Chuck Cress
A History of Red Tide events on the West Coast of Florida
This collection was created during the 2017-2018 red tide event that had major ecosystem impacts on the west coast of Florida. Fish harvesters and related businesses suffered major setbacks during this time. Fishers, with a long history on the water and oftentimes second or third generation involved in the fishing business, reminisce about how the ecosystem has changed during their and their families time and the red tides they have witnessed. The collection provides information on species affected, specific areas affected, as well as discussions related to adaptation behaviors and specific business impacts.
Susana Oliveros
Chuck Cress is a charter captain who moved to Sarasota in 1980, and he fished recreationally while working in retail for 20 years, then spent the last 20 years chartering in the Sarasota Bay. He is an inshore captain and stays within a mile of the shore.
Scope and Content Note:
Captain Chuck Cress describes his work as a charter fisherman in the intercoastal Sarasota Bay, Florida, since 1980. He states he primarily catches tarpon, Spanish mackerel, and king mackerel between Bradenton and Englewood.
In the red tide event of 2005, Cress states the water was rusty-colored and dark brown in Nokomis Beach, from Blackburn Point to North Jetty Park & South Jetty Beach, and it was teaming with a lot of dead snook, pen fish, lady fish, and occasionally red fish and sea trout. He states there wasn’t any trout in the bay for over one year, which he speculates had also affected spawning. In contrast, he stated snook returned immediately after the red tide disappeared. Cress describes the red tide as having an odor that caused some coughing.
During the 2018 red tide event, Cress describes a floating mass of organic material that fishermen call “whale snot.” He also states he saw a lot of gunk of unknown origin on the seagrass, especially in the area bordering the Ringling Mansion (Ca’ d’Zan) where the grass turned into sand. He opines that the bay is still not healthy and the usually-tall grass is now short and sparse. He also states he saw a lot of dead snook, thin fish, bait, mullet, and tarpon, and heard about bait being affected. After this event, he states he began catching different type of fish, such as lady fish and lizard fish, and the only big fish are those that come from other areas.
He describes the water as being clear and devoid of life, much like a swimming pool. Lastly, he speculates that although experts have claimed pollution is not a cause of the red tide events or their growing severity, he questions the impact of treated water being released into the bay, as well as the fertilizers being used on the homes along Longboat Key and Little Sarasota Bay which have lawns that look like golf courses. He recommends these issues be researched further.
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