According the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Pinellas County has the highest number of manatees killed by this year's gargantuan and persistent red tide bloom.
The FWC says red tide has killed 206 manatees statewide this year; of that number, 16 carcasses were pulled from Pinellas waters. Fourteen of those deaths occurred in October, with just two being reported thus far in November. While there's still plenty of the algae bloom out there, authorities say the disparity in deaths is due to coastal water conditions improving — though areas south of Pinellas are reporting that red tide is still suspected in recent bottlenose dolphin deaths.
While it's been a bad year for manatees (and local sea life in general), the worst year on record for manatee deaths remains 2013, when 830 deaths were reported statewide.
This article appears in Nov 22-29, 2018.