2010 Florida Fish Kill

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Written by Snook Foundation | 03 March 2010
Posted in General

Call to Action

Produced by FishBuzz.TV

The numbers are staggering…They began with high temperatures that never made it to 40 degrees in South Florida. That translated to lows that, in many places, came dangerously close to single digit temperatures. The north winds blew, bringing with them terms unfamiliar to many native Floridians. Wind chill. Frost warning. Severe Winter Weather Warning ...


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But, while we Floridians were hovered over space heaters, there was a change happening in the waters around our homes that would prove devastating. The water was getting cold and, thanks to the loss of habitat in areas throughout the state, the fish were going to have nowhere to go.

In a West Coast canal, a snook swam in circles, moving as close to the sunlight as it could get while continuing to swim with the hopes of keeping her cold-blooded body warm. Below her, the water temperature dipped and didn’t stop.

The coldest stretch in Florida’s recent memory was slowly – dreadfully slowly – choking the life out of the state’s most popular gamefish. Water temperatures dropped past 60 and into the Magic Number range of 56 and 57 degrees, with at least another week of harsh north winds to go.

Thoughts turned to the infamous freezes of 1989 and 1977

Thoughts turned to the infamous freezes of 1989 and 1977, and even more nasty numbers started popping up. The Christmas Eve freeze of 1989 killed 500,000 snook statewide. In 1977, the year it snowed in the Bahamas, an estimated 1 million snook were frozen to death. January 2010 was colder and lasted longer than either of those events, and the steady northerly winds compounded the problems in many areas.

That snook in the canal continued to swim in circles, soaking in the sunlight and using as little energy as possible, while keeping as warm as the chilly water around her would allow. It didn’t take an FWRI scientist to know that nightfall was going to bring horrors not seen in the state for more than 20 years. The large female didn’t know her final fate was directly linked to sunset.

The reports started trickling in. A phone call from a captain in Vero told of 200 dead snook near Round Island. A text message from the West Coast blared “MAJOR fish kill in Fort Myers”. There was the 54-inch floater from Melbourne. Reports of another 52-inch snook came in. What those text messages didn’t say was: “We need to do something to restore inshore habitat right now.” AND “while we may not be able to stop Mother Nature’s wrath, what can we do to preserve what she left behind?” After a week of floating tarpon, snook, snapper, pilchards, catfish, black drum, the effects of the cold on our already shrinking grass flats and mangrove forests would be evident for all to see. Cold weather doesn’t just choke the life out of fish, you know.

When dawn came, the snook in the canal that had been doing circles and soaking in the sun was just one of the multitudes that froze in January 2010. Once the moon came out, her body temperature dropped. She became more and more lethargic, sinking to the bottom as her body slowly became paralyzed from the cold. Stunned, she would have twitched for a while in a final attempt to generate body temperature before she rolled over and succumbed to the winter.

... the recent kill could actually strengthen the remaining snook population.

In the weeks since the coldest of the cold temperatures abated, positive signs have sprung up. Schools of snook have been spotted in the Loxahatchee River and Jupiter Inlet. Snook are biting in the Everglades. One of the most noted snook biologists in the world said the recent kill could actually strengthen the remaining snook population.

But, the fact remains, as critical inshore habitats are destroyed, the ability for snook – or any other species – to rebound is compromised. Juveniles need a place to grow safely or else the spawn is useless. Florida needs a hand in preserving what inshore habitat it has left and replenishing some of the large quantities that have been ripped away during the past 50 years, and that hand can be yours. Please join the Snook Foundation as we take this opportunity to demonstrate how recreational anglers can be part of the solution to declining fish stocks, not the problem.

The Snook Foundation is embarking on a data collection program that will shed more light on to the actual status of our snook population today. This program has been reviewed by state scientists for validity, and gives anglers a chance to bring vital information to the table as future regulations are considered. Please visit www.snookfoundatio.org to learn more about how you can contribute to the future of fishing.