An enormous red tide of spawning algae in the Gulf of Mexico is growing at an alarming speed.
Caused by a type of toxic algae known as Karenia brevis, the red tide is currently 60 miles wide and 90 miles long, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Several weeks ago it was 50 miles wide and 80 miles long.
Experts say the red tide, located 20 miles off the coast of southwestern Florida, is the biggest they have seen since 2005. But the naturally occurring phenomenon can grow larger.
"They are part of the natural system of the gulf, so we do get used to seeing them," Hayley Rutger, a spokeswoman from the Monte Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, told the newspaper.
"This one is large, but not the largest we've ever seen."
Red tides occur around the end of almost every summer when K. brevis starts to multiply and bloom uncontrollably. It also poses a threat to local marine life. The current bloom has already killed close to 1,000 fish, along with crabs and octopi, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told NBC News.
"These kinds of blooms damage wildlife, people, tourism, everything," Don Anderson, senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, told NBC News. "It can kill fish by the millions."
As the tide moves closer to shore the waves can release the algae's toxins into the air, posing a health threat to humans. Those with asthma, emphysema and other respiratory conditions are especially at risk.
Unfortunately, experts say there is not much that can be done to stop the red tide except to wait it out.
"Because they are naturally occurring, if you try to alter them you could affect other marine life in ways you hadn't bargained for," Rutger told the Orlando Sentinel. "Trying to affect the bloom in some way is a lot more complicated than you'd want it to be."
