Dead fish cleanup continues Tuesday

The dead fish cleanup continues on Longboat Key.

Town Manager Dave Bullock and Public Works Project Manager Mark Richardson surveyed canals from Bay Isles to Longboat Harbour on Sunday and decided they would authorize the use of the town’s emergency debris contractor to clean canals Tuesday and Wednesday if needed. Canals will be cleaned from Longboat Harbour south to Bay Isles. 

Bullock sent the crews back to Country Club Shores for more fish kill cleanup Nov. 25 before the Thanksgiving holiday but the crew experienced heavy concentrations of dead fish and couldn’t finish the job before the holiday weekend.

Richardson said the amount of dead fish is much less than what was observed last week and the cleanup should just take a day or two to be complete.

The contractor worked from Sept. 20 to Sept. 22 cleaning the canals, billing the town $14,489.99 to remove approximately 6,000 pounds of dead fish and seaweed. The final bill for the additional days of cleanup won't be submitted until later this week. 

Medium concentrations of red tide in Manatee and Sarasota counties have been reported over the last month.

Red tide is a harmful algae that causes respiratory irritation in humans and serious health issues in marine life and pets.

The town does not clean up minor fish kills from its shores but will offer assistance for moderate to severe fish kills if Bullock deems it necessary.

Bullock is using a $50,000 budget line item for red tide cleanup to get rid of the dead fish. 

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].