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Southshore Falls fish kill probed

Staff photo by John Ceballos

Residents in Apollo Beach's Southshore Falls discovered thousands of dead fish along the shore of one of the gated community's retention ponds.

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By JOHN CEBALLOS

jceballos@tampatrib.com

Published: October 28, 2009

APOLLO BEACH - Dick Sulick left his house on a recent cool Sunday morning, crossed the street and walked to a nearby retention pond.

His wife, Deanna, had told him to come out, and he was met by an unexpected sight.

"There were, what had to be, four or five thousand dead fish in the lake," Sulick said. "I talked to a few people right after that, and they told me the fish started washing up along the shore on Saturday," Oct. 17.

On the morning of Oct. 19, a large number of fish remained belly up on the shoreline of a retention pond within Southshore Falls.

"At first, I thought the change in the weather might have been the cause, but I really believe I smelled a chemical odor coming from the pond on Sunday morning," Sulick said. "I also think it's strange that the seagulls won't even touch the fish."

Sulick likened the odor to the smell that comes from a shallow well.

"A few of us called (theFlorida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) and told them what happened, but we still haven't heard anything back," said Cheryl Wilken, a resident whose home sits along a section of the pond where thousands of the dead fish were clustered.

Wilken said a crew arrived early Oct. 19 and began gathering the fish.

Valerie Dolenga, a spokeswoman for Pulte Homes, which owns Southshore Falls, said Entrex, an independent research company, was hired to find the source of the problem.

They tested both the water and the fish.

"Entrex found low oxygen levels in the water, likely caused by the cold front," Dolenga said. "No lesions or infections were found on the fish."

Still, the sight of thousands of dead fish is not one Southshore Falls residents will soon forget.

Reporter John Ceballos can be reached at (813) 627-4762.

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