Red Tide Chasing Away Fall Beach Visitors

The red tide bloom that has plagued the southwest Florida coast for most of the year is chasing away tourists this fall, business owners and tourism officials said.

The toxic algae has left loads of stinky dead fish on beaches and makes it hard for people to breathe. It has prompted early checkouts and cancellations at hotels in tourist hot spots such as Anna Maria Island near Bradenton and Sanibel and Captiva islands off Fort Myers.

Fish, sand dollars, sponges, crabs, coral and other undersea life suffocated as the red tide -- this strain is called Karenia brevis -- choked off the oxygen in the water. Bottlenose dolphins, sea turtles, manatees and birds that swim through it, inhale the nerve-impairing toxins in the surf spray or eat contaminated fish also have perished.

Predicting when and where red tide will show up is impossible because blooms are driven by wind, currents and tides.