An unwelcome visitor is once again killing fish and causing issues for beachgoers along Florida’s Gulf Coast. A red tide bloom has been spotted in several areas near the shore in recent days. Local officials say they’ve already found more than 3.4 million pounds of red tide debris since mid-July.
The organism known as Karenia brevis has caused thousands of dead fish to wash up on shores and has displaced sharks into local canals as they flee the toxins.
Red tides, which have been linked to the release of polluted water from Lake Okeechobee and which thrive in warm water, also present a threat to human health, causing respiratory issues like eye, nose and throat irritation that have landed some residents in hospital emergency rooms this year…
