Red Tide -Southwest FL Beaches

[LMD]

I don't see any threads specifically about this but wanted to make people aware if you have travel plans to SW FL. Its bad from Sarasota all the way down to Naples. Marco not as bad but still dead fish washing up on shore. The neuro toxins are irritating to the respiratory system and the bacteria levels in the water can cause deadly infections. Its really a sad situation.

 

[Bwolf]

Sanibel and Captiva are affected. Those vacationing now are very upset.

 

[Jan M.]

Last year the East coast of Florida was this bad.

You can read about it in an article in the Sun Sentinel.
A Draining Problem
How The Release Of Lake Okeechobee Floodwaters Is Dirtying Florida's Coastline
By Andy Reid, Irfan Uraizee and Yiran Zhu
Updated on June 21, 2018

 

[rapmarks]

We could not go to the beach at all last spring and it is apparently worse, dead fish, dead sea turtles. And they keep releasing from lake O

 

[silentg]

How is it at Fort Myers Beach? We go in January.

 

[Laurie]

We're going in Dec, and I wondered the same, since I've been reading about the large # of manatees and sea turtles dying plus sickened sea birds. And I know they haven't stopped releasing the poisonous agricultural runoff.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article215839815.html.

"Red tide, a type of marine algae that undergoes an explosive growth and begins producing toxins, typically occurs off Florida’s southwest coast every year between late summer and fall and spring. Due to currents and winds, some tides never reach shore. But this year’s tide, Florida Department of Environmental Protection officials say, is the worst since the last big tide in 2006, that lasted for more than a year and a half and killed more than 250 manatees."

 

[Jan M.]

You will be fine in December and January. The higher summer water temperatures and the large amount of water released causes this. Part of the reason it is so bad this time of year is because the Army Corp of Engineers drops the water levels/releases a lot of water in preparation for hurricane season. They do this to protect Herbert Hoover dike which surrounds Lake Okeechobee and is in deplorable condition.

 

[Laurie]

You will be fine in December and January.

Sure hope so! Unless it repeats 2006, when it lasted a year and a half, according to the article I quoted from above... especially as weather patterns are getting more extreme, with more records being broken everywhere.

 

[rapmarks]

I know it was bad in December of the year I traded into Vanderbilt Beach, Naples

 

[Still]

On the news last night, Green Algae kill in and around Brevard county

 

[Sea Six]

I've lived here for many years, and have gotten somewhat used to the dead fish washing on shore during a red tide bloom.. This year it's worse than ever. Thousands of dead fish, dozens of dead sea turtles, a few manatees, and for the first time I'm aware of - a dead whale shark washed ashore on Sanibel. Also, the green muck on the surface of the canals is disgusting, not to mention actually sickening people. The worst of it appears to be at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River - Ft Myers Beach, Sanibel, Pine Island, Cape Coral, and on up to Charlotte Harbor. Google Blue Algae Ft Myers, or Red Tide Ft Myers, and you will see dozens of stories to read. It's never been this bad before.

 

[Tucsonadventurer]

We are going early Oct. Will it be any better by then. This is the 1st year we are bringing guests. We will be in Siesta Key and then Singer Island. This is so sad. I feel for the businesses

 

[stevio99]

My wife is down there right now (at Sanibel). Says Sanibel and Ft. Myers are definitely hit. It spared some parts of Captiva, she was on the ocean there today and it was fine.
Here's a good map : http://myfwc.com/redtidestatus

I was trying to get down there for Labor day, but in light will have to change things up a bit.

 

[Jan M.]

Some of our neighbors have lived in our plan for over 30 years and said this is the hottest summer they can remember. Our electric bill for last month was the highest we've had since we replaced our AC unit 7 summers ago. The heat is making the algae/red tide bloom worse.

It is appalling the amount of money that Florida, the Federal government and the Army Corp of Engineers have spent and this is still happening. We keep hearing that they are once again drawing up plans to fix things so this doesn't keep happening and of course it requires an even more obscene amount of money with no guarantees what they are proposing will even work.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

I know it was bad in December of the year I traded into Vanderbilt Beach, Naples

I just talked to my aunt who bought a place in FL, on the water in Port Of The Islands and she is bummed as she wanted to go back in September, I guess a bunch of fish are dead

 

[rapmarks]

My friends reported that many restaurants have closed on fort Myers beach and it is like a ghost town

 

[Maple_Leaf]

It's not just the red tide but also the green goo coming from Lake Okeechobee. The stench of putrid seaweed and rotting fish just made me want to vomit, so it doesn't surprise me that many waterfront restaurants are closed.

 

[silentg]

My friends reported that many restaurants have closed on fort Myers beach and it is like a ghost town

Awful!

 

[Jan M.]

I was just reading the posts to my husband about how bad the smell is, about all the dead animals and fish and that restaurants are closed. He expressed sympathy for the business owners who are being hurt. I would hope this qualifies as a state of emergency which would allow them some relief on their taxes and even some financial help from the government. Tourism is the number one revenue generator for the State of Florida. Until we moved here I had no idea how many people come to Florida in the summer. Many of them come from South America and Australia because it is winter there. All of them will be going home telling everyone how awful it was. Tourists may decide to go someplace else next year and decide it is their new favorite place to go. How do you get them to come back?

My husband was telling me the latest plan is to build a series of ponds or lakes south of Okeechobee and plant grasses in them which will help filter the water from Okeechobee. He wondered why they don't so that for the streams and rivers that feed into Okeechobee before the water from them reaches Okeechobee. From what I've read Okeechobee is so bad it should be declared a toxic site. From what I read in excess of a billion dollars has already been spent on futile efforts and studies. The government still refuses to step up and do something about the all the farming waste, fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals that are the cause. Instead they are protecting the profits for the couple of major companies who make and sell these things. Time and money were spent and wasted instead of exploring other farming methods. Our State and Federal governments which are tasked with protecting us chose to sacrifice the health,well being, and livelihood of millions of people rather than quit lining their pockets with the money from these big companies.

Yes I'm on a rant because the latest project they are proposing will cost in excess of half a billion dollars which going on past history from what they've previously done means at least double that amount and they hope to have it done by 2025. If what they are proposing this time actually works and they get it done before another hurricane like Andrew hits that part of Florida. They know the dike system surrounding Okeechobee is leaking and they have done some some work on it but there are still sections that are leaking. The dike is in such deplorable condition that it will fail if the area would get hit with a major hurricane and the after effects would be horrendous. I'm going to step down off my soap box now and not say anything about the untold billions of dollars spent that leave this Country and don't benefit the citizens and taxpayers of this Country. That was money that could have been spent on repairing/replacing the dike.

 

[rapmarks]

Remember the idea to buy land south of lake O with 20/20 funds and use to filtrate the water but not approved by governor

 

[Talent312]

Great... We're at the Caribbean Beach Club in Ft. Meyers Beach starting 8/25.
Maybe we'll just stay by the pool instead of hiking out to the beach.

.

 

[Panina]

Great... We're at the Caribbean Beach Club in Ft. Meyers Beach starting 8/25.
Maybe we'll just stay by the pool instead of hiking out to the beach.

.

Hopefully you will enjoy. I am down that way later in the year. Let us know how it goes.

 

[rapmarks]

Great... We're at the Caribbean Beach Club in Ft. Meyers Beach starting 8/25.
Maybe we'll just stay by the pool instead of hiking out to the beach.

.

From what I understand, you may be bothered by it there. Try sightseeing

 

[Jan M.]

Great... We're at the Caribbean Beach Club in Ft. Meyers Beach starting 8/25.
Maybe we'll just stay by the pool instead of hiking out to the beach.

.

I was looking on the internet to see how big an area is being hit and it is worse than I thought on the West coast of Florida. I doubt the smell will be gone by then nor all the clean up done. I would contact RCI and find out if you can cancel the week with no penalty given the circumstances. And if you have flights booked have them help you find something on the East coast of Florida. Even if you are flying into Fort Myers you can drive in two hours to the resorts in the Pompano, Deerfield and Delray Beach areas or Boca Raton.

 

[Panina]

I was looking on the internet to see how big an area is being hit and it is worse than I thought on the West coast of Florida. I doubt the smell will be gone by then nor all the clean up done. I would contact RCI and find out if you can cancel the week with no penalty given the circumstances. And if you have flights booked have them help you find something on the East coast of Florida. Even if you are flying into Fort Myers you can drive in two hours to the resorts in the Pompano, Deerfield and Delray Beach areas or Boca Raton.

Based on the past, do you think the last two weeks of December will be as bad in Marco Island?