Manatee County expanding red tide cleanup to canals, other waterways

Manatee County will expand clean-up efforts to canals and other smaller waterways where red tide has spread, causing fish kills and leaving an unbearable sight and smell for residents with waterfront property, officials announced Friday.

The county will be contracting a vendor, Aptim, based out of Boca Raton, since the county doesn’t have a marine fleet and can’t handle the job, officials announced during a news conference.

Already, Manatee County Parks and Property Maintenance crews have removed about 151 tons of red tide-related waste from beaches and public parks since last week.

Aptin, which also has offices in St. Petersburg and Tampa, will begin clean-up efforts on Monday. Over the weekend, county workers will be surveying the county’s waterways to come up with a logistical plan for the clean-up. The areas with the largest fish kills will be the first priority.

“We don’t want to represent that we will get every fish in every canal and in every waterway, but what we’re trying to do is the major cleanup,” county administrator Ed Hunzeker said. “It’s very important we get out there as soon as we can and clean up, make sure the smell goes away and the fish go away. We have no idea how long this red tide will last.”

The county already has a contract with Aptin, which has been handling cleanup from the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. The new contract is being finalized and will be presented to the board of commissioners during Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting.

County officials don’t know what this cleanup will cost but the administration will be asking the board to appropriate $500,000 from its reserves.

The board doesn’t need to approve the contract beforehand, however, according to Hunzeker.

Officials asked that residents be patient until these expanded cleanup efforts begin, even though Commissioner Stephen R. Jonsson acknowledged that would be difficult.

“I think in some areas it’s becoming almost a public health issue because of the irritability, the smell,” Jonsson

said. “For people like in Coral Shores, it’s critical.”

Earlier this week, the Coral Shores neighborhood in Cortez was hit by an onslaught of dead fish and other sea life as red tide infested the community’s canals, which feed into Sarasota Bay.

Residents reacted to the announcement Friday by overwhelmingly expressing satisfaction with the county’s willingness to take responsibility for cleaning the clogged canals.

“Good, they should be cleaning it up,” said Donna Story, whose house sits along a Coral Shores canal. “It’s disgusting and it stinks. I’m glad they’re doing it.”

Other residents said they were planning to take matters in their own hands.

“It’s great news because we were getting ready to try to do something ourselves,” Jane Williams said.

Williams said she had been in contact with her neighbor, Tide Tables owner Bobby Woodson. They had discussed a plan to take action by hiring Cortez fishermen to clear out the thousands of dead fish.

Throughout the past week, red tide and its toxic affects have continued to spread into other waterways throughout the county.

The process for cleaning these smaller canals will be a manual one, involving boats and nets, said Charlie Hunsicker, director of the Department of Parks and Natural Resources.

“It’s not an easy task, but it’s one we’re up to and one that we are pledged to do until the fish are gone,” he said. “We’re not going to get everything.”

On Friday morning, the shore of Sarasota Bay behind the waterfront community of Wild Oak Bay in Bayshore Gardens was lined with thousands of dead fish, the smell too much for many residents. During high tide, the smell can be sensed even inside their homes.

But cleanup may not be in store for this shoreline.

“We’re not going to be able to do a thorough job on the mangrove coastlines of the county,” Hunsicker said. “Those prop roots and shallow waters make it very difficult for any type of boat to get in and around. So we are trying to manage expectations by saying this.”

Along Palma Sola Bay, the smell was as pungent and repulsive as dead fish and other marine life, including stingrays, lined the shore. Early Friday, there was no one at the usually popular spot.

Beginning Saturday, the county is activating a citizen hotline, like it does during tropical storms, and county staff will be available to answer questions. Residents can call 941-749-3547 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week until the red tide emergency has passed.

This story was originally published August 17, 2018 at 3:57 PM.