Red tide is not as bad as it was, officials say. Credit: melvil [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Red tide is not as bad as it was, officials say. Credit: melvil [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
Red tide is decreasing in Pinellas County, according to officials. So much so, they say it's time to stand down from county-sponsored cleaning efforts.

The Nov. 30 red tide report showed only "very low" levels in parts of Pinellas waterways — and many of the northern Pinellas waterways showed no levels of red tide whatsoever. Only Gulfport, Fort De Soto and one part of Indian Rocks Beach tested positive for red tide.

Red tide is an algal bloom caused by Karenia brevis. While few scientists debate the notion that blooms happen offshore, and possibly independent of human interaction, more and more scientists agree that man-made contaminants and nutrients contributed to 2018 longer-than-usual, larger-than-usual bloom.

News, events and all the best stuff, fresh to your inbox weekly with Creative Loafing's Do This newsletter!

This article appears in Dec 6-13, 2018.

Cathy's portfolio includes pieces for Visit Florida, USA Today and regional and local press. In 2016, UPF published Backroads of Paradise, her travel narrative about retracing the WPA-era Florida driving...