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Corey Perrine/Staff The footprint evidence is clear where a fish was picked away by birds Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, at Barefoot Beach State Preserve in Bonita Springs, Fla. An agal bloom, known commonly as red tide, is a phenomenon where high concentrations of Karenia brevis, a microscopic marine algae, contain toxins that paralyze the nervous system in fish. In large quantities, they cause the water to appear red or murky, hence the name. The blooms can affect humans causing eye and respiratory conditions such as coughing, sneezing, tearing and itching.

Dead fish have washed ashore on North Naples beaches as a red tide continues to hang on offshore of Southwest Florida, Collier County beach monitors reported Wednesday.

Red tide is a bloom of microscopic algae that releases a toxin that can kill marine life and cause respiratory irritation in humans, including as recently as early last week. The county is warning people with emphysema and asthma to avoid the beaches.

One beachgoer estimated that Barefoot Beach was littered with one dead fish every five feet for a mile, and 20 fish were reported on Vanderbilt Beach north to Wiggins Pass, county pollution control worker Rhonda Watkins said.

Watkins said the county's regular beach rake routine picked up the Vanderbilt Beach fish, but beach raking is not allowed on Barefoot Beach, which is within a preserve area.

Satellites are tracking patches of elevated to high chlorophyll levels stretching offshore from southern Pinellas to Collier counties. More water samples are scheduled to be taken from the beaches Thursday.

Water samples collected earlier this week showed red tide at very low levels at Vanderbilt Beach and Seagate and at low levels at the Naples Pier and South Marco Beach.

To report dead fish or red tide symptoms, call 239-252-2502. Red tide updates are available by calling the county's hotline at 239-252-2591.

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Red tide reported off Collier beaches

Goat Rock State Beach in Jenner.

The state's plan to expand the number of beaches along the Sonoma Coast where visitors would be charged for parking faces its first crucial test in Santa Rosa today.

The Sonoma County Board of Zoning Adjustments is scheduled to vote on whether to give California State Parks the authority to install 15 new self-pay machines at beaches on the Sonoma Coast.

The state's application for a county coastal development permit does not spell out any fees, but parks officials previously said they plan to charge visitors $8 for parking.

The plan faces stiff opposition, including from Jason Liles, chairman of both the zoning board and the county's Planning Commission.

"I don't like anybody charging for beaches," Liles said this week.

His main concern with the plan is that people will park outside the designated areas and put themselves at risk getting to the beach. He said emergency personnel "already spend a fair amount of time helping people" who get into trouble at the coast.

County staff are recommending that the permit be denied. The decision can be appealed to county supervisors and ultimately the California Coastal Commission.

State officials say the new day-use fees are necessary to keep the beaches open and to reopen others as the park system grapples with budget cuts and a deferred maintenance backlog of more than $1 billion.

Within Sonoma Coast State Park, eight day-use areas and two environmental campgrounds are closed, along with two-thirds of Bodega Dunes Campground. Only a few day-use areas with restroom facilities remain open, in addition to 49 camping spaces at Wrights Beach and Bodega Dunes.

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Sonoma County planners to weigh parking fee proposal for state beaches