Red tide to blame for fish kill?
Oct 11, 2011 9:09 PM EDT
By Sara Miles, NBC2 Reporter
LEE COUNTY (FL) -
Our cameras spotted a fish kill about three miles offshore, directly west of Cayo Costa State Park. FWC is trying to figure out the exact cause. One scientist we spoke to says he believes the culprit is red tide.
Bruce Neill, with the Sanibel Sea School, calls a moderate fish kill. He's been monitoring the waters the past few weeks testing for red tide - the toxic organism he says he believes is the culprit.
"We've seen significant kills along Boca Grande and Cayo Costa," Neill said. "It's not like the red tide blooms in previous years where there are large numbers of dead fish."
It's been 20 months since Neill says Southwest Florida experienced a red tide event. Although the cells that cause the algae occur in the Gulf of Mexico naturally.
"Combination of nutrients, temperatures, salinity and has clearly been favorable for this group of phytoplankton to reproduce well," Neill said.
But the question some people are asking is whether conditions are favorable for the fish kills to move on shore.
Meteorologist Haley Webb says that's the direction winds are moving.
"Usually that means red tide is going to have a hard time moving away from Southwest Florida since it's pushing everything in Gulf towards us. It's going to be at least Friday or Saturday until we get these winds to change," she said.
Red tide is hard to notice with the naked eye. But if you are exposed to large amounts, you may experience respiratory issues. And Neill says fisherman will know when where to avoid fishing.
"Fisherman offshore on northern Lee County may experience fish floating at the surface and in those regions, it's wise not to fish," Neill said.
We checked the FWC site to find out where the red tide bloom is concentrated. We are the only part of Florida right now with red tide off its coast.
0 comments:
Post a Comment