of writing, the last localized outbreaks 

 of the 1953-54 Red Tide are only a few 

 weeks past, yet sports fishing (grouper, 

 speckled trout, nnackerel, and redfish) 

 has been generally good throughout the 

 entire area . . . ." [p. 7.] 



They gave the following table of fish 

 kills: 



COUNTS OF DEAD FISH 



On Land 



LONGBOAT KEY 



September 18, 1953 



Fish Counted In Quarter Mile 



Yellow Tails 298 Speckled Trout 4 



Whiting U Puffer 1 



Jack Crevalle 2 Angel Fish i 



Redfish 3 Porcupine Fish 8 



Pompano I Red Snapper i 



Eel 21 Shiner 2 



Ladyfish 3 Horseshoe Crabs .. 2 



Catfish 11 Unidentified Fish.. 33 



Toadfish 6 



Triggerfish 2 421 



Mullet 11 



SIESTA KEY 

 September 19, 1953 



Fish Counted In 125 Paces (yds.) 



Grouper 2 



Whiting 14 



Eel 3 



Porcupine Fish 8 



Mullet 14 



Ladyfish 1 



Toadfish 7 



Catfish 4 



Flounder 1 



Sheepshead 1 



Angel Fish 1 



Yellow Talis 200 



256 



VENICE JETTIES 

 September 19, 1953 



Fish Counted in 100 Paces (yds.) 

 Mullet 418 Other Species... 



15 



MIDNIGHT PASS 

 December 18, 1953 



Fish Counted in Quarter Mile 

 About 1000 Sheepshead About 8000 Other Species 



At Sea 



SOUTHWEST OF PASS-A-GRILLE, 10 MILES 



September 18, 1953 



Huge windrow here, but for several miles an 

 average of 1 dead fish per 10 feet. 



OFF SANIBEL LIGHT, 6 MILES 



March 18, 1954 



Dead fish averaged 1 per 15 feet for an area of 

 several square miles — perhaps 5x5 miles. 



"For purposes of future study, water 

 samples containing G. brevis are pre- 

 served by adding 5 ml. of formalin per 

 100 ml. of sample. G. brevis then rounds 

 up and becomes a flattened oval or cir- 

 cular disc, usually losing its two flag- 

 ella. Color is ordinarily lost in a few 

 days. Its chromatophores frequently 

 assume a median bandlike position, and 

 the girdle and sulcus become indistinct. 

 The anterior nipple often can be dis- 

 tinguished. With very little practice the 

 species is totally identifiable, even 

 after the color has wholly disappeared 

 from the chromatophores. [p. 8.] 



"In the field, grab samples are taken 

 in shallow water simply by lowering a 

 container from a bridge, dock, or boat, 

 and getting an approximate surface 

 sample. For vertical sampling Foerst 

 bottles are used, and the depth calcu- 

 lated roughly from meter markings on 

 the line and the angle of the line. This 

 is further correlated with the depth for 

 the station as indicated by a Coast and 

 Geodetic Survey map. [p. 8.] 



"Preserved samples are sedimented 

 in the dark for two weeks or more, 

 when the supernatant may be siphoned 

 off, and the catch concentrated by cen- 

 trifuging the final 50 or 100 ml. for five 

 minutes at about 2200 rpm in pointed- 

 end 50 ml. tubes. 



"Samples to be examined alive are 

 protected from the sun and from any 

 sudden increase in temperature. Such 

 living samples should be concentrated 

 and studied within eight or ten hours, 

 also by centrifuging. No tendency to 

 disintegrate has been observed at the 

 speeds used (up to 2300 rpm.), but 

 living organisms will cytolyze within 

 15 or 20 minutes under a cover glass. 



[p. 8.] 



"Counting is done by a drop method. 

 The catch is concentrated in ratios 

 such that 6 drops of catch =100 ml. of 

 raw water. In dense blooms this ratio 

 may be doubled or quadrupled, i.e., 12 



47 



