PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — More dead fish washed up onto Pinellas County beaches on Friday, county officials said they were hit hard.
“The entire coastline in Pinellas County from Clearwater south has been impacted,” Sean Tipton, the Field Operations Coordinator for the Department of Public Works, said.
Crews estimate they have removed about 100 tons of dead fish from Pinellas County beaches Friday. You could see crews wearing masks as they cleaned up the beaches, they plan to work up until about 7 p.m.
“If the beach is not the thing to do that day, there is other stuff inland that your family can enjoy,” Tipton said.
While the beaches in Pinellas County had improved, once the wind shifted it started pushing it back onshore this week. Tipton said these west winds are projected to last until Tuesday.
“I would expect as long as we have a bloom just off our shore, we’re going to see fish coming in,” Tipton said.
Twice a day the county releases a report with the beach conditions. The report states which beaches are seeing the most impacts because of the red tide, including reports of respiratory issues. For more information click here.
