The Florida Department of Health in Duval County has issued its second red tide alert of the week for the Fort George River area, this one centered near Kingsley Plantation just north of Fort George Inlet, after a water sample collected August 11 tested positive for elevated levels of the organism.
Red tide is caused by high concentrations of Karenia brevis, a naturally occurring microscopic organism that produces neurotoxins called brevetoxins. In the water, it can cause skin irritation, rashes, and burning eyes on contact; in the air, wave action can aerosolize the toxins enough to cause coughing and respiratory irritation, even for people who never go near the water. The first alert of the week came Monday for the Fort George Inlet area itself, based on a sample taken August 6, meaning the affected stretch has now shown elevated readings twice in a matter of days.
Health officials are advising against swimming or wading in the affected water and recommending that anyone who does make contact wash exposed skin and clothing with soap and fresh water right away, particularly people with sensitive skin or respiratory conditions like asthma. The advisory doesn’t close the beach or the park, Kingsley Plantation remains a working National Park Service historic site, but it does mean water contact in that specific stretch of the river carries real risk until levels come back down.
Red tide conditions can shift with wind and tide over a matter of days, so an alert here isn’t necessarily a sign of a prolonged bloom. Anyone planning to be on the water near Fort George Island should check the Florida Department of Health’s current advisory list before heading out, and can call the Duval County health department at 904-253-1280 or the statewide red tide hotline at 866-300-9399 for the latest conditions.
