Welcome to Mote's Beach Conditions Report

The Beach Conditions Report provides several types of information about Southwest Florida beaches during red tide events: whether dead fish are present, whether there is respiratory irritation among beachgoers, what the water color is, the wind direction and what flags are currently flying at the beaches (for lifeguard-monitored beaches).

The report includes beaches in Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Lee and Collier counties.

The information is provided from a number of different sources, including lifeguards, park rangers and other trained observers. They're able to report the information directly to the web from the beaches thanks to Mote’s Sarasota Operations Coastal Ocean Observation Laboratory (SO COOL), which has created software that automatically posts the updates online.

Residents and visitors without Internet access may also access the report by calling 941-BEACHES (941-388-5223).

Reports are updated at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily to coincide with times of the day when people are most likely to use the beach. The information is date and time stamped so the public knows how recent a report is.

The system began operating Sept. 1, 2006.

The Beach Conditions Report is implemented by Mote’s Environmental Health Program. Project partners include the Florida Department of Health, Sarasota County Lifeguard Operations and others. The information gathered for the Beach Conditions Report is also shared with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which formulates a HAB Bulletin, that predicts the movements of harmful algal blooms. The Beach Conditions Report should help enhance NOAA’s forecast ability.

Beach Conditions Report

More information about red tide

The difference between red tide and red drift algae