Fish kill on Palm Beach remains under investigation as cleanup continues - Palm Beach Post

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Crews returned to the beach Monday for a second day of cleanup work following a fish kill on Palm Beach that left scores of colorful reef dwellers dead last weekend.

Though many of the jewel-toned fish had disappeared from an area near Root Trail just north of The Breakers, where they had been discovered late last week, the town sent a contractor to the beach to remove those that remained, Town Manager Kirk Blouin said Monday.

"We had crews out there all day Sunday, and we're following up because of the rot and smell," he said. "We look for seabirds. They take care of it. There weren't a lot of them around on Sunday."

Blouin said many of the dead fish could have washed back out to sea following heavy rains over the weekend, while others could have been fed upon by birds or other fish.

More: Amid transparency concerns, Palm Beach will seek to conduct own water tests

State officials investigating source of fish kill

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission continues to investigate what caused the fish kill and will release that information when it becomes available, FWC spokeswoman Carol Lyn Parrish said Monday.

Water samples collected last week are being tested and analyzed for possible contaminants, Parrish said. There is no timeline for when those tests will be completed.

While the fish kill's origins have yet to be identified officially, different theories have circulated.

Anglers and divers reported an upwelling of cold water recently left the reef off Palm Beach in temperatures of between 62 and 67 degrees — enough to kill tropical fish, Lake Worth Waterkeeper Reinaldo Diaz told the Palm Beach Post on Saturday.

In August 2010, a wave of upwellings was blamed for fatally bleaching corals off the coast of central Palm Beach County and killing fish. 

Parrish said heavy rains also can cause fish kills.

"Sometimes it'll be one species of fish that's affected, and sometimes it might be several species of fish," she said. "It really depends on what environmental event led to the fish kill."

Red tide most likely was not a culprit, Blouin said. Karenia brevis, the species that causes most red tides in Florida, has not been observed along the east coast of Florida. The last outbreak of red tide in Palm Beach County was 2018. 

The town issued an alert Saturday afternoon calling the fish kill a "natural occurrence" and telling residents they should not be concerned.

State officials first became aware of the fish kill on Thursday after a report was made to the state's fish kill hotline, Parrish said.

Longtime resident Barbara Meister discovered the fish kill the following day as she walked on the beach near her oceanfront home, and she reported it to FWC officials.

Meister, a conservationist who walks the beach regularly to inspect sea turtle nests, said she was surprised and saddened to see the extent of the fish kill.

"I went into shock," she said. "I've never seen anything like it. I'm a native. I grew up in Miami, and I grew up on the ocean, and I've been on boats. It's crazy. When I saw that, I couldn't believe it."

jwagner@pbdailynews.com

@JRWagner5

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June 29, 2021 at 11:47PM
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Fish kill on Palm Beach remains under investigation as cleanup continues - Palm Beach Post

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‘It smells terrible’: Piles of dead fish wash up along Bayshore Boulevard - WFLA

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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Runners couldn’t ignore the smell of dead fish washing up along Bayshore Boulevard, Tuesday morning.

“It smells terrible,” said Miller Townsend.

“I just saw a ton of dead fish,” Brittany Baker added.

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Video we captured just after 1 a.m. Tuesday shows dozens of fish floating in the bay by the popular roadway.

Footage taken just hours later captured hundreds more washing up against the wall.

“It’s pretty terrible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that much [fish]. What you see is some bigger stuff and some smaller stuff, it’s a lot,” Townsend described.

As of Tuesday morning, it was unclear whether the fish kill was caused by red tide.

At the time, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s red tide map indicated high concentration of the algae bloom near MacDill Airforce Base.

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Medium concentrations of the bloom was present off the coast of Hillsborough County, according to the FWC map.

“I go out and paddle board in this, so, I’m very concerned — if I’m putting my body in it and these fish are dying,” Baker said.

8 On Your Side reached out to FWC with questions about red tide testing in the area and possible clean up efforts. An update will be posted when the agency provides a response.

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June 29, 2021 at 11:27PM
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‘It smells terrible’: Piles of dead fish wash up along Bayshore Boulevard - WFLA

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Fishing report: Fish are biting, weather is great, so enjoy some fishing - Ashland Daily Press

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Editor’s note: Following is a report from Rice Lake Tourism, with fishing tips provided by Jordan Marsh of Marsh Outdoors.

As we reach another holiday weekend, it's encouraging to see the fishing is still good and the action has been solid for many anglers. The lakes will be busy this weekend so let's respect one another and all enjoy the lakes and rivers we are so lucky to have in our area. The fish are biting, the weather looks great, so get out there and enjoy some fishing.

The bluegill are completely done with their spawning for the year and a lot of the gills are sitting in or around the edges of the weeds. They are very easy to find and are providing constant action right now. Many of the bigger fish will move deeper soon, so get out there and catch them while the action is still non stop. During the day, cast a bobber and hook tipped with a half a worm on the edges of the weeds, or inside of them if you can find an open pocket. Depth down may vary and sometimes you will have to adjust as well to find the bigger fish. Many times those smaller fish are aggressive and will hit the baits closer to the surface. Get down a little deeper to find the bigger ones. If you are looking for an exciting bite, find a nice calm evening and use a fly rod to catch the fish as they feed on bugs before dark. Casting on top of weed beds and working the floating fly back to the boat is always a great way to catch those fish. You might even run into some crappie sitting on the edge of the weeds as well.

Walleye are starting to do some transitional moving right now which is fun for many anglers as a lot of different tactics are working to catch these fish. Shallow weeds still are holding a fair amount of fish and can be caught running spinners or casting slip bobbers tipped with a leech and waiting for a cruising fish to swim by. The deep water structure is holding a good amount of fish and they can be targeted with a lindy rig, slip bobber, spinners on bottom bouncers, or the traditional jig and live bait. Leeches and nightcrawlers are the go-to bait right now, and be sure to use the most lively leech you can find in the bunch. The walleye have a hard time resisting them. The open water trolling bite is starting to pick up as we have lots of new baitfish in the system. The baitfish will first hide in the weeds and then they make their migration to open water and the walleye are sure to follow them. I like to run shad style baits this time of year when trolling the open water basin.

Good luck fishing and remember, introduce someone new into the outdoors. They will appreciate it for a lifetime.

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June 29, 2021 at 11:00PM
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Fishing report: Fish are biting, weather is great, so enjoy some fishing - Ashland Daily Press

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C'waam And Koptu: The Fish At The Center Of The Klamath Basin's Water Crisis - Jefferson Public Radio

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Biologist Alex Gonyaw aims his Boston Whaler up the eastern shore of Upper Klamath Lake. He’s showing off what, he says, used to be abundant habitat for juvenile fish in the lake.

“It’s a mosaic of cattails and willows and tules, or bullrushes,” Gonyaw says. “The more hiding places for juvenile creatures the better they generally tend to do.”

At almost 30 miles long, Upper Klamath Lake is the home to several types of fish that live only here. Two of them are called C’waam and Koptu in the Klamath Tribes' traditional language or, in English, the Lost River and shortnose sucker. They have a stubby face and wide lips, and can live to be 50-years-old.

“They’re an endemic species,” he says. “It's only found here, nowhere else in the universe. And due to their sort of near-extinction-level status they are becoming something of a figurehead in the water crisis here.”

Klamath Tribes Senior Fish Biologist Alex Gonyaw boats across Upper Klamath Lake. Gonyaw is working to try to save the endangered C'waam and Koptu, or Lost River and shortnose suckers that live in the lake.

In recent years, the juvenile fish have been dying, causing the overall population to crash. Five years ago, when Gonyaw started working for the tribes, there were about 20,000 shortnose suckers in the lake. Estimates today put them at just 3,400. The Lost River sucker is disappearing at a similar rate.

Exactly why these fish are dying is unclear but biologists believe it’s because of poor water quality and habitat loss that’s impacted by low water in the lake. Those factors make their future grim.

“There's a catastrophic event likely in the next few years,” Gonyaw says.

In this extremely dry year in the Klamath Basin, much of the debate over who gets water depends on these fish. Water flowing out of the lake has been shut off to farmers who rely on the federally managed irrigation system of canals, dams and reservoirs known as the Klamath Project. Even further down the Klamath River, threatened coho salmon are also getting the bare minimum water.

Besides being protected under the Endangered Species Act, the C’waam and Koptu are culturally important to the Klamath Tribes who say they’ve subsisted on the fish since time immemorial.

At a recent rally in Klamath Falls, Tribal Chairman Don Gentry talked about how the Klamath people prayed for the fish to return after hard winters.

“Those fish are so important. We wouldn’t be here likely without those fish that helped us survive,” Gentry said.

The declining numbers of C’waam and Koptu also illustrate a problem with the U.S. government’s treaty. In 1864 the Klamath Tribes gave up around 20 million acres of land, in exchange for the right to hunt and fish on their new reservation. Gentry says those treaty rights don’t mean much if there are no fish to catch.

“What good is a treaty if you don't have the resources?”

The Endangered Species Act is meant to prevent species from going extinct. Gentry says it doesn’t live up to the treaty responsibility of providing harvestable resources.

“So we’re basically relegated to the ESA,” he says. “It's not even working for us, but that's the thing that we have.”

The Klamath Tribes have senior water rights. But farmers in the basin are the other group that is linked to these fish. Mark Johnson represents irrigators with the group Klamath Water Users Association.

“Ultimately, the farmers, they want all fish species to thrive because if the fish are doing well, everybody's doing well,” he says.

For 15 years Johnson studied Lost River and shortnose suckers as a fish biologist with the US Geological Survey. One of the big frustrations from the irrigator standpoint, he says, is that water is prioritized to protect fish, but they’re still dying.

I asked Johnson, wouldn’t taking more water out of the lake be gambling with the existence of a species?

“Yeah, I mean, you are,” Johnson says, “But in terms of an extinction level event, I don't think that's actually going to happen. But on that trajectory were on right now, basically managing the lake the same way we have for over 20 years, we haven't moved the needle. So, something has to change.”

There are no long-term solutions for saving the native fish populations. For the first time this year the Klamath Tribes are raising juvenile fish from eggs in a hatchery. When mature, they’ll be released into Upper Klamath Lake.

This exceptionally dry year is shining a spotlight on the Klamath Basin and how there just isn’t enough water to go around. And with current climate trends, there’s little reason to think abundant water will be available any time soon.

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June 29, 2021 at 08:10PM
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C'waam And Koptu: The Fish At The Center Of The Klamath Basin's Water Crisis - Jefferson Public Radio

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French fishermen given more time to fish in Jersey waters - SeafoodSource

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French fishermen fishing in waters off the island of Jersey have been granted three more months to fish in the area without meeting post-Brexit permit conditions.

The European Union had requested an extension to transitional arrangements between the U.K. and E.U., which had originally been due to come to an end on 30 June, the BBC reported. The government of Jersey – an island and British Crown dependency off the coast of France – agreed to the extension. The new extension will last until the end of September.

Tensions in the region first flared in May, as dozens of French fishing boats set off for the main port of Jersey threatening a blockade. In response to the threats, the U.K. sent two Royal Navy gunboats to keep watch, as fishermen sounded horns, lit off flares, and displayed banners of protest.

Tensions escalated further when French Maritime Minister Annick Girardin threatened to cut off power to the island in retaliation for blocked fishing access to French fishing vessels. The fishermen accused the U.K. of delaying the issuance of licenses to small French fishing vessels – licenses required as part of the U.K.’s post-Brexit trade deal with the E.U.

Now, the vessels that have submitted applications for licenses will be given more time to fish in the region, according to the BBC. Jersey has also requested that the E.U. submit evidence of existing applications by the end of July.

In return, Jersey authorities have asked that the E.U. will also extend access for local boats that fish in E.U. waters.

The situation in Jersey has been complicated by the island’s unique governmental status – it is not a part of the U.K., and it was never technically a part of the E.U. As a “Crown dependency,” the island has control over its fishing waters, but ultimately the U.K. government is responsible for its international relationships.  

Photo courtesy of rzoze19/Shutterstock

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June 29, 2021 at 09:03PM
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IDFG announces July fish stocking schedule - Bonner County Daily Bee

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Time to grab your fishing rod and enjoy the summer sun! Fish and Game staff will be stocking over 7,500 catchable-size (10 to 12 inch) trout at the following locations across the Panhandle Region in July. All stocked fish are rainbow trout.

• Solomon Lake — Jun 28-Jul 2, 450

• Moose Lake — Jun 28-Jul 2, 500

• Clee Creek Pond— Jun 28-Jul 2, 250

• Elsie Lake — Jul 5-Jul 9, 675

• Day Rock Pond — Jul 5-Jul 9, 500

• Dismal Lake — Jul 5-Jul 9, 450

• Lucky Friday Pond — Jul 5-Jul 9, 900

• Steamboat Pond — Jul 5-Jul 9, 1,000

• Gene Day Pond — Jul 12-Jul 16, 1,000

• Lower Glidden Lake — Jul 12-Jul 16, 1,350

• Elsie Lake — Jul 19-Jul 23, 675

Stocking of all waters is tentative and dependent on river, lake, or pond conditions, Fish and Game staff said in a press release. Dates may change due to weather or staffing constraints.

For maps of these fishing locations and other angling destinations in Idaho please visit the Idaho Department of Fish and Game's Idaho Fish Planner. To learn more about high alpine lake fishing, check out IDFG's "Alpine Lakes Fishing" website.

Many of the waters highlighted are easy to access, family-friendly fishing destinations. All you need to get started is a fishing license and some basic tackle. Annual adult fishing licenses cost around $30, junior licenses (ages 14-17) cost $16, and youth under 14 fish for free.

Fishing for stocked rainbow trout, particularly in community ponds, is a great way to introduce new anglers to the sport by using simple (and relatively thrifty) set-ups like worm/marshmallow combinations or commercial baits, either near the bottom or below a bobber. The Learn to Fish webpage offers diagrams for basic bait rigs.

Most Idaho waters are open to fishing year-round, but some may have slightly different rules. Be sure to pick up a 2019-21 Idaho Fishing Seasons and Rules Booklet https://ift.tt/3dlZzwj, which outlines season dates, special regulations and bag limits at any Idaho Fish and Game offices or most sporting goods stores statewide.

Need a little help reading Idaho's fishing regulations? Go online to to view a short video on how to use the fishing season and rules book.

Kara Campbell is a regional communications manager for Idaho Department of Fish & Game.

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June 29, 2021 at 03:01PM
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A Pitt student’s guide to buying the perfect fish - University of Pittsburgh The Pitt News

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By Diana Velasquez, Culture Editor
June 28, 2021

One of the best things about going to college is that you have free reign over what your room is going to look like — no matter where you live. It’s a clean slate in a way, compared to our childhood bedrooms which are painted in a garish neon green or pink we insisted on as 11-year-olds.

One of the more drastic steps you can take in your college journey is getting a living, breathing companion to share your space with. I’d suggest holding off on getting a dog or a cat. One, they’re not allowed in the dorms, and even once you move out you don’t want to be scooping soiled kitty litter with a Sunday morning hangover in your small South O apartment. 

Fish, on the other hand, rank pretty high on the list of low-maintenance pets, and they don’t require much except a clean and filtered tank and the occasional feeding of fish flakes. Besides, they’re really pretty to look at.

Karen Lukacsena — co-owner of Elmer’s Aquarium, which is located in Monroeville about 20 minutes east of Oakland — said fish are popular with college students because they’re relatively easy to care for and they make therapeutic decor.

“I can imagine if you’re a student when you have to study and you’re sitting there if you have a real natural, relaxing aquarium, that it can be very soothing,” she said.

What kind of fish should you get?

Lukacsena said for first-time fish parents there are a few kinds of fish you should think about adopting. Her first suggestion is a betta fish, a commonly sold fish that you can find in pretty much every pet store for about $10 on average. Bettas should be set alone in a five gallon tank.

“Get a single male betta. You have a single fish, maybe some snails, and have a lot of plants,” she said. “It’s a nice five gallon tank with a good filter, nice lighting and that makes it as close to the fish’s natural setting.”

Most fish aren’t going to be well suited to the small spaces you have to work with as a college student. But if by chance you happen to have more spare room for a tank larger than five gallons, you could try for some “tetras” or a school of “barbs” that like to hang out in groups of three or four and require a 20 to 29 gallon tank that will probably cost about $100 to $150.

What size tank do you need?

Well, it all depends on the size of the space you’re dealing with. Most people walk into a pet store and start by shopping for the kind of fish that they want. This isn’t really an efficient way of doing things.

Because you could go on and on and on about how you’d love to have a clownfish, but chances are you don’t have the space for a saltwater aquarium and all the set-up it requires.

So before you go looking for a fish, Lukacsena said you should first think about the amount of space you have in your room. You want your fish to be happy and healthy, with the right amount of space they need, because some small fish can live up to three years, Lukacsena added. Larger fish, such as the barbs, angel fish or cichlids can live upwards of 10 years.

What other equipment should your tank have?

Many times people make the mistake of getting plastic plants only for their fish tanks. It’s much better for your fish if the plants in their aquarium are alive and active. Lukacsena said this helps with the filtering process, by making sure the water stays clean. She also said natural plants help with tank maintenance because they create natural oxygen. 

Besides these natural plants, getting a proper filter is a must for your tank. It’s the best way to make sure the habitat is clean and scum-free. Lukacsena suggested getting a filter that corresponds with your tank size, but you could even go up a couple sizes for more cleaning power. Filters range in price depending on tank size, but start at around $10 for small fish.

With a tank full of a fish or two and some snail or plant companions, Lukacsena said your fish-keeping venture can quickly become a hobby, because of the relaxing rhythms of fish care, something that college students always need.

“You’re actually inviting nature into your environment,” she said. “I think it’s fun, it’s entertaining and relaxing.”

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June 29, 2021 at 01:33AM
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A Pitt student’s guide to buying the perfect fish - University of Pittsburgh The Pitt News

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