The fire started on the east side and made its way across I-95 to the west side of the St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, a state forest official said
The fire started on the east side and made its way across I-95 to the west side of the St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, a state forest official said
For now, though, all seems well. The fishermen of Cortez are keeping their eyes on local water conditions, Bell said. So far, they have seen some algal blooms, but not too much beyond that. The winds have kept them off the water this week. They re hoping the turbulence created by the weather will help break up any static water where algae growth would thrive.
Charter boat captain Rios said he hasn t come across any red tide either.
Red tide is not a new phenomenon
The Florida Department of Health notes that red tides were documented in the southern Gulf of Mexico in the 1700s and along Florida s Gulf Coast since the 1840s. But the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says Karenia brevis, the microorganism responsible for red tide, was not identified until 1946.
New research shows the initial pulse of nutrient-laden wastewater from the former Piney Point fertilizer plant that spilled into Tampa Bay in April has largely dispersed, and the algae bloom that followed the incident has slowed.
Experts from the University of South Florida College of Marine Science, who have been tracking the impact of hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater released into Tampa Bay during the emergency last month, released their first findings to the public on Monday afternoon.
Their research shows that the concentration of nutrients in Tampa Bay waters near Port Manatee, the location where Piney Point wastewater was released, have returned to levels considered more typical for the region.