NAPLES, Fla. -- Collier County has deployed a contractor to clean up the large numbers of dead fish that are appearing in the Moorings Bay area, but this fish kill may not be the work of red tide.
City of Naples officials say that the current fish kill could be the result of a bloom of the Cylindrotheca diatom, which can cause fish to die due to low dissolved oxygen waters.
This diatom is also mucilage-producing, causing clogging of fish gills.
Similar fish kills have been reported at Barefoot Beach.
The city is sampling the Moorings Bay canal in the area of the dead fish to test for dissolved oxygen levels and also for the presence of Cylindrotheca.
The latest Red Tide Maps by FWC show red tide nearly non-existent in Collier County.
