Tampa Bay Fish Kill At 500 Tons And Rising; DeathSentence Admin Kicks Back When Mayor Asks For Help
For days, crews in St. Petersburg have been struggling to clean up miles and miles of dead fish off the coast making city resources overwhelmed and stretched thin. Thursday, city council members will meet to address the ongoing red tide emergency that's sending tons of dead fish onto Tampa Bay shorelines. Marine scientists say the longer it goes on, the worse it can get.
On Wednesday, Mayor Rick Kriseman also called on Governor Ron Desantis to declare a state of emergency, adding that crews have cleared more than 500 tons of dead fish killed by the algae bloom. The move would free up more money and shrimp boats to deal with the massive fish kill.
"Please, Pinellas County, St. Petersburg, we need your help," he said. "This isn't about politics. I know the governor has had a lot to juggle lately, but we need his office to be paying attention to this." Hours after the plea, the governor’s office slammed Kriseman’s comments, saying they are helping and there is no need for a state of emergency because they recently created a fund through the Department of Environmental Protection to deal with the crisis. The agency has already given out hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bay Area communities, state officials say.
So far, crews have collected more than 600 tons of dead fish from waterways and shores in Pinellas County, but more than 500 tons have been collected in St. Pete alone. The city says it is all hands on deck. They have staff members from every department: sanitation, parks and recreation, public works, police and fire rescue. They've spent well into the six figures to remove the fish.
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https://www.fox13news.com/news/st-pete-holding-emergency-meeting-to-find-red-tide-fish-kill-solutions
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