With its brilliant sun, white sand and turquoise water, Lido Key Beach would make for a perfect postcard of Florida beaches if it weren’t for the dozens of dead fish lying on the shore, killed by a toxic algae bloom known as red tide.
With its brilliant sun, white sand and turquoise water, Lido Key Beach would make for a perfect postcard of Florida beaches if it weren’t for the dozens of dead fish lying on the shore, killed by a toxic algae bloom known as red tide.
The bloom usually hits Florida’s Gulf Coast in the summer, but this year it has come during spring, a time when thousands of American families flock to the Sunshine State during school break, and the outbreak bodes ill for its tourism sector.
On the terrace of the Lido Beach Resort, Jeff Napier, a 62-year-old employee, laments the effect red tide has had on business.
« We had a lot of cancelations. People get sick, » Napier told AFP. « Why would you want to spend that kind of money and stay here? »
High amounts of the harmful algae, known as Karenia brevis, can kill marine life and cause respiratory complications in some people. It also has a sulfurous, decaying smell.
Dick Bowser experienced that firsthand a few days ago. The 80-year-old tourist walks along the shoreline with a cane in each hand, happy that the ocean currents have turned the tide away from Sarasota, at least for now.
