Captain Ed Hurst specializes in fly fishing and light tackle backwater fishing for snook, redfish, trout and tarpon. He has lived in Sarasota since 1956 and I has been guiding for over 30 years. 

Scope and Content Note

Captain Ed Hurst describes his fishing experience starting around 1970 in Sarasota, moving to guided offshore fishing from 1976 to 1995, and commercial fishing beginning in 1990. He recalls experiencing his first red tide event in 1976 and witnessing hundreds of dead fish underneath docks around Midnight Pass, as well as in patches which could be easily avoided. He guesses that this was caused by the city dumping sewage that was untreated into the bay from Whitaker Bayou. He describes that red tide and another in the 1980s lasting no more than three to four weeks. During these events visibility was normal but the smell in the air caused coughing fits. He also recalls Midnight Pass was closed in the early 1980s to protect homes that were on the verge of destruction due to erosion. The lack of water flow killed the sea grass, which in turn saw the disappearance of shrimp.  

Captain Ed also describes the 2009 event in which the red tide event initially pushed fish towards the bay, creating favorable fishing conditions in the unaffected areas, before it expanded and killed those stocks as well. He speculates this event was exacerbated by nutrients in water that was taken from Tampa and dumped 30 miles offshore into the gulf.

Regarding the 2018 event, Captain Ed describes witnessing dead fish from Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor. He was forced to fish out of Blackburn Bay since he did not witness fish kills there. He recalls this event lasting much longer than previous events, and spanning a much larger area, including Big Pass, Longboat Pass, and Venice Inlet.

Captain Ed believes the red tide events are natural occurrences but are intensified by nutrients such as those used in lawn fertilizers that seep off into the bay, as well as the weather, and exponential growth of the human population.