Worries about algae treatment after dead fish and crabs found near Franklin Lock

Some viewers have reported seeing dead fish and crabs in and around the water at Franklin Lock. WINK News sent a crew to Franklin Lock to check it out and did see one dead crab in the water.

A woman says she saw a dead fish and more dead crabs near the lock this past weekend. She is worried that the algaecide treatment that was applied on the river since Memorial Day weekend is doing more harm than good.

“There was no dead fish, there was nothing dead, everything was fine. The water wasn’t as murky as it is now,” said Denis Eberle, who lives in Alva. “It wasn’t all green. It was deep dark brown like it is now. It wasn’t perfectly clean, but the algae wasn’t spread all over here. No, that algae did not kill that crab and that fish.”

The Calusa Waterkeeper says they also witnessed the dead sea life. However, they say, it is hard to attribute it to the water treatment.

Right now, the waterkeeper says, oxygen levels in the water are good but they are watching what comes next.

John Cassani is the Calusa Waterkeeper. “When you put a lot of the product into the water column, especially on a daily basis and if that exceeds the label frequency of application then you can see some negative side effects on unintended consequences to some of the other components in the water column,” Cassani said.

The Calusa Waterkeeper added that cyanobacteria appears to be more mixed into the water rather than on the surface.

Cassani says this could be from the treatment or from the windy conditions on the water lately.