The initiation stage occurs when a K. brevis population first accumulates and moves into an area. We now know that Florida's red tides begin in nutrient-poor water 18 to 74 kilometers (11 to 46 miles) offshore.īlooms develop in four stages. Prior to the early 1970s, red tides in Florida were believed to originate inshore because blooms and respiratory irritation were most often observed first around passes and barrier islands. Most blooms last three to five months and affect hundreds of square miles, but they can continue sporadically for as long as 18 months, affecting thousands of square miles. Blooms are less common but do occur along the southeastern Atlantic coast as far north as North Carolina. They are most common off the central and southwestern coasts of Florida between Clearwater and Sanibel Island but may occur anywhere in the Gulf. K. brevis blooms occur in the Gulf of Mexico almost every year, generally in late summer or early fall. A study of three red tide blooms that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s estimated losses from each to be between $15 million and $25 million. Coastal communities that rely on tourism lose millions of dollars when dead fish wash up on beaches or beachgoers experience eye and respiratory irritation, and shellfish-harvesting businesses lose income when shellfish beds are closed. People who consume shellfish contaminated with brevetoxins can suffer Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning.īlooms of K. Brevetoxins may also cause health problems in humans, including respiratory irritation when wave action breaks open cells and the toxins become airborne. K. brevis produces brevetoxins capable of killing fish, birds and other marine animals.
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