Fish kill reported at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – An unknown number of dead red drum, sheepshead, snook and Atlantic were reported near the Integrate-Transfer-Launch Causeway at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. 

The fish were reported Tuesday to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's fish-kill hotline, according to News 6 partner Florida Today.

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An online FWC database based of those hotline reports does not mention a cause for the fish kill. But fish die-offs in the Indian River Lagoon happen more often during warm summer months, when algae blooms are more frequent and more severe.

During daylight, algae produce oxygen through photosynthesis, replenishing oxygen levels in the water. But at night, the algae consume oxygen.

This, coupled with the normal demand for oxygen from fish, crabs and other marine life can cause dips in dissolved oxygen in the lagoon, with the lowest levels just before dawn.

When dense clusters of fish die and rot, bacteria increase, further diminishing the available oxygen in the water.

Winds could help aerate the water, but stagnant days pose more of a threat.

Submit a report of a fish kill online, or call the Fish Kill Hotline: 800-636-0511.

 


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