Fish killed by red tide litter Sanibel's shores

Sanibel's shores are a haven for those escaping dreary winters, but Thursday they were a mass grave for tens of thousands of rotting fish.

Red tide, caused by Karenia brevis, crept its way to Lee County after festering off Sarasota County for several weeks. Besides killing fish, red tide can cause respiratory irritation in humans and other mammals.

"Some (fish) have been missing their eyes for a while, but you can smell the red tide and cell counts are elevated," said Rick Bartleson, a water quality scientist at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. "The fish probably didn't wash from a distance away. It was most likely pretty close to Sanibel or right at Sanibel."

Recent counts along Sanibel and in Pine Island Sound measured 500,000 to 760,000 cells per liter. It takes about 10,000 cells per liter to start killing fish and be visible from outer space.

Tourists from Toronto, Vermont and Germany alike stepped over piles of dead fish to enjoy the waters of Sanibel.

Geraldine Christie and her husband Sean had traveled from Indianapolis. They got out of their car and it hit them.

"I smelled something funky," she said. "I figured it was the ocean."

Most tourists chock it up to nature, but the smell and sight are unavoidable for those who shelled out the cash to come to sunny Florida in the winter.

Ray Tiberia and Sara Caracciolo, both 34, from Albany, New York, were glad they had a flashlight Wednesday night. Otherwise, they would have stepped right into "just piles and piles" of fish, she said.

Sporting a sunburn and toting a Bud Light on Thursday morning, Tiberia said the fish haven't ruined their vacation.

Still, Caracciolo admitted: "It smells a little bit."

The organism occurs naturally in this part of the Gulf of Mexico but can be fed by excessive nutrients running off the Southwest Florida landscape. The nutrients don't cause Karenia brevis to form but can extend the frequency and duration of the harmful algal blooms, which give off a neurotoxin.

"They (red tide numbers) went down last week," said Bartleson. "On Monday, I found medium concentrations along the causeway, and that's bad. Then numbers started shooting up along the beaches Wednesday."

Seafood served commercially must past state tests designed to trace the neurotoxin, so it is safe to buy some fillets at the grocery or have a grouper sandwich.

Scientists don't know how long the bloom will brew in the region. Conditions can improve in a matter of days or last several months.

"Sometimes a red tide can wash by (the Lee County area) and keep going," Bartleson said. "But once it gets into (Pine Island) sound it can take off and linger."

But red tide affects more than sea life.

"City staff and members of the public have reported feeling the effects of red tide," said Holly Milbrandt, biologist with the City of Sanibel.

She said crews picked up the carcasses on Tarpon Bay Beach and Gulfside Beach, both toward the center of the island where the highest concentration of fish were.

Milbrandt said the policy is that crews go out when "accumulations are such that fish are stacked in piles along the beach or reach an average quantity of 100 fish in a 100-linear-foot stretch of beach," and then the city manager must approve the pick-ups.

She said there's no way to know when the island will get a reprieve.

"We don't know what the fate of the particular bloom is," she said. "It's patchy, so there's some hope that the cold front might be sufficient enough to break the bloom up."

Connect with this reporter: @ben_brasch (Twitter) and Ben Brasch (Facebook). Chad Gillis, reporter with The News-Press, contributed to this report.

Red tide

How the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission suggests you stay safe:

Some people experience respiratory irritation — coughing, sneezing, tearing and an itchy throat — when Karenia brevis is present and winds blow onshore.

Offshore winds usually keep respiratory effects experienced by those on the shore to a minimum. The Florida Department of Health advises people with severe or chronic respiratory conditions, such as emphysema or asthma, to avoid red tide areas.