Benthic Ecology
Bottom-dwelling organism response to environmental disturbance.
Beach Conditions Report & Red Tide Information
Beach Conditions Report
The Beach Conditions Reporting System (BCRS) provides several types of information about beach locations in Florida and other coastal states. The BCRS is a valuable tool during Florida red tide events, communicating the presence of dead fish, respiratory irritation among beachgoers, water color, and wind direction.
Red Tide
Mote Marine Laboratory studies Karenia brevis, the organism that causes Red Tides in Florida.
Click here for an overview about Mote's Red Tide research.
Click here for answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Red Tide.
Click here for a primer on the differences between Red Tide and red drift algae.
Click here to watch a video about Florida Red Tide.
Information about Seafood and Red Tide
Please note that it is safe to eat shellfish that are commercially harvested and sold in fish markets, restaurants and other outlets. Florida has a well-established monitoring program for all commercial shellfish beds and these beds are closed when affected by Red Tide or other environmental conditions. Note: It is not advisable to harvest shellfish recreationally, unless you first check on the status of the location (open or closed) with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Click here for more information.
For recreational fishing: Fish that act as they would normally when hooked should be safe to eat as long as they are fileted first and the innards discarded.
More Information about Red Tide
For conditions throughout the Florida Gulf coast, with information about cell concentrations observed at specific locations and closed shellfish areas, please see the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) website and follow the link to “Red Tide Current Status.” The FWC Red Tide Status Line is now available for callers to hear a recording detailing Red Tide conditions throughout the state. FWC updates the recording each Friday by 5 p.m. after sampling efforts for the week have been completed and analyzed.
Red Tide Status Line: (866) 300-9399 (toll-free inside Florida only); (727) 502-4956 (outside Florida).
For information about the Human Health and Red Tide Studies funded by the National Institutes for Environmental Health Services, click here.
For more information about water conditions on Sarasota County beaches, please click on this link to the Sarasota County Healthy Beaches website.
A Red Tide Q&A with Mote researchers from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
