Florida Freeze 2010 Pt II

[Capt Jeff Kraynik]

Sebastian Inlet, Florida
01/11/2010


It started out as a windy, nasty, cold morning that you'd expect to see along the Great Lakes.
The wind was howling, the waves white capping & the sting of the salt spray as it hits your face.

It turned out not to be as cold as Sunday morning (or as predicted), but (11) eleven mornings like this is taking it's toll.

We limited out on bluebills, but the Florida Mottled Ducks refused to make an appearence. We left the clients & began to search the backwaters & potholes for them. As we walked, the devastation of Florida's extended freeze began to rear it's ugly head.

Thousands & thousands of dead fish & crustaceans.

Triggerfish, snook, mullet, flounder, horseshoe crabs, blue grabs & juvenile spiney lobster.

As Capt Aaron & I searched for a lost decoy, we made another chilling discovery!!!

Dead & dying loggerhead turtles tangled within the mangroves roots.

The (45) forty-five degree waters & constant NNW winds had finally taken it toll on them.

We immediately got on the phone with Sea Turtle Rescue & told them of our stomach turning discovery. We were advised that so far, they had rescued or recovered over (400) four-hundred turtles.

Roger, from the rescue group gave us the authorization. Pick them up & bring them to the landings where their volunteers would meet us.

 

[Capt Jeff Kraynik]

In all, we rescued (6) six loggerheads & advised them of (2) two additional dead ones.

The turtles basically shutdown when the water hits (60) sixty degrees. Many drown because the can no longer lift thier heads to breath of become over turned due to the wave action.

The Marine Resource Council also dispatched a vessel & a group of volunteers to begin combing the shoreline along the eastside of the lagoon.

We all drove away from the landings feeling like we did some good today!!!

Even though we had to break out the "Mojo Bag" & take the curse off the boats.

One of the clients brought a banana on-board!!!:angry2:

 

[Steve Sutton]

seeing lots of juvenile Tarpon and Snook in the ICW as far north as Jacksonville.....when we caught Snook in excellent numbers in the IRL and BRL like I've never seen before....when we were seeing Turtles on virtually every trip on the water in those places....

When this cold hit I told Dani..."don't expect to catch a Snook in Jax for the next several years"...and watch for the mangroves that had managed to get a root hold as far north as Vilano to be gone"......

As the cold continued we talked about freezes that I had experienced in the past when I lived there.....Freezes that devasted the mangroves as far south as Palm Beach....the explosions of Brazialian Pepper and Malaluca's that followed...the loss of a viable Snook population and finding dead and dying Green and Loggerhead Sea Turtles in places where we never even suspected that they occured, and of warm water discharges so clogged with Manatee's that from above the canals look like a solid mass of writhing bodies......

Cycles in nature are inevitable and as surely as Mangroves and Snook have moved north over the eons it is destined that freezes will come to drive them back to their traditional ranges......seeing it isn't easy though and I applaud you, and anyone else, that took the time out of their day to attempt to save those species that could be saved.......

I'm sure that this summer I'll be looking out over acres and acres of the skeletons of mangrove forests that I saw, verdant and healthy, just before this freeze.....it will be "years" before we see the lagoons return to what it was before this freeze......

Hard as they are to look at the photos are appreciated...

Steve

 

[Hitch]

Good work Aaron and Jeff. This story should go in the Florida Today paper.

Hitch

 

[Phil Nowack]

Well said Steve.

It is just so hard to see species that are not abundant go through this....

 

[Mark W]

Good work Aaron and Jeff. This story should go in the Florida Today paper.

Hitch

I agree. It would be great to have a story about a bunch of hunters saving sea turtles. To me, this shows what hunters are all about or shoudl be about.

Nice job on sving thoses guys.

Stupid question. What causes the spiny lobsters and triggerfish to die. Cold water temps? I would think it would have to be very cold for a long period of time for the water temp to drop low enough to kill these animals. What's the outlook on florida temps going forward?

Mark W

 

[Steve Sutton]

MINWR reader board so that when the "non-hunters" visit Headquarters they see the "positive side" of the hunters that are enjoying the same refuge that they are.....same goes for it hitting Florida Sportsman, Southern Outdoors, and the Kayak sites and publications.....

Steve

 

[Scott O.]

I sent a link to this page to Bill Sargent on the Outdoor desk of Florida Today.com.

I think it is a great story and commend Jeff and friends on going above and beyond to do the right thing.

I think the Florida readers will agree with me when I say that THESE guys are the people really concerned about our wildlife and represent lovers of our planet's resources.

Fantastic job Jeff! Please convey that message to all of your friends involved.

Scott

 

[CPKBasil and Robert]

Those are tough to look at. But, it's the ebb and flow of nature.

I applaud you guys for the rescue efforts.

I grew up south of there in Stuart. Well, really Palm City, but who ever heard of Palm City? I remember a handful of minor fish kills.

I spoke to my dad last night. He said there are extensive fish kills in the St. Lucie River. And, he's heard that the sea turtles are having a tough time as far north as the Carolinas.

Steve, I had the same thought about Dani's snook fishing exploits this summer!

Years ago (late 80s?), I went flounder fishing in Mayport and caught a handful of juvenile snook while castnetting finger mullet. After that winter, I didn't hear much about snook north of Canaveral. I was pretty surprised when Dani posted her picture on the board.

 

[Jay Anglin]

Regardless of how natural it is it's still a terrible sight. I would imagine that it was difficult to witness first hand. One of the unfortunate aspects of these natural occurences is that it creates a perfect scenario for unnatural exotic and invasive species to flourish. Steve touched on this. This is what sets these events apart now from similar historic events. Hopefully the temps will turn around quickly after a warm-up though it's probably too late for most.

Very admirable efforts with the turtles.

 

[CPKBasil and Robert]

Here's a slightly different perspective. I imagine the peacock bass, cichlids, asian carp, pythons and other exotics in So. Florida are meeting a nasty end right now. Maybe that's good for the ecosystem?

I never associated the spread of brazilian pepper and maleluca with freezes. Then again, they were already well established when I was a boy.

But, if you're right, this could be a stepping stone for a new wave of exotic vegetation.

 

[Steve Sutton]

of the non-native snakes in Southern Florida....it wasn't so cold down in the core area of their eruption so chances are that they will be largely unaffected there....the good thing though is that these periodic freezes do limit there northern expansion....just like the freeze will push the Snook back to more southerly stronghold so too is it hoped that it will limit the northern expansion of Pythons in the State....

Its pretty well established that cold is the only thing keeping the highly invasive and extremely agressive Cuban Tree Frog from taking over the South.....a process that would result in the eventual decimation of virtually all of the native amphibians........

As far as non-native fish survival goes.....I hope it kills em all.....its sad to be on the middle St.johns and go for days without seeing a native fish.....lots of Tilapia and some of the canals have populations of the common aquarium catfish, (Placostomus-sp?), so thick it seems you could walk across the canal without gettin wet....

Steve

 

[Jay Anglin]

I guess I was thinking more along the lines of vegetation. But all invasive species have a tendency capitalize on the scarcity of native species. Many of them are very prolific breeders with a broader range of preferences. I guess in the case of all those tropical species it would be a good thing.

 

[Scott O.]

Just got a return note from Bill Sargent from the Florida paper. Sounds like he'll be talking to Jeff soon for a story

 

[Steve Sutton]

in Florida who are posting on what many consider to be the premier Florida Waterfowling website......my nephew just sent me a "cut and paste" from the post that Jeff made there telling him that, for a variety of reasons, that he should have just left them to die....or eaten them.....seems to be split abouut equal as to the choice......

Steve

 

[Scott O.]

...that the correct move might be to disconnect the keyboard.

It might be worth going into "read only" mode for a while.

Hopefully he will talk directly to Jeff as he stated in his note he had called him.

 

[Matt_n_Barb]

Plecostomus --- you were close--it means folded mouth, or pleated mouth pleco=pleated stoma=mouth

 

[Steve Sutton]

hand grenade....


Steve

 

[Matt_n_Barb]

I can't spell anyway...hand grenades or not

 

[TimJ]

Well done.

Tim