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Hurricane Dennis

Dennis brings Red Tide to doorsteps

The storm may prove fatal to the algae, but the dead fish already have washed ashore.

By EMILY ANTHES
Published July 12, 2005

Until now Tampa Bay residents could avoid Red Tide by staying away from area beaches, but Hurricane Dennis brought evidence of the toxic algae bloom right to people's doorsteps.

Florida fish and wildlife officials on Monday fielded calls from residents who woke up with dead fish in their yards. Debris and marine life floated down local streets during Sunday's flooding. Dead fish piled up in areas ranging from Shore Acres to Tampa's Picnic Island park.

"A lot of people are very concerned about dead fish," said Scott Willis, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg.

Red Tide, which can kill fish and cause respiratory irritation in humans, has been afflicting the Tampa Bay area for more than three weeks. But Willis said neither the flooding waters nor the dead fish carried inland pose any serious or lasting health threat.

Red Tide cannot be spread by fish, and storm conditions usually make it difficult for the algae to survive.

"Red Tide cells tend to break up in turbulence," Willis said. "Just smashing over a seawall or the turbulence that we had could kill it."

Red Tide cells also prefer water with high salinity; if they ended up in floodwater that was diluted with a lot of rain, they might not have survived, he said.

It's still too early to tell, however, whether Dennis helped rid Tampa Bay completely of Red Tide. The institute is sampling local water and should "have a better understanding" of how the hurricane affected Red Tide levels within a few days, Willis said.

As for the dead fish left behind by the storm, residents are on their own.

"We don't pick up dead fish," said Chuck Schauer, St. Petersburg's sanitation director. "People can put the dead fish in their containers."

Despite little chance of exposure to Red Tide from dead fish, officials say residents should be careful when cleaning them up. Bacteria grows on any organism after it dies, so those cleaning up sea matter should wear gloves and seal items in plastic bags, said Gary Morse, a spokesman for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

"With any cleanup, you should use gloves to avoid problems with bacteria that could be on the fish, but generally you're not looking at anything too exotic," he said.

On Monday, employee and customers at the Wharf Restaurant in Pass-A-Grille were coping with the sudden infusion of dead fish on shore.

"We have a lot dead fish here," said host Janet Agneta. "The smell is pretty bad for outside dining. ... We have a lot of customers complaining about it."

--Staff writer Brian White contributed to this report.

[Last modified July 12, 2005, 05:10:13]