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2005 RED TIDE IMPACTS PRESENTED TO FWC
December 7, 2006
Contact: Jess Brown, (727) 896-8626 or (727) 224-3674
In 2005, an intense and prolonged red tide
significantly impacted the juvenile spotted seatrout fishery,
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) Commissioners
learned Thursday.
The news was better for red drum and snook
anglers in Southwest Florida because juvenile red drum fared
better and juvenile snook suffered little impact from the severe
red tide.
Gil McRae, director of FWC’s Fish and Wildlife
Research Institute (FWRI) outlined the impact of last year’s red
tide on Southwest Florida’s recreational fisheries during a
presentation at the FWC’s regular meeting at Key Largo.
Through an analysis of data from its long-term
juvenile fish monitoring program and a species-specific study,
FWRI evaluated the three popular sportfish.
“Biologists attribute the juvenile snook
population’s resiliency to the species’ use of low-salinity
nursery habitats,” McRae said. “The red tide organism does not
thrive in low-salinity areas or brackish water, so juvenile
snook were able to avoid the bloom.”
The red tide bloom, a naturally-occurring
phenomenon caused by a microscopic alga called Karenia brevis,
persisted from early January to mid-December and was responsible
for thousands of dead fish along Florida’s beaches.
In Tampa Bay, red tide hit the seatrout
population at a popular spawning site particularly hard.
Biologists monitoring the site, using ultrasonic transmitters
implanted in fish, consistently heard sounds of spawning trout
-- until red tide hit the area. Although spawning season
continues through September, researchers never heard the fish
with implants after July 12, 2005 -- something they attribute to
red tide. Preliminary 2006 data show the spawning fish have not
returned to the area. However juvenile recruitment data for 2006
show the species is making a very slow recovery in other areas.
The 2005 red tide bloom also affected bottom
communities offshore from Tarpon Springs to Sarasota.
Bottom-dwelling organisms like sponges, corals, mollusks, crabs
and fish died due to the effects of red tide and hypoxic and
anoxic (oxygen-depleted) conditions resulting from decomposition
of dead organisms. Survey results from the area indicated the
red tide impacted some reef communities heavily while other
reefs appeared to be unaffected.
FWRI researchers continue to monitor spotted
seatrout, red drum and snook populations. In addition,
monitoring of the spotted seatrout spawning area in Tampa Bay
will continue so scientists can determine if levels of spawning
activity return to pre-red tide levels.
To report a fish kill, contact FWC’s Fish Kill
Hotline at 1-800-636-0511 or e-mail at
FishandWildlifeHealth@MyFWC.com. For the latest red tide
conditions throughout the state, visit
http://Research.MyFWC.com. |
