Monday, March 31, 2008

Florida ocean life washed up on beach

Strange doings down in Florida, beachwatchers found oodles of ocean creatures washed up on beaches.

The speculation is that extra-cold water, 9 degrees colder than normal, stunned the animals so that they couldn't hold their positions in shallow water and they got captured by wind-driven currents and dumped onto the beach. A natural event that turned into a bonanza for collecters.

Let's hope it's not just the result of another dead zone. (Note: image not from this event.)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Kate said...

Too early (and too cold) for the dead zones in that area, which are usually caused by extremes in red tide, and often are near the bay and northward, as that darn phosphate plant is on the bay, and the run off is a major problem during storm season.

I used to live on Madeira Beach and Indian Rock Beach. the intra-coastal was across a narrow, one lane road, and the Gulf two blocks away. Believe me, in summer when the red tide bloomed the smell of the dead fish and other sea life was horrendous. But no one has done anything about the old phosphate plant yet.

Anonymous said...

Here's a little report that I made from the wrack lines. Just take a gander at all those dead urchins. Remarkable.

Allie said...

Wow. That's kind of creepy.

Anonymous said...

In one way or another the sewage from 6 billion+ people finds it's way into our o'ceans with less and less natural filtration, something had to give.

Tootie said...

Hi there, I just found your blog when I was doing some research online. I'm trying to identify some things I see on the beach now and then. Can you help me out? If so, please check out the photos on my blog of some items that I'm not positive about.