Island's info site, the majority of islanders seem to manage RT too. It's purely our choice not to go in the bay/ocean water, but then we don't go in the UK's waters either.

[7SeasSailor]

I don't allow hurricanes or Red Tide to affect my planning. If either happens then I have to take the hit same as everybody else. I was in Rotonda West for 2018 and it was smelly but people lived just about on the beach and survived.

[tim17]

We were lucky in 2018 and missed the worst of it but the smell and sight of dead fish etc was something else, I wouldn't be put off but it without a doubt it could affect your holiday if you're staying close to the beach.

[TigerMom]

We went to Sarasota in 2018 and although Siesta Key was badly affected with virtually empty beaches the smell wasn't too bad. It didn't really affect us too much as that year we had hired a house with a huge swimming pool so weren't planning more than one beach day. We had been on the coast many times before that and a couple of times since but not had any problems with red tide.

[Moorlandman]

Originally Posted by ChrisS

Have a word with yourself and stop scaremongering, it was three years ago when you encountered the worst situation seen in years due to 'perfect' circumstance

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So you would spend thousands to go to AMI when redtide is forecast for late summer?

[Moorlandman]

Red tide along Bay area beaches is causing dead fish to wash ashore.

Roughly 300 dead fish were found along a half mile stretch of Indian Rocks Beach and cleared Thursday night. Local residents and beach goers are worried about the environmental impact.

Pinellas County health officials are warning the public that a red tide bloom has appeared along Pinellas coastal beaches.

Beachgoers have also been noticing respiratory impacts from the red tide.

"We notice each night that we're having more trouble, our eyes are getting irritated, it gets more difficult to breathe so we see the conditions are actually worsening everyday" said Cornely.

baynews9/fl/tampa/ne...y-area-beaches