SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — High levels of red tide continue to cause problems for Sarasota County beaches along with dead fish washing ashore.
Sarasota County Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources staff say red tide is present on all of its 16 beaches, with mild respiratory irritation and moderate amounts of dead fish.
On Thursday, our cameras went to Venice Beach, Turtle Beach, and Siesta Beach where lots of dead fish lined the shore near the water.
But Sarasota County PRNR director, Nicole Rissler says it’s not bad enough for them to deploy clean-up crews.
"If we saw the effects of the red tide increase significantly in the coming days or weeks, where the marine debris or dead fish was to increase significantly, we have plan B, C, D, and probably down to H, which would include a contract crew coming in and supporting us," said Rissler.
The county says for now they are relying on the tide to carry the fish away but they will continue to closely monitor red tide conditions and encourage anyone planning to go to the beach to check conditions first.
