
Beaches Open

get involved in your community-talk with your neighbors
Indian River County is still experiencing red tide conditions and all beaches in Indian River County will remain closed until further notice.
General Updates:
Progress as of the end of day Monday:
Indian River County is still experiencing Red Tide conditions and all beaches in Indian River County will remain closed until further notice.
The County’s marine debris removal contractor initiated debris removal last Saturday.
Progress as of the end of day Thursday:
Anticipated work today (Friday):
Weather Conditions:
Per the recommendation of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), we will be testing water samples twice weekly.
Protective Actions:
All people are encouraged to follow the recommendations provided by the Department of Health:
www.ircgov.com/Public_Notices/Red-Tide.pdf
www.myfwc.com/research/redtide/faq
The Red Tide is still present in Indian River County and cleanup operations are in effect. All of the beaches in our county remain closed. The image below shows where the cleanup operations are taking place. On the Indian River County beaches, the toxic effects of Red Tide has mostly been fish kill and the clean up contractor will remove 10-15,000 lbs of dead fish off the beaches per day.
With a continuing East wind, Red Tide is expected to linger on our beaches for more days!
There are numerous microscopic algae in the ocean and they are essential components to ocean life but when they are supplied with excess nutrients, they multiply uncontrollably, and can become an unwanted toxic mass commonly called a “red tide” or harmful algal blooms. (HAB)
This is still being investigated but some marine scientist believe the up welling of nutrients from the sea floor from massive storms is most likely the cause of these events.
Dinoflagellates are major producers of oxygen in the ocean (and freshwater). But some species can grow out of control, causing a red tide.(2004 Smithsonian Institution)