Red Tide Confirmed In Miami-Dade County

MIAMI BEACH, FL — The presence of red tide has been confirmed in Miami-Dade County for the first time in years. County officials closed all beaches north of Haulover Inlet but left open beaches to the south, which incudes tourist-driven Miami Beach.

"We are taking this proactive step to ensure our residents and visitors are not affected as we collect samples in other areas for state testing," explained Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez.

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So far, the closures affect Haulover Park, Sunny Isles Beach and Golden Beach, which are the northernmost beach communities along the coastline before entering Broward County.

Those beaches were permitted to reopen on Friday.

See also Miami-Dade Beaches Reopen For Weekend Despite Red Tide

"We will continue to seek guidance from the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and take precautionary measures as needed," the mayor added. The samples were collected by the Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, Environmental Resources Management.

County officials confirm that the four water samples taken on Tuesday tested positive.

"Although results for three sampling areas off Miami Beach and Crandon Park were reported in
the very-low to low range, results for samples collected off Haulover Park were reported in the
medium concentration range," Mayor Gimenez said in a letter to members of the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners.

The city of Miami announced that officials will be conducting water quality tests along Biscayne Bay on Thursday "out of an abundance of caution." City officials urged residents to avoid contact with flood waters ahead of King Tide this weekend, which is expected to start Saturday, Oct .6 through Oct. 13.

Further north, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis told reporters that Broward Beaches would remain open, but that officials have discovered dead fish along the water line coast, which is an indication of the presence of red tide.

"We are seeing conditions that lead us and the Fish and Wildlife [Conservation] Commission to believe that the red tide algae is present off the waters of Fort Lauderdale beach," he said. Confirmation was expected sometime on Friday.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday that the state is offering $3 million in grants to St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties to help mitigate the effects of red tide through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The naturally-occurring algae has been documented along Florida’s Gulf Coast since the 1840s and occurs nearly every year. Since 1957, Florida scientists have documented red tide on Florida’s Atlantic Coast only nine times. Scott declared a state of emergency in August related to red tide.

“So far, the state has provided more than $16 million to help minimize the impacts of harmful algal blooms and expand our research and understanding of red tide, including funding to help scientists test innovative solutions for this phenomenon," the governor said. "We will continue to work with our local partners to ensure that their needs are fully met until this year’s red tide subsides.”

Last weekend, a number of beach communities in Palm Beach County closed their beaches in response to red tide. The sampling and analysis is being coordinated with the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

Florida International University released an informational red tide video featuring chemistry professor Kathlein Rein.

"In general the Florida red tide has been confined to the Gulf of Mexico historically," she explained in the video. "There have been one or two instances where the red tide has come down around the southern tip of Florida to close to Miami and as far north as North Carolina."

Watch the video below for a scientific explanation of red tide:

A red tide, or harmful algal bloom, is a higher-than-normal concentration of a microscopic alga (plantlike organism), according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, the species that causes most red tides is Karenia brevis, often abbreviated as K. brevis. To distinguish K. brevis blooms from red tides caused by other species of algae, researchers in Florida call the former the “Florida red tide,” FWC officials said.

State officials added that red tides date back at least as far as the 1700s in the southern Gulf of Mexico and along Florida's Gulf coast from the 1840s. Fish kills near Tampa Bay were mentioned in the records of Spanish explorers.

"Red tides can last as little as a few weeks or longer than a year. They can even subside and then reoccur," state officials said.

In Florida, a bloom of Karenia brevis, persists in Southwest Florida and extends along 130 miles of coastline, from northern Pinellas to southern Lee counties, and extends offshore (10 miles or more). A patchy bloom of K. brevis also continues in Northwest Florida, according to the FWC.

View the statewide Red Tide Current Status. Call 866-300-9399 at any time from anywhere in Florida to hear a recording about red tide conditions throughout the state. Callers outside of Florida can dial 727-552-2448. For red tide health concerns, call the Florida Poison Control Information Center at 800-222-1222. For the latest conditions in Miami Beach click here. To report fish kills call 800.636.0511.

Photo by Paul Scicchitano