Jim Waymer

FLORIDA TODAY



UPDATE, 10:30 A.M. — Want to do something about all the dead fish pilling up along the banks of the Indian River Lagoon?

How about putting on some gloves, bagging up some dead fish and hauling them to a local dumpster?

Today (March 23), Brevard County plans to put dumpsters at several locations, where volunteers can dispose of the dead fish washed up on the lagoon banks this week.

The locations will be as follows:

Bicentennial Park, 801 W Cocoa Beach Causeway, Cocoa Beach

Kiwanis Island Park, 51 Kiwanis Island Park Rd, Merritt Island

Kelly Park, Merritt Island, 2550 N. Banana River Drive

POW/MIA Park, 5995 N. U.S. 1, Melbourne, at Pineda Causeway

Eau Gallie Causeway (will add an extra dumpster there)

The dumpsters will be picked up daily and the fish hauled to the landfill.

The county is targeting cleanup efforts in Sykes Creek; Cocoa Beach; Snug Harbor in Cocoa Beach; Windjammer Court in Merritt Island; and Grand Canal in Satellite Beach.

"We know that this is a public nuisance," said Don Walker, spokesman for Brevard County. "All the fish are going to be taken to the landfill and buried ... We're not going to be able to collect them all."

For the fish floating, in most cases it's best to let them sink, officials said.

"We're not encouraging people to get out in the water and collect fish ," Walker added. "But we're going to at least do what we can because we know it's a public nuisance. At some point, nature takes its course and the crabs eat some of this."

Nonetheless, the St. Johns River Water Management District plans to collect fish by boat. And the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office marine unit will have 10 to 15 inmates clean up fish in some remote areas.

Meanwhile, Cocoa Beach officials urge residents not remove the fish, citing the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's recommendation to "allow nature to run its’ course." "Between the wind, currents and natural decomposition the fish should sink to the bottom of the canals shortly," city officials said in a release. "However, if a resident has already removed some of the fish the city has provided a dumpster at Ramp Road for the fish to be disposed of safely. Please do not touch the fish with your bare hands and double bag the dead fish prior to putting them into the dumpster."

Previous story:

Capt. Jamie Glasner smells the massive fish fallout at his Cocoa Isles home in Cocoa Beach.

"My back yard, it's disgusting," Glasner said of all the dead fish and other marine life fouling up Indian River Lagoon waters from Titusville to Melbourne this week.

But Glasner's bigger long-term worry is his business, Fin & Fly Charters.

Fishermen have reported dead red fish more than four feet. Glasner thinks the state ought to put a temporary ban on harvesting red fish, and maybe trout and other sport fish, until they get a chance to recover. Florida created a similar ban on snook after cold snaps devastated that species several years ago.

"I don't see nearly the amount of fish that we used to," Glasner said. "People are still going to go fishing, regardless ... We're wiping it out, we're wiping out this industry here. It's getting bad."

Fishermen and lagoon-side residents say the die off they've be witnessing the past few days is the worst fish kill they've ever seen in the lagoon. Thick clusters of dead fish drifted near neighborhoods in south Cocoa Beach and Patrick Air Force Base, blanketing canals with corpses. The death toll spans the spectrum of about 30 species, from pint-sized junk fish to plump, prize-sized sport fish.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission collects and analyzes samples during fish kills, but the state agency doesn't typically conduct cleanups of the rotting fish. Those usually sink after several days.

"FWC does not clean up, that is up to each municipality to decide how to proceed," Frank McCloy, a spokesman with FWC said. "We do not advise people to clean up the fish themselves. Nature will take its course."

Brevard County has been removing dead fish on county lagoon-side parks and other county-owned land this week, but doesn't typically remove fish from private property. The county got so many calls this week, however, that county officials are planning to put out dumpsters at several waterfront parks where the dead fish can be disposed. They're also organizing a coordinated clean-up effort, with locations and other details to be determined Wednesday morning.

“We’re looking for volunteers and working with regulatory agencies to see if they’ll help too,” Assistant County Manager Venetta Valdengo said in a release. She expects dumpsters to be put in place before the end of the day Wednesday.

State wildlife officials suspect ongoing algae blooms are depleting the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water.

The dominant species in the lagoon right now is a brown tide algae that's been blooming for months. But that algae also is joined by blooming species of the same green algae linked to a 2011 "superbloom" that killed of thousands of acres of lagoon seagrass.

The ongoing algae blooms are not toxic and no fish consumption advisories or recreational advisories have been issued as a result of the blooms.

Dead fish continue to foul up lagoon

Buz Underill, owner of Squid Lips restaurants in Cocoa Beach and Melbourne, had dead fish washing up to the banks at both restaurants, less than a month after the new Cocoa Beach location's opening.

"The timing is real unfortunate," Underill said.

Customers have been curious, but understanding. "There's a few of them that want to know what's going on," Underill said. "Most people understand."

Other reports of dead wildlife this week included an alligator in Sykes Creek in Merritt Island and a manatee in Cocoa Beach, but it's uncertain whether those are linked to the bloom. Some of the recent pelican and manatee casualties might just be the result of migration and the change of seasons, biologists said.

A two-foot-long catfish drifted up against the coquina rocks at Ballard Park in Melbourne Tuesday, as Tara Bryan and her son, Joshua, 9, watched the dead fish floating. More fish could be seen as distant white dots toward the middle of the lagoon.

"He's all concerned," Tara Bryan said of her son. "He pulled me out here. He wants it to get fixed."

Joshua swung his arms side-to-side, looking out into the lagoon, where he and his mother like to watch the dolphins that show up here from time to time. "Now all the dolphins leave," the nine-year-old said.

Tara Bryan wants Gov. Rick Scott and more politicians to come see for themselves the destruction happening to the lagoon.

"It affects the economy," she said. "None of them come down to see. What's going on is ridiculous. It's just sad,"

Contact Waymer at 321-242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com Follow him on Twitter @JWayEnviro and at facebook.com/jim.waymer

Report a fish kill to FWC's Fish Kill Hotline: 800-636-0511

Or report the fish kill online:

http://myfwc.com/FishKill

Want to take action. Here's what the city of Cocoa Beach suggests:

Contact Federal and State representatives urging support for remedial and preventative legislation to clean up the Indian River Lagoon

Keep grass clippings or landscape trimmings from falling into the Banana River Lagoon

Don't sweep organic and road debris into the storm drainage inlets at the street

Monitor private landscape services to ensure they handle grass clippings and landscape trimmings properly

Support more stringent regulations than required to prevent organic material from being discharged into the Banana River Lagoon

Support funding for more infrastructure projects

Source: City of Cocoa Beach

Have questions about the algae bloom's health risks?

Call the Aquatic Toxins Hotline: 888-232-8635, or the Poison Control Center: 800 222-1222.

Want to learn more about what needs to be done to save the lagoon?

What: Duane DeFreese, executive director of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program, will give a talk at Florida Institute of Technology, entitled "Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program —Challenges and Opportunities

When: 4 to 4:50 p..m. Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Where: FIT Campus, Evans Library Pavilion, Auditorium Room P133.