Monitoring Red Tide in Charlotte County

All eyes were on the Gulf waters Tuesday afternoon, where daily testing is underway to determine whether red tide is killing fish in the waters off Charlotte County.

Boating down Lemon Bay on Tuesday, the sun was shining, and the water was smooth, but that’s not why Captain Travis Pickett likes what he sees.

“It looks a lot better out here today we were out yesterday and there was a lot of fish but it’s surprising me how good it looks today,” said Travis Pickett, Captain and Owner of Native Charter Company.

There are still fish floating in Lemon Bay forming a wrack line on Stump Pass Beach but compared to Sunday, Pickett is amazed at what a couple of tide cycles can do.

“You can smell hardly anything out here today. It’s definitely looking upward,” said Pickett.

• RELATED: Dead fish line Charlotte County beaches: is red tide to blame?

Red tide is patchy; it moves with the tide and wind, but just as quickly as it leaves, it can return.

A terrifying thought for the owner of a native charter company.

“It’s terrible for business for everybody for the charter companies, for the restaurants, for the local hotels. It’s definitely tough on all of us,” said Pickett.

Especially when you’re already fighting a battle recovery after back-to-back hurricanes.

“We cleaned up the whole inside of the building after Helene, and then had to do it again two weeks later,” said Pete Hageman.

Pete and Carol Hageman own Beachcomber Trading Post on Manasota Key. Their restaurant and the Waverly across the street are the only two open.

Now, dead fish are floating out back.

“For a small business like us, just being on the verge of, you know, taking off again, and it could, really, it’s gonna affect the outdoor dining area,” said Carol Hageman.

Some dead fish on the Manasota key shouldn’t be a death sentence for business.

Some days can be worse than others and places that are open are ready for you to come visit.

Now what we do is keep an eye on this bloom, hope it doesn’t persist, and hope it doesn’t spread further south.