Treasure Island, Florida-- First it was crops, then sinkholes, now state marine officials are reporting massive fish kills across the state, yet another affect from last week's record cold weather.

From the Panhandle to The Keys, state marine officials say they've been getting reports of massive fish kills across the state.

"It's pretty much everywhere," said Carli Segelson of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

"We've gotten reports of fresh water kills, kills on the beach; we got reports of kills in canals."

On Treasure Island, sea gulls flocked over Boca Ciega Bay as thousands of dead fish floated to the surface sending a stench inland across Pinellas County.

Other fish kills could be seen in the waters of Tampa Bay and even fresh bodies of water throughout the state.

"Warm water species, such as snook, are more susceptible to the cold weather and some of them might die outright, others might take a while," Segelson said.



Biologists confirm the cold weather is to blame for the massive kills, and say while many of the fish may have died last week, in some cases they're just now floating to the surface.

Residents living in Treasure Island say the smell comes and goes with the breeze and that sea gulls have been especially loud through the afternoon hours enjoying an all you can eat buffet of dead fish.

"It's nauseating. It's not just your good salt air you're used to breathing," said LaVonne Paulson, who lives right on Boca Ciega Bay in Treasure Island.

"We haven't caught anything off the dock for a couple weeks now. Not even a pinfish."

Populations of certain species were hit so hard, state marine officials have canceled this year's spring snook season and have made harvesting bonefish and tarpon illegal until April.

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I was going to blog about how little I have accomplished and how hard it is to get myself kick-started again this year but jondude beat me to it. Then I ran across this in the news. Still not good news, but at least not as depressing and hopeless as the news from Haiti.