Hundreds of sharks in West Florida have headed inland to escape the deadly red tide that's killed more than 600 tons of marine life in the region.
Different shark species, including bonnethead, blacktip, nurse and lemon sharks have been spotted darting through Longboat Key and into the canals of Buttonwood Harbor, far from their usual habitat.
'You saw fins at first, just popping up,' resident John Wagman told "WFLA 8. 'Just something I'd never seen in the canal before.'
Reports of marine predators in the bay started surfacing last week.
'You could literally walk across the canal on the backs of the sharks in the water,' resident Janelle Branowner told "FOX 13 Tampa Bay. 'We don't have healthy water in the bay right now.'
The sharks are invading the area because their usual habitats in Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay and along the coast from Pasco to Sarasota Counties, have been infested with red tide, which is caused by unusually high blooms of the algae Karenia brevis.
The algae kills marine life by producing a potent toxin that affects their central nervous system.
It can also cause respiratory problems for humans, and has polluted the water, lowered oxygen levels and filled waterways with fish carcasses.
An usually rampant 'red tide' in west Florida caused by an algae bloom is forcing sharks to look for safe haven in a inland canal near Longboat Key
A red tide appears on Florida's Gulf Coast about once a year, but these natural events are becoming more rampant, experts say, with climate change warming waters and allowing the microscopic algae population to flourish.
The red tide has been 'patchy and persistent since December 2020,' according to Mote Marine Labs, but the bloom has recently increased in severity.
Last week, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FFWC) reported massive fish kills in nine West Florida counties.
Five counties reported complaints by humans of respiratory distress related to red tide.
In the first half of 2021, officials have cleaned up more than 600 tons of dead fish caused by the red tide
Water samples from Pinellas County, which includes St. Petersburg and Clearwater, show concentrations of red tide up to 17 times greater than the level considered high.
While scientists have yet to find a 'smoking gun' for the unusual blooms, Longboat Key is only a few miles from the abandoned Piney Point
