Dead fish spotted on Englewood Beach due to red tide

The early stages of red tide are beginning to show, leaving a trail of dead fish along the shore.

Residents near Englewood beach said to simply stay off the beach when blooms like this begin to form.

• RESIDENT: Red Tide concerns in Southwest Florida

Several kinds of dead fish were along the shore, seemingly caused by the red tide.

It also makes the air hard to breathe with the strong smell left by the dead fish.

The leading cause is the recent hurricanes Helene and Milton, which caused the algae bloom to become more extensive and intense.

Some people on the beach had plans to go fishing but quickly noticed there were no fish to catch due to the red tide.

Joshua Garrett is one of the beachgoers who decided not to fish.

“The fish looked alive,” said Garrett. “I went and got the net, untangled it, and fixed it up a little bit, and I went to throw it out. I threw it out one time, and then I noticed the smell when I pulled it in. And I was like, ‘I don’t really think I want to eat the fish here.’ So I just kind of gave up on the whole fishing thing. Some pretty bad red tide. And this one’s not bad yet, but I’m thinking it’s going to get bad once they get all this sand cleared out.”

Residents are taking precautions by limiting the time they spend on the beach due to the smell. They are also not getting in the water as much.