15 Tons of dead fish washed up on Tampa Bay’s shore due to ‘red tide’

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Tons of dead fish and other marine animals have been washing up on Tampa Bay shores in West Central Florida since early June due to “red tide.”
• According to the NOAA, red tides are “harmful algal blooms” that “occur when colonies of algae grow out of control while producing toxin harmful to people, marine animals, and birds.”
• Red tide becomes worse in Florida after Tropical Storm Elsa swept the state last week.

A natural phenomenon called “red tide” is causing massive amounts of dead fish to wash up on the shores of Tampa Bay in West Central Florida since early June.

The problem worsened after Tropical Storm Elsa swept Florida last week. Strong winds and waves pushed tons of dead fish onto the shores of St. Petersburg.

“Tampa Bay is really sick right now, really extraordinarily bad,” Justin Bloom, a Florida-based lawyer and environmental advocate, told the Tampa Bay Times. “Conditions that we haven’t seen in decades.”

St. Petersburg cleaning crews reportedly have collected 15 tons of lifeless fish after a 10-day clean-up.

However, collecting 15 tons of dead fish did not entirely clean the area as lifeless marine animals were still scattered in the water, on the shores, and in the mangroves.

Citing St. Petersburg as the epicenter of Florida’s latest red tide, the National Weather Service on Saturday issued a beach-hazards warning for the southern areas of Pinellas County.

The Florida Department of Health warns that exposure to a red tide bloom can lead to eye, nose, and throat irritation in people.

Red tides, also known as “harmful algal blooms,” “occur when colonies of algae — simple plants that live in the sea and freshwater — grow out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website.

In 2018, a long-lasting red tide brought a lot of death. At least 19 dolphins and 239 sea turtles in Sarasota and Manatee counties died, and about 2,000 tons of dead marine life were recovered from five counties hit by the red tide, according to The Post. Statewide, 100 manatees died.

Officials are concerned that this year’s red tide could do even more damage.

“We think back to our last red tide bloom in 2018 and how serious it was. And talking to the staff here, this is worse,” St. Petersburg Emergency Manager Amber Boulding said. “They’re seeing … more fish kills coming in. We go up and take aerial footage, we still see more out there in the bay.”

“It’s frustrating for residents … because we don’t know the end of it,” she added.

Some believe that the latest red tide is severe due to the 215 million gallons of nitrogen-rich wastewater that reached the bay earlier this year. The waste came from the site of an old fertilizer plant, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The algae feed on phosphorus and nitrogen.

Source: The Washington Post