Stench grows as severity of Indian River Lagoon fish kill is revealed

Several Brevard County agencies are working together to formulate an emergency cleanup plan in response to a fish kill that has left carcasses floating in the Indian and Banana rivers since last week.

The plan may ultimately include assistance from a variety of sources, ranging from parks and recreation crews to possibly even inmate labor to scoop out the dead fish.

Reports of dead sea life began surfacing late last week. They were – and continue to be – dead fish spotted along the shores and in waters stretching from Titusville to Cocoa Beach to as far south as the Pineda Causeway.

The fish kill has left up to 15 species of fish dead and dying in the Indian River Lagoon. They include pufferfish, sheepshead, red drum, catfish, mullet, ladyfish and other species.

The ghastly site has also created a stench over much of the affected area, according to residents who have spoken with FLORIDA TODAY. Of concern is that the smell will grow worse as the fish decompose.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials are sorting through dozens of calls reporting the fish kills.

“We’re trying to get more information on that right now,” said Frank McCloy, a spokesman for the state agency. He said that the agency began receiving calls last Wednesday about darker-than-normal waters near Watts Park on Merritt Island.

“A caller said there were dead puffer fish near the park,” McCloy said. “We told him that there has been a higher than normal concentration of nanoplanktons in the area.”

Nanoplanktons refer to the micro-organisms that share the river with fish and other water creatures.

An FWC fisheries biologist is also set to examine the possible causes of the fish kill.

But the news came as little comfort for residents like Courtney Yelle, 80, of Cocoa Beach. The one-time Pennsylvania resident moved to tourist haven eight years ago, settling in a condominium along the Banana River for its scenic view.

On Sunday, he awoke to the sights and smells of hundreds of fish floating listlessly in the murky brown waters of the river. There in the small, lapping waves rippling near the dock, were the decaying carcasses of flounder, puffer fish and other species.

"It's terrible. It's just the worst I've ever seen," he said. “Something has gone wrong and I don't know what it was. It's just sickening.”

In some areas, including the Bay Club condominium complex off Minutemen Causeway in Cocoa Beach, witnesses reported the unusual site of hundreds of fish poking their heads above water, gasping for air. There were also videos posted by some residents showing sting rays and other fish groups close to the shoreline in some areas.

Bob Peltz was preparing to leave his family's home in  Rockledge on Sunday when he decided to go to a riverside park and saw dead crabs, flounder and other fish.

"There were all kinds of blue crabs climbing up to get out of the water. None of us had ever seen this. I'm just so totally upset," Peltz said, adding that the river life was literally dying at his feet, unable to breathe.

He believes more should be done to help Brevard County accommodate the growth and development to help protect and preserve the surrounding  environment.

"We need immediate action on this," he said.

The causes of the fish kill are not immediately known, although the Indian River Lagoon has been experiencing what ecologists describe as a brown tide. It leaves behind clumps of rotted, dead vegetation and depleted oxygen levels.

Also a possible factor is El Niño, which typically brings heavier-than-normal rains and has been cited by ecologists as contributing ecologically damaging runoff to the lagoon.

In November 2014, FLORIDA TODAY reported catfish, flounder, mullet, sailor's choice, pinfish, red drum, sheepshead and trout were all part of hundreds of dead fish in Merritt Island canals.  Brown tide returned to the Indian River Lagoon in January of this year after it first bloomed in 2012.

Anyone spotting fish kills can either report it online to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's website at myfwc.com/FishKill or they can call 800-636-0511.