Dead fish litter Marco Island canal, homeowner left to clean it out herself

More dead fish are appearing in Marco Island, causing a stench and raising health concerns for homeowners on Landmark Street.

Karen Leonard says she wakes up and goes outside every morning with her coffee, “I just thought, gee really doesn’t smell too good, must be a couple of dead fish.”

But, this time, in Leonard’s backyard canal, it was a whole school of fish – and then some – floating in stagnant water.

“When I walked out here, I was just shocked. I started taking pictures because I didn’t know what to do,” Leonard said.

She then called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and was told to contact the City of Marco Island.

But Leonard said the city’s environmental coordinator told her it’s not the city’s responsibility to clean up the mess, “She said you’ll have to wait for the fish to go back out or disintegrate.”

Leonard added that manatee and dolphin sightings have been few and far between this year.

She’s afraid it’s also impacting her neighbors and tourism on the island, “A lot of times the renters are in the water from paddleboards and kayaks the kids are fishing… this is serious times if we got this kind of kill here.”

Leonard tells us she’s going to find out how to get rid of the fish herself since nobody else will.

WINK News reached out to the environmental coordinator for Marco Island and have not heard back at the time of publishing.