The Fishery is Closed!
Well I haven’t posted in a while. If you have been watching the national news you may know why. The Gulf coast of Florida, from Sarasota to Naples, is facing a heart breaking natural disaster. And get this: its a double barrel assault.
Red tide moved inshore back in November and has steadfastly refused to give up! Incredible my friend. Red tide would normally be a problem for a few weeks. It has now been here almost a year. To that menace we also have toxic blue-green algae flowing down the Caloosahatchee River from Lake Okeechobee. That slimy poisonous mess exits out near Sanibel Island where in just two weeks time over 300 tons of dead sea life washed up on the beach. Disgust, a real crime.
Right now its breeding time for both snook and reds, so the fishery for both has been closed until further notice.
Tragedy.
Is there any hope?
Hey Ted,
Sorry in the delay getting back to you. Yes there is some hope, although the picture is far from rosy. Some accounts say that over 270 million tons of sea life has washed up on the beaches.
That does not,of course, figure in the amount of dead marine life littering the bottom. Quite a tragedy. And a good amount of blame has to land squarely on Governor Scott’s shoulders. Hurricane Michael pushed a lot of red tide north into the panhandle. Which had helped to clear the southern coast. But a shift in the winds could easily reverse that trend. On the brighter front, there is no significant amount of red tide here in Charlotte Harbor.