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On Mon, 30 Jan 2006 16:51:11 GMT, "NOYB" wrote:

They stopped the freshwater releases down the Caloosahatchee River on
January 16th. The water has cleaned up, the salinity has increased again,
and the pelagics are back on the nearshore reefs.


How much do you think the salinity was affected 6-8 miles out in the
gulf?

I've been out 8 or more miles and have seen a distinct line where the
Caloosahatchee brown water runoff meets the green/blue water of the gulf.
And it wasn't a tide line, because a regular tide line would not reach that
far out into the gulf. The contrast from the brown to the green was
astounding.





Let's not assess blame for every bad day of fishing to the
Caloosahatchee problem.

Of course not. But ask any angler who goes out on a regular basis whether
they see a correlation between when the Corp dumps water down the river, and
when the water quality and fishing decline.

The evidence is anecdotal at worst, and empirical at best...but the fishing
is undoubtedly affected by the amount of freshwater dumped down that
river..and how long the dumping continues. Depending upon the volume, it
pushes most of the fish to deeper water.

It doesn't affect certain fish as much, because they're accustomed to
brackish water. But permit aren't going to show up when the water salinity
is low. The fact that I found permit and cobia inside 5 miles just 2 weeks
after they stopped the heavy freshwater release is more than a coincidence.





When you are out on May Reef you will be as impacted by garbage from
Tampa Bay as you will be by the Caloosahatchee.

I don't agree. There is a lot more chance for dilution through diffusion
once the water from Tampa Bay travels 160 miles south.


If low salinity was a problem you wouldn't catch any fish in the
Estero bay in the summer since it seldom gets above 16 on an outgoing
tide.

Snook, tarpon, and redfish are accustomed to brackish conditions. Permit,
most sharks, cobia, and many reef fish are not. How many permit, sharks,
and cobia do we find in Estero bay in the summer months?


People seem to seek the places where the fresh water is flowing the
fastest. My summer numbers in the Estero River cruise in the single
digits.

I will agree 100% that San Carlos Bay and Pine Island sound are
impacted by low salinity and have been for 40 years.
The main problem with the water is still tied to nutrients. We have
the same problems with all the fresh water streams entering the
estuary, some worse than others. Finding out where they come from is
one of the objectives of all that water testing we do.


Here's a post I snipped from another forum:
" I launched kayaks at Ft Myer's Manatee Park yesterday. we didn't see any
manatees and I didn't fish much. I took my hydrometer with me and checked
the salinity/specific gravity of the surface water just below the power
plant outflow. Salinity measured at 6 ppt, specific gravity at 1.004. That's
virtually salt free and also the reading I got during the peak of last
summers rainy season on the Peace River.
We paddled about a mile east- farther back into the Orange River. I measured
the surface water again and got a salinity reading of 0.0 and specific
gravity of 1.0. That's the normal reading for fresh water.

The Peace and Myaka Rivers within a couple of miles of the harbor are
measuring between 14 and 22 parts per thousand for salt content. Normal Gulf
water usually measures salinity about 36 ppt/ specific gravity 1.027.

Surface water usually reads more fresh than water below the surface but I
would think the power plant outflow water having been drawn from the
Caloosahatchee river and being well mixed before being added to the Orange
River should have been much more salty. Especially considering that they are
saying the Caloosahatchee river is too salty right now.

What is healthy for the Caloosahatchee river?"


Did you see where he said that the normal gulf water measures around 36ppt
and 1.027? I can guarantee you that for the past 5 months, the water
flushing over May, Wiggins, GH, Doc Kline, etc. reefs (all within 10 miles
of shore) has been nowhere near that number.