Red tide, blue-green algae that ravaged region last year not detected in Gulf, Caloosahatchee

Two algae blooms that strangled the Southwest Florida coast most of last year have subsided and may not return for a few months. 

Toxic red tide and blue-green algae outbreaks last year killed millions of pounds of sea life in the Gulf of Mexico and turned much of the Caloosahatchee River into a pea soup of cyanobacteria. 

Today, both the Gulf and river are clear of any blooms or outbreaks, and no algae has been reported in either system in the past several weeks. 

"The beaches are in great shape for spring break," said Tracy Fanara, a red tide expert at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota. "We haven’t had low, medium or high concentrations of Florida red tide for weeks now. I haven’t heard anything else. Hopefully, we’re going to be clear of it for at least another four or five months. That’s not a promise of course." 

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Red tide is caused by the organism Karenia brevis and exists naturally in the Gulf at background levels. 

Blooms typically start in late summer or early fall and end in January or February, but blooms do not happen every year. 

This latest bloom raged for about 16 months and crippled the local fishing and tourism economies. 

Experts say predicting a red tide is impossible, and there's no way to know if it's going to hit the Southwest Florida coast again later this year. 

"At this time with forecasting we have three- to five-day forecasts during a bloom, but as far as long-term forecasting, it’s a little bit difficult," Fanara said. "You look at how much money and time is put into hurricane models and we don’t know exactly where it’s going to go a few days out."

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Blue-green algae is difficult to predict as well. 

It also occurs naturally at background levels but can explode into a festering toxic mixture in a matter of weeks. 

Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani said he's not aware of any blue-green algae samples that have shown positive results in recent weeks. 

But he's also expecting some blue-green activity as warmer weather moves into the area later this spring and in summer. 

"It’s probably just wishful thinking that it’s not going to be a problem in a couple of months," Cassani said. 

Last summer the blue-green algae outbreak started on Lake Okeechobee and quickly spread to the Caloosahatchee River. 

Cassani said he hopes both Okeechobee and the river stay clean of the algae this year. 

But he's also concerned that Lake Okeechobee releases could seed a blue-green algae bloom in the river by delivering heavy loads of algae-feeding nitrogen. 

"If there's a bloom in the lake I’d be very concerned about discharges that deliver that algal biomass to the river," he said. 

Connect with this reporter: ChadGillisNP on Twitter. 

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