Tons of Dead Fish Removed From Florida Waters in Tropical Storm Elsa Aftermath

Photo Credit: GETTY

There is currently a clean up effort underway on the shores of St. Petersburg Fl. Where officials have stated that this was their busiest day yet. Stating that nine tons of dead fish were removed in the past 24 hours alone. They said the total is more dead fish collected than in the last week.

A huge red tide is being cited as the main reason behind all the dead marine life, although officials said Tropical Storm Elsa is thought to have at least contributed to bringing many of the remains to the shoreline.

Red tides are a phenomenon of discoloration of sea surface. It is a common name for harmful algal blooms occurring along coastal regions, which are resulted from large concentrations of aquatic microorganisms, such as protozoans and unicellular algae.

The waters around Florida are a common site of red tides, and St. Petersburg is experiencing a severe occurrence of it now. City officials reportedly noticed a wave of dead fish near the coast days ago, and they’ve since been found in mangroves, close to the shore, and in the bay.

With Elsa’s damaging high winds, like many Tropical storms. The cleanup efforts most likely will continue for a couple of days. Please be on alert for more Red Tides, as they can cause havoc with sea life, and always report any sea death you may encounter on the beaches/shores to fish and wildlife or Local Law Enforcement.

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Baby sea turtle found dead in South Florida had 104 pieces of plastic in its body

The Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton shared a photo of a dead baby sea turtle next to the pieces of plastic that were found inside its body. The turtle washed ashore in Boca Raton. (Gumbo Limbo Nature Center / Courtesy)

Dozens of tiny pieces of plastic dot the counter top next to the dead baby sea turtle.

The 104 remnants, which range from a wrapper to a twist tie used in trash bags, were found inside a baby sea turtle that washed ashore in Boca Raton this week.

”We found a piece of a balloon. There was a wrapper that goes on the outside of bottles,” said Whitney Crowder, a sea turtle rehabilitation coordinator at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca.

After the center shared a photo of the turtle next to the bits of plastic on Facebook, the image went viral, having been shared more than 3,100 times.

News Source: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-ne-baby-sea-turtle-dead-plastic-inside-stomach-20191004-puncgag25rf4tehj7xd4javt7q-story.html

This is why we need to keep plastic out of the oceans and upcycle/recycle and reuse everything, in order to keep the carbon footprint prints low and or nonexistent. Not to mention it will keep plastic from hurting our animal life.

Florida woman facing animal cruelty charge after video goes viral

CLEARWATER, Fla. — A Florida woman was arrested Friday and charged with felony animal cruelty after a video appeared to show her kick, choke and hang her dog by its leash, WFLA reports.

The video went viral which had people calling for her arrest.

Tarpon Springs police say that 26-year-old Michelle Sieber abused her dog.

In a video taken by Vincent Minutello around 10:45 Friday, Sieber is seen violently yanking her dog then suspending his body in the air as the dog gasps for air.

Police found the suspect in Clearwater, Florida Friday afternoon, booked her into jail and charged her with one count of felony animal cruelty.

Animal control took her two dogs who did not appear to be injured.

Source – https://myfox8.com/2019/09/22/florida-woman-facing-animal-cruelty-charge-after-video-goes-viral/

Petition: Save Jax Beach Baby Sea Turtles from certain deaths because of Artifical Light

Petition by Casey Jones

The City of Jacksonville Beach and Beach Energy are refusing to protect endangered and threatened nesting mother sea turtles and baby sea turtle hatchlings by ignoring the effect of light pollution (artificial light) used along their beach shoreline.  Parking lots adjacent to beach accesses and right next to the sand dunes have 25-30 foot light poles with super bright light LED light bulbs, which is against Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Sea Turtle Protection Rules.  FWC rules state that only amber LED Sea Turtle Friendly lights are to be used that close to the beach.

Light Pollution (artificial light) is so bright on Jacksonville Beach that it is detering nesting mother sea turtles from coming ashore to lay their eggs, this is called a “False Crawl.”  When a mother sea turtle tries multiple times to nest and the beach is too bright, she will get stressed and deposit her eggs in the ocean, killing the baby sea turtles instantly.  It is a shame that the baby sea turtles do not have a fighting chance of survival. 

If the mother sea turtle does by small chance nest, research has proven that illegal lights along beaches will cause hatchlings to become disoriented and travel away from the ocean, towards artificial lights and sadly they lose their chance of survival. 

Jacksonville Beach Sea Turtle Lighting Ordinance is not up to date with FWC guidelines and has been out of date for over a decade.  We are demanding that the city update their ordinance and make Beaches Energy change out the illegal lights in the parking lots and down First Street.

To prevent sea turtle deaths caused by light confusion we encourage Jacksonville Beach to update their Lighting Ordinance to FWC compliance just like in neighboring Neptune Beach, Atlantic Beach and Ponte Vedra Beach.  Ordinances like these prevent thousands of sea turtle deaths each year. The ordinance is needed to protect the endangered and threatened sea turtles who use Jacksonville Beach to nest and hatch a vital new generation. 

Help me get the word out and give these mothers and little babies a fighting chance to nest and live – sign and share the petition today, please.

Petition: Save the Jax Beach Turtles

Sea turtle found dead with spear through its head at Florida national park

Posted: Jun 27, 2019 / 01:33 PM EDT / Updated: Jun 27, 2019 / 01:33 PM EDT

(Photo: Biscayne National Park)

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (WFLA) — Wildlife officials and federal investigators are looking into the death of a sea turtle that was found with a spear through its head near Biscayne National Park, The Miami Herald reported.

The green sea turtle was found Friday afternoon near Elliot Key by a group of anglers fishing the flats, a park’s service law enforcement ranger said. 

The animal had been poached, according to park officials who are trying to find the person responsible.

Sea turtles are a threatened or endangered species. Killing a sea turtle can result in a criminal conviction. Offenders can also be tried civilly. Anyone who is convicted may face up to one year in prison and/or a maximum fine of $100,000.

Those with information about the dead sea turtle are being asked to call National Park Service investigators at 305-242-7740.