Florida Blue Green Algae Blooms

[Nitro 882]

Can anyone shed some light on the recently reported Algae blooms in Central/Southern Florida.

Most of the damage that has caused for the governor to declare a "state of emergency" has been caused by the "red tide" variety that effects the Gulf beaches primarily with noxious odors and vast kills of fish and other sea life.

My concern stems from the fact that I spend 2 to 3 months (Jan. thru March) in Kissimmee and haul my bass boat down to fish Toho and lock down to Lake Kissimmee on occasion and the blue/green variety of alga which effects fresh water rivers and lakes has also been reported. I can't seem to find any solid info as to the effect of this alga on fishing quality on the Kissimmee Chain.

I have emailed the FWC but have not heard back yet.

2 questions, 1) Is my fishing vacation in jeopardy? 2) Has the shoal at the entrance of Cypress Lake from the canal out of Toho gotten navigable or is it still impassable? d**n near wrecked my boat trying to blow through there last year.

I can understand why there is so little info being reported as tourism is a trillion $$ business and no one wants to scare off the "snow birds".

Thanks in advance for any info.

[davecon]

I haven’t fished the Kissimmee Chain in years but have heard nothing about an algae problem there. The red tide is only along the coast.

 

Biggest problem are the spray boats that are trying, and to some extent succeeding, in killing every piece of vegetation, good or bad, in the entire state.

 

FWC will probably not respond to your request for any info as they just don’t give a d**n. If they really cared they would do something but, since actions speak louder than words, it is obvious to anyone with even a passing interest that it really doesn’t matter to them.

 

As far as your vacation - you should be OK.

 

 

[Nitro 882]

Thanks Davecon. I first became aware of this algae issue while going through the "news paper" on my computer. There was a headline stating a "state of emergency" had been declared by Florida's governor due to a "algae crisis". If you Google "Florida algae crisis", you should see the time lapse aerial photos showing the spread of blue/green algae on The Big O.

This scared the crap out of me because I live for my Florida fishing trip every year. Please don't repeat this to my wife. She thinks this is a family vacation. There is plenty of detail about the Gulf beaches and their "red tide" epidemic and ,though I am sympathetic to their plight, I'm only concerned with fresh water contamination.

Any way, I haven't been able to find any solid info other than your reassurance and I thank you very much for that.

[burrows]

Media seems to be placing the blame on lake okichobee? Seen mike Balzz catching some crazy green water fish recently!

[davecon]

The problem is that Okeechobee is we’re all the pollution/herbicides/pesticides/mildly treated sewage flows to, from Orlando all the way down to the Big O. It’s an accumulative thing and keep in mind all this crap flows downhill. Ad runoff from the exploding development, Big Sugar, and the FWC spraying and therefore killing any natural filtration and you’ve got a terrible mess on your hands. 

 

Politicians do nothing but talk and nobody with any authority is willing to step up and do anything. 

 

I fear nothing but band aid fixes will happen and eventually the entire ecosystem will collapse. I hope I’m wrong and truly hope somebody corrects me but I don’t see any resolution in the foreseeable future.

 

My recommendation - come enjoy it while you can as it probably won’t be anywhere near what we know it as for our kids and grandkids.

 

[Mike L]

There are areas of Okeechobee that are clean and not affected at all and they're not hard to find. 

 

I have not seen or heard of a problem in either the Kissimmee or Harris Chains. 

 

 

 

Mike

 

 

[DINK WHISPERER]

16 hours ago, davecon said:

The problem is that Okeechobee is we’re all the pollution/herbicides/pesticides/mildly treated sewage flows to, from Orlando all the way down to the Big O. It’s an accumulative thing and keep in mind all this crap flows downhill. Ad runoff from the exploding development, Big Sugar, and the FWC spraying and therefore killing any natural filtration and you’ve got a terrible mess on your hands. 

 

Politicians do nothing but talk and nobody with any authority is willing to step up and do anything. 

 

I fear nothing but band aid fixes will happen and eventually the entire ecosystem will collapse. I hope I’m wrong and truly hope somebody corrects me but I don’t see any resolution in the foreseeable future.

 

My recommendation - come enjoy it while you can as it probably won’t be anywhere near what we know it as for our kids and grandkids.

 

Look up the C-44 and C-43 canal projects. These along with many other projects are underway as we speak. Things are being done but it may be too little too late. Only time will tell. I'm contracted by the USACE and they are doing what's in their reach to help. I'm totally against the spraying and big sugar 100% but that's a whole different book right there.