State wildlife officials detected the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, in 20 water samples along Florida’s East Coast over the past week, marking the first time this season that bloom-level concentrations have appeared in Duval County.
According to a status update from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), bloom concentrations—defined as levels greater than 100,000 cells per liter—were confirmed in two samples taken from Duval County.
Across the East Coast region, researchers found varying concentrations of the organism. Water samples revealed very low to low concentrations in Nassau County, very low to medium concentrations in Duval County, and very low concentrations in St. Johns County…