A vexing mass of Red Tide is killing fish and turning up noses along the gulf. Expert advice: Wait for it to pass.
By LAUREN BAYNE ANDERSON and PAUL SWIDER
Published June 17, 2005
[Times photos: Michael Rondou]
The Stewart family of Plant City watches as a Treasure Island crew scoops up dead fish from the beach Thursday. Thousands were collected. Earnest Truby of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute said Red Tides usually come in the fall, and this one could be more damaging to sea life because of its early arrival.
Some of the mounds of fish killed by Red Tide are cleaned up from Treasure Island beaches Thursday. Red Tide can be deadly for sea life, but it is generally only an irritant to people, causing scratchy throats.
TREASURE ISLAND - April Alford walked slowly Thursday, careful not to step on the bloated fish rotting in the sun.
"This isn't the beach I wanted to go to," said the 29-year-old visitor from Ohio. "I wanted to spend the day at a beach without dead fish."
After increasing reports of fish kills and complaints about scratchy throats, tests are showing a lingering Red Tide has moved to Pinellas County beaches.
"It's obvious," coughed Jack Martynow, owner of the Palm Crest Motel on St. Pete Beach. "You can smell it."
Martynow said his guests are complaining and coughing during what is usually his busy "second season." One woman checked out days early, unable to endure the smell of dead fish and the irritation of the Red Tide.
"People don't want to be here when it's stinky," Martynow said. "They go to the east coast."
The fish-killing marine bloom produces a toxin that affects the central nervous systems of fish and sea mammals. In people, it can cause skin and eye irritation, coughing and sneezing.
Scott Willis, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, said symptoms of Red Tide have been reported at Fort De Soto, Boca Ciega Bay, John's Pass and Treasure Island. The bloom formed in early January but beachgoers didn't see the effects because it was offshore, he said.
Scientists at the agency tested a dozen samples Thursday and are seeing a bloom that has been south of Tampa Bay for several months but has moved north in the past week. Official test results will be available today on the institute's Web site: www.myfwc.com
"It's probably a single bloom from Palma Sola Bay" near Bradenton, said Earnest Truby of the Research Institute. He said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted a week ago that the Palma Sola bloom would move north with changing weather patterns. "It appears to have crossed Tampa Bay."
Although oysters, clams and other filter feeders should be avoided during a Red Tide, experts say it's okay for people to swim in the water and safe to eat the flesh of fish they catch there.
"They're less likely to bite if it's a Red Tide," Willis said.
Shrimp and lobsters are safe to eat, experts say.
Truby said his tests show medium levels of Red Tide off Treasure Island and as far north as Clearwater. He said there are background levels of Red Tide at Honeymoon Island and a medium reading in the Intracoastal Waterway east of St. Pete Beach. He said even low levels can cause discomfort for humans.
Red Tides are usually autumn events, Truby said, so this late spring bloom might be more damaging to wildlife as it migrates out of Tampa Bay. He said there are readings of background to low as far into Tampa Bay as the Sunshine Skyway bridge, but it's unlikely the tide will move far up the bay because recent heavy rains have flooded it with fresh water that Red Tide can't tolerate.
Businesses other than hotels may not be as affected.
"I've gotten some complaints from the locals, but it really doesn't affect our business," said Chris Rhodes, general manager of the Crabby Bill's restaurant on St. Pete Beach. T. Grafton Abbott, whose condo sits along the Intracoastal Waterway, said he prefers to stay inside to avoid the fishy smell. Outside, puffer fish, catfish and a lone spotted trout float in the otherwise pristine green waters.
He said he first saw signs of Red Tide at the start of the week.
"In the last few days I saw one, two, maybe three fish go by," he said. "Now there are quite a few."
Abbott, who has lived in his condo for 15 years, said he has seen it worse. One year, the water looked white because there were so many dead fish floating in it, he said.
Willis said there is no way to predict how long the Red Tide will last, where it will spread or how many dead fish it will produce. Weather conditions and tidal patterns will determine its spread, he said.
"We just wait for it to pass," Willis said.
Jamie Jewell, of the Treasure Island Grounds Department, used an excavator Thursday morning to pick up dead fish along the beach.
As the machine passed by, a pungent fishy odor hit Teresa Griesi's nose.
"Ugh," she moaned in disgust, turning away from the crew to plug her nose.
Griesi grew up in St. Petersburg but now lives in North Carolina. She said she feels bad for first-time Florida visitors.
"People who have never been here are saying, "What is this?' " she said. "They won't be back next year."
