Big beautiful homes, sail boats docked in the backyards -- and dead fish?
That’s what people in a Gulfport community are dealing with.
“There’s thousands of dead fish. Thousands, literally in our cove right here,” said resident Dimitra Pastras.
Pastras says now when she enjoys the beautiful backyard view at her home she has to hold her nose. She says this sea of dead fish has been popping up for the last couple of weeks.
“When it first happened it looked like snow, honestly. All of the whole top of the water was covered,” she said.
The water behind their home flows into Bocaseiga Bay. Bay News 9’s own Dr. Randy Shuck lives in the same community and had the smelly, rotting fish floating behind his home too. Luckily for him, he had a cleaning service.
“The clean-up crew is actually interesting,” Shuck said. “The big white pelicans that come in, the buzzard hawks that come in. We’ve had everything come in here so it’s kind of fun to watch. It’s not fun to smell.”
It’s a sour smell and a sour sight. Dr. Shuck has his theory on what might be behind these funky fish.
“I’m thinking it’s got to be red tide, because the way it’s kind of coming as a bloom you see it and then they kind of drift away. The tides bring them in, the tides bring them out,” he said.
We reached out to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and they couldn’t confirm if this fish kill was because of red tide. Officials said the people could find out what the cause is in a couple of days.