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Lyngbya harvesting effort hits snag
Group calls for independent monitoring to avoid pollution
The King’s Bay cleanup effort under the direction of Art Jones is under fire for what one manatee advocate calls the “egregious” manner in which the operators of a mechanical harvester are cleaning up the body of water.
Jones said Wednesday he has suspended work with the company until “everyone can sit down and work things out.”
Patrick Rose, executive director of Save the Manatee Club, said what has been observed by representatives from his organization and other agencies amounts to dredging down to the substrate level of the bay floor.
“It is egregious, what is happening. They were bearing down so hard, the machine could hardly move and the water would get so cloudy you could never see a manatee as you begin to move,” Rose said.
“We believe it is causing great harm and will continue to cause great harm if they continue to do the cleanup like this,” he said.
Rose said while he supports efforts to clean up the bay, it should be done with independent monitoring so proper controls can be instituted to protect manatees and vegetation.
Crystal River Wildlife Refuge Manager Michael Lusk, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said he also has concerns.
Lusk said as a result, he has come up with a list of mitigating suggestions he submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Some of his suggestions include not letting the machines get too close the sanctuary areas and maybe not do any lyngbya harvesting on very cold days, when manatees are normally plentiful, seeking relief in the relatively warm waters of the bay.
Ken Frink, the assistant Citrus County administrator, said his staff has also brought up concerns about the use of the harvesters.
“We have to strike a balance between trying to clean up the bay and protecting the manatees and vegetation,” Frink said. “That’s why we called a meeting for March 28. (DEP) Secretary (Herschel) Vinyard is sending someone and we will all sit down and figure out the best way to move forward,” Frink said.
Jones recently announced the launch of the custom-built harvester operated by Recovery Solutions of Aripeka that can reach as far as 10.5 feet deep. He also unveiled a partnership with a citizen’s advocacy group, Save Crystal River Inc., and his One Rake at a Time effort.
On Wednesday Jones said as soon as he heard about the concerns, he suspended Recovery Solutions’ work until everyone can sit down and set some parameters for operation.
“We would also like to see if we can change some things in the machine, too, so there wouldn’t be any problems,” Jones said. “We are here to do no harm, and if there is any problem, we will try to fix it as quickly as possible.”
Contact Chronicle reporter A.B. Sidibe at 352-564-2925 or asidibe@chronicleonline.com.
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It's a shame there is so much
It's a shame there is so much ignorance and division surrounding the Lyngbya issue, especially since I have never met anyone who is in favor of the stuff.
In my personal experience with the obnoxious algae, I have gently raked and removed it from around my property in an area of several thousand square feet. And I have never found one one single live rooted plant under the deposits. Only dead snail shells. If I continue to rake it every day or so, however, rooted plants eventually begin to return, as do fish, snails, and manatees.
Unfortunately I have reached as far as I can with a rake. Beyond that, the layer of dead Lyngbya muck over clean sand is in water too deep for me to reach. In the deeper water, it is several feet thick from decades of accumulation. I know for certain there is no plant life under this layer. When you bump it, methane bubbles erupt from it.
The only way this this layer of decomposing muck will ever go away is by mechanical removal. In my area at least, no amount of harvesting, suctioning, dredging or whatever you want to call it can do any harm. The cloudiness from a harvester settles within an hour or so and is no worse than I have seen raised up by a group of mating manatees.
I know that this can be accomplished. Years of nasty Lyngbya accumulation can be reversed. It has been done at my house. You can see it for yourself at the end of Hunter Spring Run. But the machines are necessary for the deeper areas and due to the overwhelming amount of acreage in the shallows.
Potential Liability Problems need addressing
While Mr. Jones efforts to clean up the Bay are genuine I believe the process needs more structure to prevent human and environmental damage. Along with the damage created by the deep harvester attention needs to be made to collection, stockpiling and transporting the Lyngbya. All participants in collecting the Lyngbya should be advised of the potential of skin rash, eye problems and respiratory problems including but not limited to asthma. Implement measures when stockpiling to minimize odors in residential and commercial areas. Prevent Lyngbya from drying out and releasing airborne toxins. Trucks used to transport Lyngbya should be sealed as to prevent odor from Lyngbya and preventing liquid losses from the load. Disposal methods of Lyngbya should take in to consideration using plastic liners, clay liners and site grading to prevent contaminants entering via groundwaters to area waters and areas used not subject to a high groundwater table.
Partnership with a citizen's advocacy group?
Mr. Jones' "unveiled a partnership with a citizens advocacy group, Save Crystal River, Inc..." was surprising. He is the Vice President of that group and that group, Save Crystal River, Inc is suing US Fish and Wildlife Service to downlist the manatee, leaving manatees (Citrus County's CASH COW) unprotected, so their boats can speed through Kings Bay all year round. They do not wish to protect manatees from harm. Nor apparently people swimming in the Bay or kayaking or canoeing or fishing.