Red tide creeps up to Melbourne Beach, Indialantic

Jim Waymer | Florida Today

Show Caption Hide Caption Red Tide: What are the health risks to people and pets? Is it safe for my pet? Is it harmful to me? Learn the health risks associated with Red Tide. GINNY BEAGAN/TCPALM

INDIALANTIC — While test results to prove red tide are pending, the itchy throats and rancid fish carcasses on the beach this week have some already convinced, and fearing a repeat of the toxic tides that thoroughly flogged the Space Coast 16 years ago.

For tourists, another red tide now would be lousy timing. For fish, too.

"Right now we've got a big mullet run on the beach, so there are a lot of migratory fish following the mullet runs," said Jon Shenker, associate professor of marine biology at the Florida Institute of Technology. "I have no idea how bad this is."

Beachgoers and beachside residents have complained in recent days of coughing and irritated throats after being by the ocean. Dead fish reported in Indialantic and Melbourne Beach on Tuesday included bluefish, Spanish mackerel, mullet and other fish. A dead fish dotted the shoreline every 10 feet or so at Paradise Beach Park.

More: Vero Beach red tide is most toxic on East Coast this year

Brevard County is helping Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission gather water samples to test for the red tide organism, Karenia brevis. The algae releases a neurotoxin that can cause asthma-like symptoms. If ingested, it can cause digestive problems. Brevard County Natural Resources has coordinated with FWC for sampling beginning Tuesday and hopes to know the results on Wednesday.

"In the meantime, we have been monitoring conditions and have reached out to various agencies, such as Keep Brevard Beautiful, Tourism and Development, the city of Cocoa Beach, to plan for a coordinated response if and when we have reported fish kills," Brevard County spokesman Don Walker said via email.

Red tide has killed fish for months on Florida's Gulf Coast. Some biologists thought Hurricane Michael might help to break up that algae bloom. But it's also possible that the organism responsible for the outbreak could be recharged by the nutrients washing back into the Gulf, spreading its deadly impact over an even wider area.

For those wanting to track the algae bloom's migration, FWC created a new red tide daily status map.

Respiratory irritation usually occurs at red tide levels of 1,000 cells per liter or greater.

A federal study released in 2007 linked red tide to excess nutrients from farms and development along the Mississippi River that can trigger the blooms along the continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. Currents loop the toxic algae around Florida toward Brevard, which happened in November 2002, when a red tide lasted through the New Year. Tourism and coastal residents suffered.

The difference between red tide and blue-green algae Blue-green algae and red tide. What's the difference.

Red tide's toxin can cause shellfish poisoning and is a threat to fish, dolphin and manatees. The state typically closes shellfish areas when levels reach 5,000 cells per liter. More than 1 million cells per liter causes fish kills and the water sometimes to turn dark red, green or brown.

Brevard also had a brush with red tide in November 2007, when low levels of the algae turned up in samples gathered from Cocoa Beach, the Mosquito Lagoon, to St. Johns County.

If this week's samples prove red tide is here, then multiple environmental factors will determine whether it lasts as long as what Brevard saw in 2002, biologists say.

"It would depend on the nutrient supply," Shenker said. "Depends a lot on the stability of the local ocean."

Waymer is environmental reporter at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Waymer at 321-242-3663

or jwaymer@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @jwayenviro

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Thousands of dead fish now line Indian River County shores Although test results to confirm red tide are not in yet, hundreds of dead fish are lining the shores of Indian River County beaches. GINNY BEAGAN/TCPALM

About red tide

How is red tide related to respiratory irritation?

People experience coughing, sneezing, and tearing when the red tide organism is present along a coast and winds blow its toxic aerosol onshore.

CAUTION: People with severe or chronic respiratory conditions (such as emphysema or asthma) should avoid red tide areas. Generally, symptoms are temporary and disappear within hours, once exposure is discontinued.

Is swimming safe?

Yes, for most people. However, in some, red tide can cause skin irritation and burning eyes. Use common sense -- if you are particularly susceptible to irritation from plant products, avoid red tide water. If you experience irritation, get out and thoroughly wash off. Do not swim among dead fish, because they can be associated with harmful bacteria.

Is it OK to eat fish, crabs or shrimp during a red tide?

Yes, because the toxin is not absorbed in the edible tissues of these animals. However, if a red tide is in the area, eating distressed or dead animals is discouraged; the cause of the organisms' strange behavior or death cannot be absolutely known. It could be something unrelated to red tide.

Is it OK to eat shellfish during a red tide?

No. If a shellfish harvesting ban is in effect, it is not safe to eat mollusks (clams and oysters) and gastropods that feed on bivalves (whelks). However, edible parts of other animals commonly called shellfish (crabs, shrimp and lobsters), are not affected by the red tide organism and can be eaten.

Is it OK to eat scallops?

Yes, as long as you only eat the muscle of the scallop. Do not eat whole animals.

Does cooking destroy the red tide toxin?

No.

Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

Red tide effects

Can cause fish kills, seafood poisoning and breathing difficulties. The algae releases a neurotoxin that can cause asthma-like symptoms. If ingested from the water, it can cause digestive problems.

Most symptoms go away in a few hours after leaving the beach.

People who eat shellfish contaminated with red tide can experience gastrointenstinal and neurological distress, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, muscular aches, tingling in the tongue, lips, throat and extremities. Symptoms usually appear within a few hours after eating contaminated shellfish and vanish in a few days.

Source: Florida Division of Aquaculture

How to report red tide

To report symptoms from Florida red tide or any aquatic toxin, call 1-800-222-1222 to speak to a poison specialist immediately.

To report fish kills to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, call 1-800-636-0511.

Lifeguard issues red tide warning at Vero Beach's South Beach Lifeguard Erik Toomsoo offers the official line from the city of Vero Beach of local reports of red tide at South Beach on Monday, Oct. 15, 2018.