Red tide has caused tens of thousands of dead fish to wash ashore on the east coast. Shutting down beaches was the first step counties and municipalities took, but figuring out where to haul dead fish was the second.
Indian River County knew red tide would arrive at its shores.
“Seeing the dead marine life and so forth on the shoreline is an unfortunate situation,” said James Gray, Indian River County Natural Resources Manager.
But the county never expected such high concentrations of it in Vero Beach. “It’s pretty much widespread,” said Gray.
Vincent Burke, the Indian River County Utilities Director, said time was on their side to prepare. The blooms first reached Palm Beach and Martin Counties to the south.
“I would say a couple weeks ago the executive team at the county got together to put together a protocol so that if and when the red tide were to come here, we have a plan in place,” said Burke.
And where do you haul dead, smelly fish decomposing on the beach sand? The landfill.
“I think it’s probably the safest, most economical and fastest way to deal with this issue,” said Burke.
And other counties are doing the same. Palm Beach County’s Solid Waste Authority reports only two trucks came into the landfill with dead fish, weighing a total of about 2,000 pounds.
“We were fortunate. In this last event that the fish kill didn’t seem to be certainly as dramatic as they’ve seen on the west coast,” said Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management Director Deborah Drum.
But in Indian River County that number will be much higher. “We’re looking at probably, potentially 20 to 30 thousand pounds, if not more,” said Gray.
Dead fish from red tide washed up along about 18 miles of beach in Indian River County. The cleanup efforts are massive, but the county says the governor’s executive order will provide 100 percent reimbursement.
Burke said the trucks transporting dead fish coordinate with the landfill so crews on site can dig up an area to bury the dead fish immediately.
“It’s not an ideal smell, neither is garbage, but at the end of the day we try to be as proactive as possible to get that buried as quickly as possible,” said Burke.
Burke expects to keep business as usual at the landfill even with the extra work.
“We hope that obviously, this trend doesn’t continue for a long period of time,” he added.
