The combination of red tide and Tropical Storm Elsa has resulted in literal tons of dead fish floating around St. Petersburg.
Calling it a “post storm wave of dead fish,” this morning, the St. Petersburg Police Department reported that over the past 10 days more than 15 tons of dead fish have been cleaned up by crews, blaming the sudden influx of floating carcasses on the passing of Tropical Storm Elsa.
“Every available Public Works and Parks and Recreation employee is working to remove dead fish from the waterways,” says a statement. “The City has collected more dead fish in the last 24 hours than in the last week.”
Over 120 employees are currently working to clean up the dead fish, which have impacted other city services. “Therefore, roadway mowing, tree trimming, pothole repair, etc. services are being delayed,” says SPPD. “City exploring options to bring in outside contractors to assist with fish retrieval.”
Dead fish are currently littering downtown and Coquina Key, but according to SPPD, the areas with the biggest influx of dead fish are the east and southeast coast of St. Petersburg (Tierra Verde to Gandy Blvd).
Still, it’s unclear if Elsa helped or hindered the area’s ongoing red tide issue.
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This article appears in Jul 8-14, 2021.