Southwest Florida’s Edison Reef becoming dead zone, researchers say

Reporter: Anika Henanger
Published: Updated:
Screenshot of video from the Edison Reef taken last week. Credit: Kevin Lollar via Facebook.

Empty, barren and filled with dead sea animals.

This is what researchers call a dead zone, and it’s right here in Southwest Florida.

But it wasn’t the case for the Edison Reef last summer.

“When we dove the Edison reef, on Tuesday, we saw nothing,” said Rick Bartleson, a water quality scientist with the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation.

Nothing but a blanket of dead wildlife, according to Florida Gulf Coast Resource Coordinator Bob Wasno.

“Everything was absolutely dead, crabs urchins, clams, the corals on the structure itself,” Wasno said.

*The video below is from 2013 on the Edison Reef.

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