Removal Of Dead Fish From St. Pete Shoreline Seeks State Help

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — About 500 tons of dead fish and other sea creatures have been removed from the St. Pete area of the bay by contractors, residents and city workers, Mayor Rick Kriseman told reporters at a news conference Wednesday in St. Petersburg.

Yet there seems to be no end to the stinky mess fouling the shores. (Video of fish cleanup is located at the bottom of this article.)

Kriseman joined workers at Crisp Park, 3600 Poplar St. NE in St. Petersburg, before the news conference to pick up dead fish as a result of red tide, and other possible factors. The dead marine life continues to float into St. Pete canals from the Gulf of Mexico.

"I just spent an hour out here helping, and I gotta tell you, the odor sticks to you," Kriseman said. "It stays in your nasal passages. Then there's the emotional toll of just dealing with all the dead animals. The fish that we've all enjoyed in Tampa Bay and in St. Pete just washing up day after day."

A 400-pound goliath grouper not initially from the bay but from the Gulf of Mexico had floated to the boat ramp area in Crisp Park Monday morning. A backhoe was used to remove it following the news conference. (See video below.)

A city worker told Patch he is aware crews have had to use grapple trucks and bulldozers to remove three giant fish: a 300-pound trout near North Shore Park, a 350-pound flounder at Flora Wylie Park and the 400-pound grouper at Crisp — since the cleanup started about 17 days ago.

Unfortunately, there is no end in sight to the fish cleanup. Kriseman said St. Pete needs shrimp boats and help from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

"Some of the shrimp boats that have been out seem to be the most effective," Kriseman said, "because they can cast the wide nets. You know one of the things that I've learned during my time out here, catfish make it particularly difficult on these guys and gals. I mean, they're scooping them up trying to dump 'em in, and the catfish get caught in the net, and so they're meticulously one-at-at-time having to pull them off the net and untangle the net before they can even go back out. Big nets scooping up large amounts would be really helpful."

He believes a solution for Tampa Bay is to get the dead fish offshore before they float into the area's waterways. The city's cost for this cleanup is so far estimated to be in the six figures. The mayor said he and city department heads have reached out to the governor's office requesting help, and they have not heard back from DeSantis officials.

An ABC reporter told Kriseman at the conference that Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said at a press conference Tuesday the bay is probably in the worst shape of the last 50 years.

The difficult situation could have been caused by multiple factors such as climate change, Tropical Storm Elsa's winds and the discharge earlier this year from the Piney Point facility, according to Kriseman.

(Video by Patch Journalist Skyla Luckey)

Related Patch Stories:

• Red Tide Combined With Fish Kills Can Make Residents Doubly Sick
• Rotten Fish Bodies From Red Tide Foul Bay, City Cleans Up
• Hundreds Of Dead Fish Killed By Red Tide Wash Ashore From Elsa
• Volunteering To Pick Up Dead Fish? Here Are The 7 Dumpster Areas
• Elevated Red Tide Levels Present At Sarasota County Beaches: DOH
• What's Going On At Piney Point? 5 Things You Should Know
• 400 Million Gallons Of Contaminated Water To Be Discharged In Bay