Both have been major irritations. Virtually everyone I spoke with about the fish kill, reported seeing a few dead mullet, catfish, and the occasional jack. I can t help but wonder if perhaps the fish were dead as a result of runoff. Don t forget, the Palm Valley region had more than 20 inches of rain. That has to disturb the ecology momentarily.
Red tide sounds so much more impressive.
Along the beach is another matter. The fish kill from Jax on down through Mickler s appears real enough and those in the know are dismissing shrimpboat bycatch as a cause. As of Tuesday, I hadn t seen any as far south as Surfside Avenue. There s no doubt that nasal irritation is worse during east winds. But as I stood there coughing lightly, my itchy eyes examined a nice puppy drum that came out of the waves at Surfside Avenue on Monday afternoon.