Town of Fort Myers Beach using heavy equipment to remove dead fish
Officials trying to eliminate smelly problem caused by red tide
The shores of Fort Myers Beach have been littered with dead fish in recent weeks, leading the Town of Fort Myers Beach to use heavy equipment to remove the fish. According to Town of Fort Myers Beach Interim Manager Keith Wilkins, approximately 13 tons of dead fish have been removed from the town’s beaches.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach announced this past week that staff have “been working on the Beach daily to remove an increasing amount of dead fish that have started washing up daily,” according to a statement issued by town spokesperson Jennifer Dexter stated.
Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt said he received complaints from those living on Tropical Shores Way of the difficulty of passing by the dumpster behind town hall due to the stench of the dead fish. Wilkins said some of the dead fish removed from the beaches were stored behind town hall until they could be transported to a landfill.
The increasing numbers of dead fish on the town’s beaches coincides with increasing red tide levels this past month, just a few months after Hurricane Ian struck.
“The Town’s Environmental Services Manager started working last week with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to receive official approval in the form of a permit to use heavier equipment to remove the fish,” Dexter stated.
That approval was received on Monday, Feb. 27, and the town is using equipment from Lee County that is intended to make cleanup more efficient, Dexter stated.
Numerous fish have been spotted floating on top of the waters around Fort Myers Beach and washing ashore.
Last month, the Florida Department of Health in Lee County issued a health alert after waters around Lynn Hall Memorial Park near Times Square on Fort Myers Beach were tested and found to have alert levels of red tide.
Elevated alert levels of red tide are also being documented by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in the area around Little Hickory Island and Barefoot Beach State Preserve in recent weeks. Low levels of red tide were reported at nearby Bowditch Point Park on Fort Myers Beach.
“An increased level of dead fish washing up with tides can be caused by Red Tide, which is a toxic algae bloom that periodically happens,” Dexter stated.
“The Health Department also has an advisory that has been in place since Hurricane Ian about entering the Gulf or any other body of water due to the level of debris that landed in the water after the storm,” Dexter stated.
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) called upon the Army Corps of Engineers to divert more water south to the Everglades to relieve the waters of Southwest Florida from an overload of nutrients dumped into the local waters from Hurricane Ian.
“When red tide intensifies, it’s not only bad for wildlife and human health, but it is also bad for tourism. Sanibel is typically viewed as an escape from the overly developed cities of Fort Myers and Cape Coral,” said SCCF Research and Policy Associate Leah Reidenbach. “Although our beautiful island isn’t recovered, red tide is stymying our ability to bring back the tourism economy that many businesses on Sanibel and Captiva depend on.”
Persistent red tide has been blooming in the Gulf of Mexico since October, when it was exacerbated by nutrient pollution from Hurricane Ian, according to SCCF.
“Naturally occurring K. brevis tends to bloom by feeding on upwellings of deep ocean nutrients that become mixed in warmer waters near the surface of the Gulf. However, when provided with a large supply of man-made nutrients such as nitrogen, the bloom can grow much larger than it otherwise would,” said SCCF Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis, adding that SCCF and the University of Florida recently published a study showing this connection.
The ongoing red tide bloom has resulted in frequent reports of mild to severe respiratory irritation and fish kills along beaches, and the public is urged to follow all beach closures and red tide advisories and avoid areas with active red tide blooms.
“Water managers must send more water south to the Everglades where it is needed, and more water storage and treatment in the Caloosahatchee watershed are absolutely necessary to buffer periods of high and low flows and reduce nutrient loading. Our islands’ economy and our future depend upon it,” Reidenbach said.
To reach NATHAN MAYBERG, please email nmayberg@breezenewspapers