WMD
Indian River Lagoon fish are dying in droves
Florida Today 11/8/14
“Dead fish fouled Merritt Island canals this week, adding new casualties to a die-off that’s already been claiming hardhead catfish from Satellite Beach to Fort Pierce over the past month.
State wildlife officials received dozens of reports this week about the hundreds of dead fish floating in canals surrounding Sykes Creek, Newfound Harbor and the Banana River.
Species included catfish, flounder, mullet, sailor’s choice, pinfish, red drum, sheepshead and trout.
A water test on Merritt Island this week found no evidence of a harmful algae bloom or raw sewage, said Brandon Basino, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg. But that was only one sample, he said, and state biologists continue to monitor the fish kills.
They don’t know whether the hardhead catfish die-off and other species of dead fish are linked.”