Tourists and residents of Florida were recently surprised with the global algae bloom known as the Red Tide, causing waters around Florida to turn red and the shorelines becoming littered with dead fish. The yearly algal bloom so known as “Red Tide” has spread more than it ever has in history.

With the Red Tide spreading up north across Florida’s Gulf Coast there have been many reports of dead fish around St. Petersburg in the Tampa Bay Area. Deaths of many aquatic animals have been reported such as sharks, manatees and even the report of a 26 foot whale shark. However the red tide doesn’t only affect fish. Beaches all over Tampa Bay have closed, majorly reducing numbers of tourists coming into Florida due to the sickness caused by this fungus. On top of smelling horrendous the fungus can cause irritation and burning to the nose and throat: Dr. Heather Barron has commented saying, “It is overwhelming and catastrophic, the number of patients that are coming in. We have had as many as 100 patients come in, in two days, all affected with red tide, way out of the ordinary”

Clean up crews have been constantly busy cleaning up all of the dead fish and medical centers have been crowded with patients both human and wildlife. People in Florida are staying away from their beautiful beaches waiting for the spread of the Red Tide to stop.