Still no end to red tide intrusion on Manatee coastline

Joey Dale was on a morning walk Nov. 6 when he stopped in his tracks.

On the sands of Whitney Beach on the northern tip of Longboat Key, Dale came upon a dead goliath grouper measuring about 4 1/2 feet long.

“It was a big one,” Dale told The Islander. “It was strange. There were no other fish around, just this one giant grouper. The first thing I thought was red tide.”

Dale, co-owner of The Feast restaurant in Holmes Beach, said as he strolled the beach he did not experience coughing or burning eyes, the effects of red tide reported by some people on local beaches.

“I don’t think the red tide is nearly as bad as it was before,” he said. “There are no dead eels and mullet on the beaches and no smell.”

However, red tide was blamed for fish kills in Manatee, Sarasota and Pinellas counties the week of Nov. 5-11.