Red Tide Status Update: 1/23/26

Over the past week, red tide was observed in 16 samples from Northwest Florida. We continue to use satellite imagery (USF and NOAA NCCOS) to help track nearshore and offshore conditions. Imagery from January 22 revealed patches of slightly elevated chlorophyll in inland waters of Gulf and Franklin counties, as well as higher levels 20-40 miles offshore; much of Bay County could not be assessed due to cloud cover.

Additional details follow.

• In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
• In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at very low concentrations in Walton County, background to low concentrations in Bay County, very low concentrations in Gulf County, and background concentrations in Franklin County.
• Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.

No fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were reported to FWC's Fish Kill Hotline or other partners over the past week.

Respiratory Irritation suspected to be related to red tide was not reported over the past week in Florida. For forecasts that use FWC and partner data, please visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Gulf Coast Harmful Algal Blooms Forecast.

Short-term (3.5 day) forecasts provided by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides predict western transport of surface and subsurface waters from Franklin to Escambia counties. Variable to minimal movement of surface and subsurface waters are predicted for most other regions along Florida’s gulf coast.

The next status report will be issued on Friday, January 30. Please check our daily sampling map, which can be accessed via the online status report on our Red Tide Current Status page. For more information on algal blooms and water quality, please visit Protecting Florida Together.

This information, including maps and reports with additional details, is also available on the FWRI Red Tide website. The website also provides links to additional information related to the topic of Florida red tide including satellite imagery, experimental red tide forecasts, shellfish harvesting areas, the FWC Fish Kill Hotline, the Florida Poison Information Center (to report human health effects related to exposure to red tide), and other wildlife related hotlines.

To learn more about various organisms that have been known to cause algal blooms in Florida waters, see the FWRI Red Tide Flickr page. Archived status maps can also be found on Flickr.       

Please follow our facebook page for status updates and other interesting facts about red tide and other harmful algal blooms in Florida.