Record 'Red Tide' Of Toxic Algae Is Killing Wildlife In Florida

A toxic algae bloom sweeping Floridas southwest coast is being described as the worst in more than a decade, with the so-called red tide blanketing beaches in dead fish and killing sharks, manatees and endangered sea turtles.

The aggressive overgrowth, which occurs each year but intensifies with high temperatures, pollution and stagnant water, has become unusually strong since emerging in October, and has stretched into the longest outbreak since 2006, according to state wildlife officials.

This is way, way high, Heather Barron, the head of the Center for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife veterinarian hospital on Sanibel Island, told the Fort Myers News-Press of the sea turtle deaths. Normally red tide season is over in April. But now sea turtle nesting is at its peak, and you have adults in nearshore waters. And because of that, theyre being affected.

Look at this sick endangered Loggerhead sea turtle found on the beach in #Captiva suffering from #redtide toxins. Experts say close to 100 sea turtles have washed up dead in #SWFL this year. pic.twitter.com/HHFyBvSYns

Gina Tomlinson (@GinaWinkNews) July 27, 2018","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Gina Tomlinson","author_url":"https://twitter.com/GinaWinkNews","cache_age":86400,"description":"Look at this sick endangered Loggerhead sea turtle found on the beach in #Captiva suffering from #redtide toxins. 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Look at this sick endangered Loggerhead sea turtle found on the beach in #Captiva suffering from #redtide toxins. Experts say close to 100 sea turtles have washed up dead in #SWFL this year. pic.twitter.com/HHFyBvSYns
Gina Tomlinson (@GinaWinkNews) July 27, 2018

Photos and videos posted to social media show beaches and shorelines covered in dead fish. In some areas, the water is completely coated in green, sickening animals and blocking submerged vegetation from receiving sunlight and adequate oxygen, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

During a public meeting on Tuesday to discuss efforts to combat the bloom in Cape Coral, jaws dropped when a manatees body floated near the yacht club where the Army Corps of Engineers was hosting the session, the News-Press reported.