But if people have been coming for years they should still come. Red tide normally flourishes offshore, but some years conditions are such that inshore areas get hit, too. The procedure for monitoring red tide in oyster harvesting areas is a little different from bay closures due to high river levels. Both water samples and meat samples from oysters have to be sent to the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg. Results from both tests must be negative for oyster harvesting to resume.
Red tide is a naturally occurring organism in deep water areas of the Gulf.
Upwelling of deeper water sometimes brings red tide to the surface, and under the right conditions there is a population explosion, or bloom.