BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Armed with latex gloves, masks and oversized trash bags, dozens of volunteers and local inmates set out on the red tide-stricken Brevard County beaches Thursday morning to clean up the throngs of dead fish cluttering the shoreline.
The cleanup, organized by Keep Brevard Beautiful, was just one of several held recently to combat the deadly effects of the toxic algae that made its way to the area last week.
Volunteers met at 9 a.m. at Spessard Holland South Beach Park in Melbourne Beach, Juan Ponce de Leon Landing in Melbourne Beach and Howard E. Futch Park at Paradise Beach in Melbourne. Eight members of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office chain gang began at Hightower Beach Park and worked their way south to Indialantic.
[READ: How red tide made it to Brevard County]
"It's not too bad because it's kind of windy so I think that helps a lot, but you can definitely smell it. It hasn't been too bad this morning," Brevard County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Sherman Davis said.
#REDTIDE CLEANUP: The @BrevardSheriff Chain Gang picks up dead fish off several miles of beaches. Cpl. Sherman Davis says the air is not bothering them today. It was difficult to breathe yesterday when thousands of fish washed up from Satellite Beach to Melbourne Beach @news6wkmg pic.twitter.com/7X2kA0soNF
— James Sparvero (@News6James) October 25, 2018
Shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday, officials from the City of Satellite Beach announced that the fish kill had been cleaned up.
"On behalf of our City Council, I want to send a sincere thank you to our Public Works staff, our resident volunteers, and Sheriff Wayne Ivey's inmates for your hardwork (sic) and dedication to our community. We appreciate you all so very much. Thank you," a Facebook post read.
The hope is that no more fish kills will be reported in the area, but anyone who does see dead sea life is encouraged to report the location to the City of Satellite Beach through Facebook or by emailing cbarker@satellitebeach.org.
[RELATED: Here's how you can help improve the condition of Florida's waters]
Fish kills can also be reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission fish kill hotline at 1-800-636-0511.
Officials from the Satellite Beach Public Works Department said the dead fish will be taken to a landfill.
For more information about red tide and other issues affecting Florida's waterways, go to ClickOrlando.com/water.