Cape Coral braces for potential fish kill due to cold snap

CAPE CORAL, Fla. —

A powerful cold snap moving into Southwest Florida this weekend is raising concerns about its impact on marine life, including the possibility of the region’s first major fish kill in more than a decade.

Forecasters say plunging air temperatures combined with strong winds could sharply lower water temperatures in the Gulf, creating dangerous conditions for fish that are sensitive to cold.

Cape Coral fishing charter captain Paul Peterson said the timing could not be worse.

"I definitely won’t be out for the next couple of days because of how hard the wind is," Peterson said.

Peterson said water temperatures measured by his equipment were already between 58 and 59 degrees.

"It’s getting cool — getting cooler than these fish are used to," he said.

Gulf Coast News meteorologists are forecasting wind gusts between 30 and 40 miles per hour on Saturday. Experts say prolonged cold air combined with strong winds can rapidly accelerate heat loss in the water.

"If it’s windy for a long time and cold atmospheric air, then yes, it’s going to be even more drastic for the fish," said Serge Thomas, a professor at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School.

Native species such as snook, mullet and sea trout typically begin to die off when water temperatures drop to around 54 degrees. Experts warn this weekend’s cold snap could push Gulf waters into that danger zone.

Those species are critical to Peterson’s charter business and could be among the first to wash ashore if temperatures fall too low.

The concern is not unprecedented. During a severe cold event in 2010, Gulf waters dropped to about 52 degrees, resulting in a massive fish kill.

"The estimated snook that died off in 2010 was about a million fish," Thomas said.

Another event like that would not only damage the ecosystem but could also threaten local fishing businesses.

"It basically eliminates our opportunity to catch them," Peterson said. "I haven’t had to deal with that in a long time — probably since 2010 — and hopefully that doesn’t happen again this year."

Thomas said fish are likely to move toward deeper water, where temperatures are typically warmer, as the cold snap moves through.

For now, Peterson said all he can do is monitor the forecast and wait.

"We just have to wait and deal with it," he said.

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