MASS FISH DIE-OFF: "Heartbreaking Images Can Be Seen For MILES,... AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE,..." - Fish Are Dying In Mass In Florida; El Nino, Warmer Temperatures, And Toxic Algae Are Leading To ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER?! [VIDEO]

Alex Gorichky via CNN

March 25, 2016 - FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - Florida may be the fishing capital of the world, but you'd never know it from the latest scenes around the state's Indian River Lagoon.

Usually idyllic beaches, waterways and estuaries near the massive, biodiverse ecosystem along central Florida's Atlantic coast are littered with scores of dead, rotting fish; an estimated hundreds of thousands of them are floating belly up in brackish, polluted water as far as the eye can see.

"The heartbreaking images can be seen for miles," said Mike Conner, who has been fishing the area since the 1970s. "All up and down the coast, it's the same story, and it could get worse before it gets better."

But the devastation isn't merely what is visible on the surface; it runs far deeper.

El Nino has soaked Florida recently, even during its usual "dry season."

In January, parts of central Florida received triple the amount of rain they normally do for the month. All that rainwater eventually made its way into estuaries via urbanized neighborhoods, picking up fertilizer and other pollutants along the way.

But that's not all.

Temperatures were warmer than usual during the winter, allowing a toxic algae bloom and brown tide to deplete the water of oxygen.

Ed Garland, a spokesman for the St. John River Water Management District, said officials can't determine the effect from the brown tide on the seagrass yet since the water is too cloudy. In 2011, more than half of the seagrass reportedly died off, and there are still damaged areas from that die-off.

These scenes are no doubt jarring to the eyes -- and not to mention the nose -- but state environmental officials said they have happened before.

"Fish kills happen all the time," said Kelly Richmond of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. "This is a massive kill, but there are fish kills all over the state."

However, Richmond conceded, "We have had brown tide there before but nothing to this extent."

The impact extends beyond the shores of the Indian River Lagoon -- comprised of the Mosquito, Banana River and Indian River lagoons -- and into the pocketbooks of Floridians, especially those in the state's two most profitable industries: tourism and fishing.

"Our oysters are dead, seagrasses are dead," said Conner, the fisherman. "It (will be) hard to recover. You never fully recover."


WATCH: Fish are dying in mass in Florida.

- WCVB.

 

MASS ANIMAL DIE-OFF: Catastrophic Mortality - Florida Manatees Dying At Record Rates; 769 Dead In 2013; The Deadliest Year Ever?!

November 01, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Toxic algae blooms that deplete the water of essential oxygen are killing a record number of manatees in Florida this year, biologists say.

A total of 769 manatees have died trough Tuesday, making 2013 the deadliest year ever for the blubbery denizens of the deep found off the Florida coast, Save the Manatee Club announced.

A pair of manatees swim near NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on May 13, 2010.

With more than two months left this year, nearly twice the number of manatees have already died compared to all of 2012, which saw 392 confirmed manatee deaths.

The last record—766 dead manatees—was set in 2010, when an unusually cold winter and spring killed hundreds of the delicate creatures, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Manatees live near the coastline, and when the weather turns cold, they often shelter near springs or in warmer discharge canals at power plants to avoid the condition known as "cold stress," which can weaken and eventually kill the aquatic mammals.

"With 2013's catastrophic loss of manatee lives coming so close on the heels of the mass mortality suffered during 2010, the already difficult job to ensure the survival of these gentle and defenseless marine mammals has been made all the more challenging, and it's not over yet," said the club's executive director Patrick Rose.

"What we put into our waters, how much we pump from our aquifer and draw from our springs and rivers, together with how we use our waterways, all has an impact on our own lives and the lives of every aquatic species."

The club's director of science and conservation blamed two "unusual mortality events" for this year's major losses.

Toxic red-tide bloom killed 276 manatees this winter and spring in southwestern Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Most of the deaths took place in the Cape Cora-Fort Myers region off the Gulf coast.

The second event remains unexplained, but saw more than 100 manatees die of undetermined causes in Brevard County off the Atlantic coast.

Tripp said those deaths were linked to various algal blooms and the loss of 47,000 acres (19,000 hectares) of seagrass since 2010.

Of the total number of deaths this year, 123 were stillborn, newborn or young calves, in another record for that mortality category.

Manatees are a protected species in Florida, highly affected by urban development in recent years along the coast in the central and southern parts of the state.

In the bay of Miami, where families of three or four manatees are commonly spotted along the shore, many of the animals are killed after being struck by boats. - PHYSORG.

MASS FISH DIE-OFF: Another Fish Kill Due To Red Tide In Indian River Lagoon, Florida - Health Experts Advise The Sensitive To Avoid Area Of New Infestation!

October 20, 2013 - UNITED STATES - A reddish algae had dead fish washing up ashore and left a nauseating odor wafting along Riverside Drive on Monday.

As biologists test the water, health officials say people with respiratory or other health conditions should avoid the algae-infested areas, or eating seafood caught there.

On Monday there was a strong, irritating odor from the Indian River Lagoon along Riverside Drive in Melbourne,
along with a fishkill north of the Melbourne Causeway. MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY

Diane Barile, a retired biologist who taught at Florida Tech and lives along Riverside Drive, just north of U.S. 192, wasn’t taking any chances.

“I’m closing all the windows,” Barile said. “I’m just not going outside.”

The lagoon took on a coppery reddish hue near Barile’s house Monday, where large dead mullet washed ashore in the brisk wind. “It’s like a red line,” Barile said of the discolored water.

Dolphin she saw early Monday seemed in a frenzy, she said, as if affected by the algae.

Recent lagoon water tests have not found Karenia brevis, the algae species most commonly referred to as red tide. That algae hasn’t popped up in Brevard since 2007.

But other algae that similarly discolor the water have been blooming. State wildlife officials for weeks have reported patchy algae blooms in the lagoon. Among them is a reddish algae called Pyrodinium bahamense, a brown algae named Aureoumbra lagunensis — also referred to as brown tide — and a yellowish-brown algae called Pseudo-nitzschia.

State wildlife officials gathered water and fish samples Monday to try to identify the main culprit in the fish kills and the respiratory issues Barile reported to health officials.

Meanwhile, people concerned about health effects of any algae bloom should call the Florida Poison Information Center, state health officials said.

“You should not go close to it if you are sensitive,” said Brevard County Health Department Director Heidar Heshmati. “Most of them (algae blooms), they may have neurotoxin.” - Florida Today.

MASS FISH DIE-OFF: Algae-Related Fish Kills Plague Indian River Lagoon, Florida - September Peak Month In Brevard, Accounting For About 15 Percent!

September 19, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Dead sheepshead and pinfish speckled local waters such as the canal behind Nikki Pingston’s house, fouling the air countywide this week and souring the disposition of waterfront dwellers.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything done to the bodies of the fish,” Pingston said of the hundreds of scaly corpses in her canal this week. “That’s the first time I’ve seen the fish floating out there.”

Many have reported similar isolated patches of dead fish throughout the Indian River Lagoon, Mosquito Lagoon and Banana River in recent weeks. Others have spotted groups offish gasping for air.

Among the reports this past weekend were an estimated 1,000 dead fish in the Banana River near Mathers Bridge and Telemar Bay Marina, according to the state’s fish kill database.

The lagoon’s fish have been suffocating under an onslaught from this summer’s ongoing brown tide and several other algae blooms in the Indian River Lagoon, Mosquito Lagoon and Banana River, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Tripp Pingston, 6, and neighbor Rileigh Capozzi, 7, look at the canal water behind the Pingston family home
on Sandpiper Drive, where hundreds of dead fish are spread out. / Tim Shortt/FLORIDA TODAY

FWC researchers have documented patchy blooms of algae in all three of those water bodies, resulting in discolored water and fish kills in some spots.

Algae adds oxygen to the water during the day, as a byproduct of photosynthesis, but less so on cloudy days. Then at night, the algae consumes oxygen, at times depleting the water of enough oxygen to kill fish in the early morning hours.

But biologists say summer fish kills are nothing new this time of year, typically peaking in August and September in Brevard.

Warmer summer water holds less oxygen than cooler water. And bacteria in water can consume oxygen as algae and other organic matter rots.

“Just this past week, we’ve had several going on at once,” said Rich Paperno, research administrator at FWC’s Indian River Field Laboratory in Melbourne, of the recent fish kills.

“It seems it’s been fairly quiet in terms of fish kills,” Paperno added. “It’s typical for this time of year.”

According to a FLORIDA TODAY analysis of FWC’s fish kill database:

• More than 1,500 fish kills were reported in Brevard County since 1973. Melbourne and Merritt Island had the most, more than 300 each, or a combined 43 percent of the total reported in the county.
• September has been the peak month for fish kills in Brevard, with 224 die-offs, or about 15 percent.
• The leading cause of fish kills in Brevard was low oxygen in the water, accounting for 397 of the fish kills. Almost as many, 378, happened for unknown reasons. Algae blooms were the third-leading cause, 219 reported die-offs.

WATCH: Algae-related fish kills plague Indian River Lagoon.

The database, which also includes incidences such as manatee, sea turtle and bird deaths, is based on reports made to thestatewide Marine Fish Kill Hotline. FWC follows up on each report,although they can’t verify every account through direct observation.

Pingston can. Her canal off Sandpiper Drive links with Grand Canal, which runs along Tortoise Island and Lansing Island, where similar fish kills have been reported this week.

Paperno, of FWC, has seen it before.

“That Grand Canal seems to be a common place where they happen,” Paperno said.

“Any canal with a lot of housing along it is probably a hotspot,” he said. “You’ve taking out the natural habitat.”

Loss of mangroves, overfertilizing and septic tanks contribute to the algae explosions that can kill fish and other lagoon wildlife, biologists say.

Since moving to Sandpiper about a year ago, the Pingstons already have witnessed four dead manatees. Earlier this year, Nikki Pingston said she took a sick cormorant to a local wildlife hospital. It didn’t make it.

“This is just sad to see this,” she said. - Florida Today.

MASS ANIMAL DIE-OFF: Catastrophic Mortality - Government Declares Mass Dolphin Die-Off In Florida An Unusual Mortality Event!

July 25, 2013 - UNITED STATES - At least 54 bottlenose dolphins have died mysteriously in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon since January. Today, the federal government is stepping in to help find out what’s killing them.

Dolphins are dying in the Indian River Lagoon. Today, the federal government announced that it will help
investigate the cause. (Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute)

In a normal year, that number would be closer to 22. On July 24, NOAA declared the mass die-off an “Unusual Mortality Event” — a declaration that will send federal resources and scientists to help teams already on the ground in Florida. It’s the lagoon’s worst dolphin die-off on record, and the cause is mysterious.

“This has become a national investigation, instead of a local investigation,” said Megan Stolen, a marine biologist with Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, the nonprofit organization that has been investigating and keeping track of the dolphin deaths so far. ”This will definitely help us.”

Map by Greg Miller.

It’s the second time this year that NOAA has declared an Unusual Mortality Event for marine mammals in the lagoon, a 156-mile-long estuary that runs along Florida’s Atlantic coast. In April, a mass manatee die-off received the same designation. This is the third time a UME has been declared for dolphins in the lagoon. What caused the others, in 2001 and 2008, is still a mystery.

The lagoon is a treasured but troubled ecosystem, and has been besieged by a combination of nutrient run-off, pollution, and algal blooms — ingredients that have created a lethal situation for 112 manatees, roughly 300 pelicans, and 54 dolphins since last July. Scientists don’t yet know if the die-offs are linked, or if there are multiple killers on the loose in the estuary. Multiple investigations are ongoing, with teams trying to find out whether algal toxins, or pollution, or something else is to blame.

Stolen became concerned about the dolphin deaths in January. But it wasn’t until late spring that the carcasses really began to pile up; at one point, scientists were retrieving a dolphin a day from the northern and central lagoon. The die-off is affecting dolphins of all age classes and sexes. Some of the bodies are intact, others have been scavenged by sharks. Unlike the dead manatees, which appear normal except for being dead, the dolphins are emaciated — thin and bony. But whether they’re starving because of disease, or a toxin, or a lack of food is still unknown. Clues are scarce, and only one sick dolphin has been found alive.

Elevated numbers of dead dolphins, casualties of a mysterious killer, prompted the UME declaration. (NOAA)

Now, Stolen says, the die-off has slowed a bit. In July, five dolphins have been pulled from the lagoon’s brackish water.

“The last few dolphins have been calves,” she said. “Newborn babies.”

It’s not clear yet whether the calves, three of them, are casualties of the mysterious scourge. But, Stolen says, “We would expect that if moms are getting hit by the UME cause, that we would start seeing dead calves as well.”

Map by Greg Miller.

She and her colleagues will continue to monitor and respond to situation as NOAA’s team determines which direction to take the investigation in. ”We are starting to look in [the dolphins'] stomachs now,” she said. “Normally when we do a necropsy, we kind of scoop everything out of their stomachs and put it in a bag. What we’ll do now is we’ll separate the liquid from the solid.”

The liquids are good for toxin analyses, and the solids will tell researchers what, exactly, the dolphins have been eating — and if there are any clues to be found in their last meals. - WIRED.

MASS ANIMAL DIE-OFF: Catastrophic Mortality - 46 Dolphins, 111 Manatees And 300 Pelicans Have Died Since Last Summer In Indian River Lagoon, Florida; One Dolphin Turning Up Dead Everyday Last Week?!

June 18, 2013 - UNITED STATES - The Indian River Lagoon on Florida's east coast has long been known as the most diverse ecosystem in North America.

A kayaker spotted a sick dolphin stranded in shallow water in Indian River Lagoon this week and stayed with it for two hours until rescuers could capture it. Because it was suffering some from sunburn, they draped it in a sheet until they could take it to rehab. After finding 46 dead dolphins in the lagoon, this is the first live one and could provide clues to what’s been killing them off. Teresa Mazza with Hubbs-SeaWorld.

Its 156 miles of water boast more than 600 species of fish and more than 300 kinds of birds.

The lagoon is not just an ecological treasure. To the towns along its edge — Titusville, Cocoa, Melbourne, Vero Beach and Stuart, among others — it accounts for hundreds of millions in revenue from angling, boating, bird-watching, tourism and other waterfront activities.

But these days the Indian River Lagoon has become known as a killing zone.

Algae blooms wiped out more than 47,000 acres of its sea grass beds, which one scientist compared to losing an entire rainforest in one fell swoop.

Then, beginning last summer, manatees began dying. As of last week, 111 manatees from Indian River Lagoon had died under mysterious circumstances. Soon pelicans and dolphins began showing up dead too — more than 300 pelicans and 46 dolphins so far.

A dolphin swims near Round Island in the southern portion of the Indian River Lagoon on Thursday. At least 46 dolphins have died under mysterious circumstances — one a day in the past week. CHRIS ZUPPA | Times

How bad is it? In the past week, a dolphin a day has turned up dead in the lagoon, said Megan Stolen, a research scientist at Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute.

"When you lose the manatees, pelicans and dolphins, you know something is going on," said Marty Baum of Indian Riverkeeper, a nonprofit environmental group that tries to act as a steward for the lagoon and the Indian River that flows into it.

Yet so far nobody can name the killer. Biologists have some suspicions but are baffled about any connection among the species' problems. The diets are different: Manatees are vegetarians, while pelicans and dolphins eat fish. The symptoms are different: The manatees' stomachs are stuffed, while the pelicans and dolphins are emaciated.

Baum's family has lived around the lagoon since the 1860s, but he can't remember anything like this ever happening.

The lagoon has had algae blooms before. None of them were like the one that hit it in 2011. Experts called the explosion of the greenish Resultor species a "superbloom" because it covered nearly 131,000 acres and lasted from early spring to late fall.

Algae coats sea grass in the Indian River Lagoon on Thursday. Already, 47,000 acres of sea grass beds have died from algae blooms. CHRIS ZUPPA | Times

Then came the "brown tide" algae bloom last summer, tinting the water a chocolate brown. The algae, Aureoumbra lagunensis, have been a recurring problem in Texas. Why it suddenly showed up in Florida is another mystery.

The algae blooms shade out sunlight needed by sea grass. By the time the algae was done, the lagoon had lost more than half its sea grass, essential to nurturing fish and other marine species.

Then came what Pat Rose of the Save the Manatee Club called "a cascade of events."

The mysterious manatee die-off began in the northern part of the lagoon last July, hit its peak around March and now produces another dead manatee about every two weeks, said Martine DeWit of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Biologists at a state laboratory in St. Petersburg examine every dead manatee that's found in Florida for a cause of death. But the Indian River Lagoon manatees have them stumped. The manatees appeared to have abruptly sickened and drowned.

Algae coats sea grass in the Indian River Lagoon on Thursday. Already, 47,000 acres of sea grass beds have died from algae blooms. CHRIS ZUPPA | Times

Normally manatees eat sea grass. With much of the sea grass gone, the manatees turned to eating a red sea weed called gracilaria. But so far there is no sign that played any role in their deaths, DeWit said. The lab is continuing to test for viruses, pollutants or something else.

Similar tests are being run on the dead pelicans and dolphins. Stolen of Hubbs-SeaWorld said the dolphin die-off first became evident in January and has not let up since.

And the lagoon's 700 dolphins are already somewhat beleaguered. They tend to suffer from high levels of mercury. In fact, research by the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution at Florida Atlantic University has found that there's so much mercury in the lagoon's fish that people who eat them have higher mercury concentrations in their tissues than those who eat imported fish.

Scientists caught a break Friday when a kayaker discovered an ailing, sunburned, underweight dolphin stranded in the shallows, Stolen said. Rescuers were able to capture it for rehabilitation, and they hope it offers clues to what killed the others.


WATCH: Indian River Lagoon mystery ailment killing dolphins, manatees, pelicans.

When it comes to naming the cause, the list of suspects rivals a game of Clue. Stormwater runoff filled with fertilizer and other nutrient pollution has been blamed for fueling the algae blooms. Other theories point to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dumping polluted water from Lake Okeechobee, changes in water temperature or salt levels, overflow from contaminated mosquito-control ditches, even climate change, which is boosting the acidity of the world's oceans.

The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute had hoped for $2 million in state money this year for a study of the lagoon's water chemistry, but Gov. Rick Scott vetoed the appropriation.

There are a few hopeful signs. The pelican die-off appears to have ended. As for the sea grass, "we're starting to see some regrowth in certain areas, but not as much as we'd hoped," said Tony Rice of the Indian River Lagoon Estuary Program, a government-sponsored partnership among local and state agencies.

Meanwhile, a new brown tide bloom was spotted last month. If the lagoon hasn't hit a point where it's sliding toward oblivion, said Rose, of the Save the Manatee Club, a return to normal is a long way off. "I'm thinking it's seven, eight, nine years," he said. "We could be looking at a decade before it recovers." - Tampa Bay Times.

MASS ANIMAL DIE-OFF: "Catastrophic Mortality" - Manatees Are Dying In Droves In Florida, 582 Have Died So Far This Year?!

May 19, 2013 - UNITED STATES - A record number of endangered manatees are dying in Florida's algae-choked waterways. So far this year, 582 manatees have died, more than any year on record, according to preliminary numbers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

Pat Rose is an aquatic biologist and the executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, an organization devoted to preserving the animal. In his interview with TakePart, Rose reports the estimated minimum population of these gentle beasts is only 3,100 adults. That means their population has decreased by more than 10 percent in just four months.

A total of 247 of these have died in the southwest of the state due to an explosion of a red-hued algae called Karenia brevis, also known as a red tide.

This pesky microorganism produces neurotoxins that can kill manatees by causing them to seize to the point where they can't make it to the surface—or even lift their head out of the water—to breathe.

The NOAA is launching a study to investigate the factors behind the recent rash of manatee deaths.
(Photo: Kallista/Getty Images)

The large marine mammals are also dying in the eastern part of the state, in Brevard County near Orlando. Rose says a gradual die-out of sea grass, upon which the manatees feed, has combined with blooms of brown algae and likely other unknown factors to kill nearly 150 more manatees. Since 2010, about 30,000 acres of sea grass have been wiped out.

Luckily, it appears that both events are winding down, and the rate of manatee deaths appears to be slowing. But that's cold comfort for Rose, since the number of threats to manatees appears to be growing, and little is being done to address the problem.

Traditionally, boat collisions have been the biggest killer of manatees; they're vulnerable since they're large, slow-moving and often hang out on the surface. Until this year, at least 41 percent of all manatee deaths resulted from these collisions, and likely more, because not all of these deaths are reported or detected.

The threat of algal blooms could be reduced if Floridians and others throughout the country could reduce nutrient runoff.  These nutrients, from fertilizers and wastewater, feed algae blooms like red tide. When these proliferations of algae die, they also consume massive amounts of oxygen, creating dead zones that kill fish, coral and just about anything that happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Unfortunately, the Florida State Senate is considering a bill that would prevent local governments from water quality laws that are stricter than that of the state—which aren't strict enough, according to Rose. "The Legislature is doing everything it can to further pair down our water-quality laws," he says.

Called HB 999, the bill will be voted on by the Senate this week. According to an editorial in the Tampa Bay Times, this legislature "would make it easier to pollute waterways, destroy flood protection areas, squander the drinking water supply and extend even more leverage to developers over when and where they build."

Rose says it's unclear exactly why this red-tide event killed more manatees than any on record. It certainly didn't help that the bloom persisted through the winter months. But this has happened before; there was a persistent bloom of Karenia brevis that lasted from June 2002 until February 2004, for example, but far fewer manatees were killed, according to the FWC. - Take Part.

MASS FISH DIE-OFF IN AMERICA: Major Disaster Precursors - Hundreds Of Dead Fish Wash Up On Beaver Lake, Minnesota; Regulators Investigating Second Fish Kill In Two Weeks In Harlan County Creek, Kentucky; Three More Dolphins Found Dead Indian River Lagoon, Florida; Dead Fish Discovered In Delaware Lake, Ohio?!

May 08, 2013 - UNITED STATES - The spring weather brought with it something pretty unsightly near St. Paul. Hundreds of fish recently died in Beaver Lake, and many of them ended up all along the shoreline.

Fish kills are not unusual this time of year, but this one has Ramsey County officials worried. The fish died even though there is an aeration system in Beaver Lake.

Ruth Klabunde walks her dogs around the lake about three times a week. The first thing she noticed was the smell.

“This is a really fun little lake to walk around,” Klabunde said. “And the stench was kind of bad.”
And then Klabunde says she saw the source.

Hundreds Of Dead Fish Wash Up On Beaver Lake, Minnesota.

It’s estimated that more than 7,000 pounds of dead fish – mostly catfish, sunfish and bass – have been taken out of Beaver Lake. But what caused this unusually large fish kill is still a mystery.
Beaver Lake has an aeration pump that can be turned on when oxygen levels get low. Ramsey County turned the pump on in February, but it only reaches a small part of the lake.

Terry Noonan is a water resources manager for Ramsey County public works. He said the DNR stocks the lake with fish. But instead of reeling in panfish, they had to hire someone to pull them out by the truckload.

“For whatever reason this year the aeration system did not perform as we’d hoped,” Noonan said.

He thinks the cold spring and too many fish seeking oxygen caused Beaver Lake to go belly up.

“It could be that just so many fish accumulated in that relatively small area, that that’s a stresser in and of itself,” said Noonan.

The extent of the fish kill won’t be known until the DNR can get out and do some sampling. There are still fish in the lake, but Noonan said there is little doubt that this could temporarily hurt recreational fishing.

It’s possible the DNR may have to restock the lake if fish numbers get too low. - CBS Minnesota.

Regulators Investigating Second Fish Kill In Two Weeks In Harlan County Creek, Kentucky.

For the second time in two weeks, fish have been found dead in an eastern Kentucky creek, and state regulators aren’t sure what factors are to blame for the fish kill.

This time, hundreds of dead fish were found in Catrons Creek, in Harlan County. The dead fish range from more than a foot long to minnows.

But no one knows what caused the fish kill yet. People living near the creek reported seeing black water, and the culprit could be some kind of discharge of chemicals upstream from a coal mine or other industry.

"It’s looking like there’s something discharging, some kind of contaminant in the water," Division of Fish and Wildlife officer Steve Combs said. "We don’t have any evidence of that, because by the time people call us and we get people there to take samples, a lot of time it’s flushed out."

There was also no sign of a toxic algae bloom, which can be caused by excess nutrients in the water.

Now, regulators are waiting for the results of water tests to try to determine what’s to blame for the fish kill. They’ve tested for volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, dissolved oxygen and pH, and should have the results in about two weeks. - WFPL.

Three More Dolphins Found Dead Indian River Lagoon, Florida.

Biologists removed three more dead bottlenose dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon Monday, bringing this year's total lagoon bottlenose body count to at least 30.

Staff from Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute performed onsite examinations of the three dolphins: two of them in Merritt Island and one in Rockledge.

At least 30 dolphins have died in the lagoon since Jan. 1, all but a few in Brevard, most near Merritt Island. That's more than twice what would be expected, based on the death rate during the past decade.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration already has declared the 100 or so manatee deaths in the lagoon since mid-2012 an Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Event. The declaration triggers NOAA's own formal investigation. The federal agency is examining whether the dolphin and manatee deaths might be connected.

While the manatees die quickly, the dolphins show signs of a drawn-out syndrome. Most are found very thin, with enlarged spleens.

As many as 300 brown pelicans also have died in the lagoon region since February, maybe more. Those tested were negative for botulism and other common causes of bird death. They come in with heavy parasite counts.

About half the dolphins studied in the lagoon in the past decade suffer from some form of chronic infectious disease, suggesting compromised immune systems.

Researchers find levels of mercury - a potent neurotoxin - in the skin and blood of lagoon dolphins that are higher than in any other dolphins that have been studied. They also find high incidence of tumors, heart problems, cancer, stomach ulcers, skin lesions, genital herpes and other emerging ailments previously thought rare in dolphins.

Dolphins captured near Merritt Island, especially, test in poor health.

Researchers have pointed to water tainted by treated sewage and runoff as the possible cause. - Florida Today.

Dead Fish Discovered In Delaware Lake, Ohio Is The Result Of Temperature Change.

There have been several reports concerning dead fish that have been found along Delaware Lake.

Officials have now provided an explanation as to why they are dying.

A photo was taken earlier on Monday, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said there is no need to worry about the water quality being a cause for the fish kill.


It is not unusual for the fish, which are called Gizzard Shad, to die when the water temperature quickly changes from cold to warm.

The ODNR says that not all the fish die, but many of them do during this time of year. - 10tv.

MASS FISH DIE-OFF: Catastrophic Mortality - Thousands And Thousands Of Dead Fish Reported In Indian River Lagoon In Southern St. Lucie County, Florida?!

May 05, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Thousands of dead fish were reported Thursday afternoon on the west bank of the Indian River Lagoon about a mile north of the Martin-St. Lucie county line near Indian River Drive and Mockingbird Lane.

Thousands of dead fish were reported Thursday afternoon on the west bank of the Indian River Lagoon about a mile north of the Martin-St. Lucie county line near Indian River Drive and Mockingbird Lane.
Photographer: Ed Killer/Treasure Coast Newspapers, Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc.

Tony DiChristofaro of Stuart, said he saw "thousands and thousands of dead fish coming ashore" about 2 p.m. Thursday as he was walking along the lagoon beach.

DiChristofaro said the dead fish extended along the shoreline for about a mile.
"They were still coming in," he said, "but some of them looked like they'd been there for several hours."

Kevin Baxter, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission lab in St. Petersburg Baxter said samples of the dead fish will be collected Friday.

At this point we don't know what could be the cause," Baxter said. "We should be able to have the samples analyzed early next week. We won't know more until then."

At high tide early Thursday evening, hundreds of dead fish - all silver mullet, each 4 to 5 inches long - could be seen along the west lagoon shoreline.

The spring south-to-north mullet migration is under way, and many more of the fish were churning up the lagoon water just offshore.

To report dead fish, call the commission's fish kill hotline: 800-636-0511. - WPTV.

WATCH: Thousands of dead fish reported in Indian River Lagoon.

MASS ANIMAL DIE-OFF: "Catastrophic Mortality" - Questions Abound In Mysterious Deaths Of Manatees And Pelicans At Indian River Lagoon, Florida?!

April 26, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Whatever is killing manatees and pelicans northern Indian River Lagoon remains unknown, but apparently wildlife along the Treasure Coast won't become victims.

Since July and 2012, a total of 220 manatees have died in the lagoon in Brevard County, about 100 of them under mysterious circumstances; and since February, between 250 and 300 dead pelicans have been found in the same area.

Since July and 2012, a total of 220 manatees have died in the lagoon in Brevard County, about 100 of them under mysterious circumstances; and since February, between 250 and 300 dead pelicans have been found in the same area.
Photographer: CHRISTOPHER ARNOLD, Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
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Thomas R. "Tom" Reinert, a research administrator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, told members of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program Advisory Board on Wednesday that researchers have been stumped in their efforts to find the cause - or causes.

Asked if the mysterious deaths could migrate south into the lagoon along the Treasure Coast, Reinert replied, "I can't answer that. The cases seem to be localized, with the zone in Brevard County from Sebastian to Titusville being where the deaths are concentrated. And it appears it will remain that way."

In March alone, Reinert said, 56 sea cows died from unknown causes in Brevard County, where the annual manatee death count from all causes averages 111.

Reinert said dead manatees have been reported "here and there" along the Treasure Coast, but the numbers are within the usual mortality rate.

According to the commission's website, six manatees have died in Indian River County, four in St. Lucie County and three in Martin County from Jan. 1 to April 19.

Statewide, 566 manatees have died over the same period. A record 766 manatees died in Florida in 2010.

"We're on a trajectory to eclipse that," Reinert said.

Reinert said the deaths of the manatees and the pelicans "could be completely unrelated. At least they're not directly related. They don't show the same symptoms at all. Of course, they could be tangentially related. There could be some ultimate cause that effects manatees and pelicans differently."

Reinert said the manatees that died mysteriously appeared to be healthy but drowned due to toxic shock-like symptoms similar to the hundreds of sea cows on Florida's West Coast that have died from toxins in the so-called "red tide" algae blooms.

"We've tested for (the toxin found in) red tide," Reinert said, "but there's no red tide present (in the lagoon manatees). There's no evidence of disease or viruses, or of any known toxins. We're not finding anything special that would explain the toxic shock."

The dead pelicans, on the other hand, have been emaciated and parasite-ridden.

"The parasites may be a coincident of the pelicans being sick and then getting the parasites rather than the parasites causing the sickness," Reinert said. "Whatever they had made them stop eating."

Necropsies of the dead pelicans didn't show signs of diseases such as avian flu or West Nile virus.

Researchers believe the manatee deaths are the result of a dietary shift, he added, "but that's not been confirmed."

WATCH: Mystery deaths at Indian River Lagoon.

Over the last few years, Reinert noted, the northern lagoon "has gotten hammered" by a series of algae blooms. The blooms have resulted in the loss of massive areas of seagrass, the manatees' primary food, while the amount of macroalgae, seaweed known as "the tumbleweeds of the Indian River Lagoon," has expanded.

Reinert said researchers initially focused on the fact that the first manatees to die mysteriously had lots of red macroalgae in their stomachs.

"But in the later deaths, we didn't find the same species of macroalgae," he said.

Whatever is killing manatees and pelicans, Reinert said, doesn't seem to pose a danger to humans.

"Well," he said, "I'm not testing anybody." - WPTV.