Here’s what to know about red tide in Pinellas County this week

“It looks like we’re getting a bit of reprieve for the moment,” said Maya Burke, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s assistant director. “But we know these blooms tend to be patchy and can change.”

The worst of the red tide has diminished over the past few days. But it’s not gone yet.

The dead and rotting fish that dotted the shores of St. Pete Beach at the start of the month have declined in recent days, a signal that toxic red tide has loosened its fiery grip on the Pinellas County coast.

Cleanup crews cleared roughly 1,000 pounds of dead fish from the shores of St. Pete Beach in early March, filling at least two 40-pound bags of dead fish per day.

But last week crews picked up no more than 40 fish total, according to Mandy Edmunds, the parks supervisor with the city of St. Pete Beach.

“It’s looking much better right now,” Edmunds said Monday.

Pinellas County has enjoyed a streak of improved red tide conditions in recent days as the thickest toxic algae patches have started to lose their steam around the Tampa Bay area. The recent cold fronts may have helped break up the worst of it.