Mullet season strong, but there's a catch

Since late December, the town has received multiple reports of dead fish floating in the water, primarily near the north end of the Key.

“We had some calls regarding dead mullet on both our beaches and floating in our water,” Longboat Key Public Works Director Juan Florensa said. “There were small concentrations of them. We’ve picked up the ones on the beach, but the ones on the bay usually sink to the bottom.”

The good news is, it’s a sign of the times — not red tide. The fish reported in recent weeks are the byproduct of mullet season, which has drawn commercial fishermen from across the United States to the area.

“This year happened to be a phenomenal year for mullet,” said fishing guru and Sarasota Bay Watch President Rusty Chinnis.

Chinnis said that because female mullet contain roe, which is prized as a delicacy in some parts of the world, they are more valuable than males. As a result, during a strong season, commercial fishermen often dump males in the water.

Manatee County Board of County Commissioners Chairwoman Carol Whitmore wrote in a Jan. 4 email to Longboat Key town commissioners that county staff is looking into the issue, including the possibility of distributing discarded fish to food banks.

Chinnis said that mullet season typically runs from late November through mid-January. He said that several factors have made this season strong: A state ban on gill-netting passed in 1995 has allowed mullet populations to gradually replenish. Plus, the most active part of season was free of major cold fronts. Typically in cold weather, mullet head further inshore.

“It’s a combination of a healthy population plus the fish stayed around,” Chinnis said.