Sanibel Wednesday Beach Report

It was another beautiful, sunny day here with the temperature reaching 87. It nights are a little cooler now, which is very nice. It was down to 69 last night. The humidity was 78%. It is supposed to be cooler tonight and a couple degrees cooler tomorrow. This is perfect weather for me. But, I didn't go to the beach today. I don't want to take chances on having any respiratory problems, which has happened to me before from Red Tide. I really think it's ok at the beach off West Gulf Drive, but I'll wait a little longer, since I don't care for the smell of dead fish either. :-)


The City of Sanibel's Department of Natural Resources inspected Sanibel beaches this morning, Tuesday, November 4, 2009. The report is below:

From the east end of Sanibel Island:

Bayside Beach from Buttonwood Lane to Point Ybel
Small dead fish, primarily grunts, were observed in the upper wrack line with approximately 1 fish every 3 feet. There were fewer dead fish in the lower wrack line along the water’s edge with approximately 1 fish every 10 feet. Overall, there were fewer fish observed today compared to yesterday. Slight respiratory symptoms (sore throat, shortness of breath, coughing) that are normally associated with red tide blooms were present.

Lighthouse Beach Park
A few dead fish, primarily grunts, were present in the upper wrack line with approximately 1 fish every 100 feet or more. There were no dead fish in the lower wrack line or along the waters edge. No respiratory irritation was noted.

Nerita St. to Donax St. Beach Accesses
This area has approximately 1 fish every 25 to 50 feet of beach. There were no dead fish visible in the water or in the surfzone and a majority of the fish were small grunts and mullet remaining on the beach from yesterday. There were a large number of worm tubes present along this stretch of beach and there was a strong odor associated with them. No respiratory irritation was noted.

Gulfside Park
A few dead fish were observed in the upper wrack line approximately 1 every 100 feet. There were no dead fish observed in the water or in the surfzone. A large number of worm tubes were present on the beach and in the surfzone that were producing a strong odor. No respiratory irritation was noted.

Tarpon Bay Road Beach Access to West Gulf Drive Beach Access No. 1
No evidence of red tide was observed from Tarpon Bay Beach access to West Gulf Access 1.

West Gulf Drive Beach Access No. 7
A few dead fish remained in the upper wrack line from yesterday, but no new dead fish were observed. No respiratory irritation was noted.

Bowman's Beach west to Blind Pass
From Bowman's Beach west to Blind Pass there were a few dead fish remaining from yesterday with no new dead fish observed in the water or on the beach. No respiratory irritation was noted.

For questions regarding today's beach field report, please contact the City of Sanibel Natural Resources Department at (239) 472-3700.

A couple of weeks ago a gentleman named John Jurisoo, who was here on vacation, shared some of his wonderful photos and gave me permission to post them on my blog. These were taken from the beach off West Gulf Drive.


























If you were asking why anyone would want to live here, with Red Tide, hurricanes, heat, etc, I think those photos should make you understand. :-)