Saving Seafood

FLORIDA: Increased launch cadence impacts commercial fishermen on Space Coast

August 7, 2025 — Florida’s Space Coast is closing in on 70 launches this year, with more than 100 expected by year’s end. But what’s a boom for the space industry is creating new concerns for commercial fishermen.

Bob Zales, the Executive Director of the Southeastern Fisheries Association told us, the Coast Guard issues a restriction on navigation for the area where the launch is going to take place. He added, “ generally that restricted area comes into play several hours before the launch is scheduled.”

Those restricted zones impact everyone on the water — from cruise ships to charter boats. Capt. Joey Spoerle with Canaveral Kings Sport Fishing Charters said, “When there’s 15, 20, 25 launches a year, not a big deal.

Read the full article at WFTV

Satellite images show red tide hugging Florida’s Space Coast

October 24, 2018 — Red tide is so widespread that NASA can see it from space, in large colorful plumes that jut off the Space Coast.

Satellite images from this past Saturday, enhanced by a Melbourne Beach marine biologist, show high chlorophyll levels — further evidence of red tide’s scourge here.

Tests last week confirmed high red tide levels in Cocoa Beach and Satellite Beach. And beachgoers continue to sense the algae’s airborne toxin in their itchy throats and see its toll in the sporadic dead fish washing up on the beach.

But where red tide flows next is anyone’s guess.

“I am uncertain about the apparent pool off Cape Canaveral, but I heard that red tide has been found off Ponce Inlet, so there is a good chance that the pool off Cape Canaveral is red tide,” Mitch Roffer, a marine biologists and fishing conditions forecaster, said via email.

Roffer used data from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Terra satellite. He found Saturday’s ocean color imagery showed “pools” of what appears to be chlorophyll stretching off Cape Canaveral, Melbourne, Cocoa and south to Fort Pierce and Port St Lucie.

Read the full story at Florida Today

 

Florida: Red tide creeps up to Melbourne Beach, Indialantic

October 17, 2018 — INDIALANTIC, Fla. — While test results to prove red tide are pending, the itchy throats and rancid fish carcasses on the beach this week have some already convinced, and fearing a repeat of the toxic tides that thoroughly flogged the Space Coast 16 years ago.

For tourists, another red tide now would be lousy timing. For fish, too.

“Right now we’ve got a big mullet run on the beach, so there are a lot of migratory fish following the mullet runs,” said Jon Shenker, associate professor of marine biology at the Florida Institute of Technology. “I have no idea how bad this is.”

Beachgoers and beachside residents have complained in recent days of coughing and irritated throats after being by the ocean. Dead fish reported in Indialantic and Melbourne Beach on Tuesday included bluefish, Spanish mackerel, mullet and other fish. A dead fish dotted the shoreline every 10 feet or so at Paradise Beach Park.

Brevard County is helping Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission gather water samples to test for the red tide organism, Karenia brevis. The algae releases a neurotoxin that can cause asthma-like symptoms. If ingested, it can cause digestive problems. Brevard County Natural Resources has coordinated with FWC for sampling beginning Tuesday and hopes to know the results on Wednesday.

“In the meantime, we have been monitoring conditions and have reached out to various agencies, such as Keep Brevard Beautiful, Tourism and Development, the city of Cocoa Beach, to plan for a coordinated response if and when we have reported fish kills,” Brevard County spokesman Don Walker said via email.

Read the full story at Florida Today