There are miles of dead fish washing up on the beach. That's not all. Just breathing the air can be harmful.

A red tide bloom was found in multiple areas of coastal Collier County. Individuals with chronic respiratory problems should be cautious and stay away from this location, as red tide can affect breathing. Residents near the beaches are encouraged to close windows and run the air conditioners.

The hordes of fish were killed by a red tide, a large "bloom" of toxic algae that appears on Florida's Gulf Coast about once a year. Experts say the bloom shouldn't be happening right now.

On Feb. 16, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation reported that many residents and visitors have called SCCF, the city of Sanibel and Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife with concerns about royal terns over the past few weeks and the sight of their carcasses on the Sanibel Causeway bridges. Test results on deceased royal terns confirmed on Feb. 15 that they had high levels of brevetoxins, the neurotoxin associated with red tide.

Researchers are asking the public for help in identifying a condition that has left endangered panthers in Florida with neurological damage.

"Camphor Trees typically seem healthy in this region and are invasive. Massive simultaneous failure of most branches seems unusual."

Red tide has contributed to or is suspected in the deaths of nearly 190 manatees so far this year.

Red tide is officially impacting Pinellas County. Crews have picked up a total of 33.48 tons of dead fish and hauled them off to the county dump.

Southwest Florida is reeling from a toxic algae bloom called red tide. Hundreds of tons of dead fish are washing up on beaches.

Hundreds of sea turtles have washed up dead along the southwest Florida coast as an ongoing red tide event persists in the waters. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has logged 287 sea turtle deaths since the virulent algal bloom started in October, the Associated Press reported.

Algae blooms have infiltrated much of the Cape Coral canal system, creating a foul odor and a green, spray-paint tint to some of the water.

On a more helpful note, fish farts also are giving researchers and managers clues about fish distributions.