The red tide on Florida’s Gulf coast spread in late September to Panhandle waters, where it appeared in or offshore of Santa Rosa, Gulf, Walton and Bay counties. Fish kills were reported off Walton.

Red tide also appeared off Pasco county, north of St. Petersburg.

Bay County, where Panama City and Panama City Beach are, had the highest concentration in the new outbreak, rated as medium by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) Commission.

At the time FWC reported that, those areas were not infected in a contiguous spread like that on the southern Gulf coast from Pinellas County (St. Petersburg) down to Lee County (Fort Myers), a stretch of about 145 miles.

Inevitably, political campaign season has jacked up public awareness of red tide, and the blue-green algae infestations flowing to both coasts with high-water releases from Lake Okeechobee. The state does not have adequate reservoir space to stash and detox the lake water, so the Corps of Engineers lets it out westward via the Caloosahatchee River and eastward via the St. Lucie.

Red tide, which starts offshore in the Gulf, is not known to be caused by pollution but the blue-green is. Together, they have become issues in the U.S. Senate election between Sen. Bill Nelson and Gov. Rick Scott.

Thousands of tons of Gulf fish, turtles, manatees and other sea creatures have been destroyed by red tide since the current outbreak began late last October. The tide, caused by a bacteria called Karenia brevis, also causes severe respiratory trouble in humans who dare to go near the affected beaches. That and the stench of decomposing fish flesh have staggered the economies of the affected coastal communities.

FWC’s staff has documented the deaths of 115 manatee and 318 sea turtles related to red tide along the southwest coast. That score, posted Sept. 19, was prepared for a Commission meeting a week later, and is likely to be higher now. There’s no telling how many fish have died of red tide; kills were still being reported.

Nobody knows how to stop or prevent red tide, which has occurred sporadically since at least as long ago as the mid-18th century. This episode is among the worst in the historical record. Red tide dissipates by itself eventually, but no one can predict how long that will take.

The outflow of blue-green algae from Lake Okeechobee will come after the rainy season when the Corps of Engineers can stop letting water out of the lake.

Some good news is waiting for eventually to happen. The FWC announced in September that 10,200 hatchery-reared redfish will be released into Gulf waters as soon as it’s considered safe for them, and 10,000 juvenile snook will be let out over a two-year period.

When? Speculatively, next April. Redfish and snook are two of Florida’s most-prized gamefish. No one is guessing publicly yet how long it might then take for the killed fish to be replenished.

The redfish — 200 tagged adults in the 25 to 30-inch range and 10,000 juveniles sized 4 to 6 inches — will come from the Duke Energy Florida Mariculture Center at Crystal River. Duke acquired that when it took over the Florida Power Corp. The new fish will dwell south of Tampa Bay in the waters of Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties.

The Coastal Conservation Association is involved in both stocking schemes. CCA is Florida’s largest sport fishing organization with 20,000 members. Its president, Brian Gorski, said CCA developed the program and will help in releasing the fish and lead the fund-raising: “Anglers and non-anglers alike can ‘adopt’ one of the hatchery-raised juvenile snook and follow their progress via the PIT tag that each fish will have.” PIT stands for passive integrated transponder.

Sarasota’s Mote Marine Laboratory is producing the snook. The plan is to place them, month by month for two years, in tidal creeks known for spawning activities.

Mote scientists have found some evidence that juvenile snook are able to escape red tide by swimming upland into less saline waters where red tide is less likely to reach. Those studies have been conducted on tagged fish in Sarasota County, so it’s hoped that Mote’s 10,000 tagged juveniles will prove the point.

FWC didn’t provide a list of tidal creeks and rivers where the snook will be stocked, but expect a goodly amount to go to the Charlotte Harbor area.

“One of the potentially most devastating and highly visible impacts around Charlotte Harbor was to the spawning snook population. Many of the dead snook were laden with eggs to produce the next generation,” said Michael P. Crosby, Mote’s president and CEO.