A stubborn red tide continues to pester Sarasota and Manatee counties, nearly a year after it first bloomed in waters off Florida's Gulf Coast. Red tide has slowly intensified in the region since September when samples showed a drop in concentrations at local beaches, but the bloom is currently patchy, said Kate Hubbard, a research scientist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The red tide event has been ongoing for almost 11 months, and once that mark is reached, it will be among the ten longest blooms recorded locally since 1953. The bloom started in November in Lee County and has been pushed by currents and winds to other areas along Florida's Gulf Coast, as far north as the Big Bend and Florida Panhandle.