NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla -- Blue-green algae has been moving down the Caloosahatchee river for weeks, and Tuesday, the algae was spotted as far at North Fort Myers.
Businesses and boaters have been working harder than usual to do day to day tasks because of the algae blooms. Christopher Carr, owner of the Marinatown Bait Shop, tells 4 In Your Corner business has been slower since the algae blooms began migrating from Lake Okeechobee. "Business has been alright, except for the people who want to take kayaks to their local spots. A lot of their local spots up river and beginning to go down river are full of the green algae," he said. "How do you prepare for that? Just keep knowledgeable, tell people where they can't go and where they can go."
Meanwhile, managers at the Cowboy Crab and Seafood in North Fort Myers are working harder to get their stock. The crew is usually able to get fresh crab from the river, but now because of blue-green algae, they have to travel further, where FWC tells them it's safe to catch food. "We can't control nature, so you kow what, we're going out 2 hours earlier, catch what we can catch, come back a little bit later," said manager Eric Prezzy.
The extra travel adds up for them in fuel costs, but as they prepare for a 4th of July rush, they can't afford to stop. "Customers are happy, and I mean, we don't have no worries. You get what you put out," Prezzy said.
Meanwhile, boat owners at a marina at the Waterway Estates neighborhood in North Fort Myers are finding themselves working around the algae as well. People who live at this particular marina have sophisticated boats, but even they have to find different accommodations when algae plugs up equipment. "Raw water is used for your commodes and air conditioning system so that's my only concern," said Robby Bendall. "It'll get in there and stop something up, it'll shut your air conditioner down, you won't be able to take a shower, those sort of things."
