JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For the second time this week, the Florida Department of Health in Duval County has issued a red tide alert.
The alert was issued near Kingsley Plantation, north of the Ft. George River.
Earlier this week, the department of health issued a red tide alert near the Ft. George Inlet.
According to Florida Fish and Wildlife, right now red tide is only present in Northeast Florida.
Red tide is caused by a high concentration of toxin-producing algae found in the Gulf of Mexico.
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It usually forms naturally in the late summer or early fall.
“I’ve been swimming all over Florida, been in red tides when it was real nasty,” said Daniel Cone.
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We caught up with Cone after he was done swimming in the Ft. George Inlet. He says he didn’t notice any reaction to his body from the red tide when he was swimming, but he is cautious.
“We don’t want to swim if you got like major wounds or anything like that. You don’t want any excess bacteria, but you shouldn’t swim if you got wounds anyway,” said Cone.
We reached out to the Florida Department of Health and asked them what is causing the red tide to spread in Northeast Florida. We’re still waiting to hear back.
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