Page 62 - Panama City Living Magazine September-October 2019

62 • September–October 2019 • www.PanamaCityLiving.com
The waters off Port St. Joe in Northwest Florida are a fisherman’s dream—at first glance. Driving along Highway 98, the road hugs closely to the bay with water so still on some days, it looks like liquid metal and mirrors the sky above. It begs you to throw in a line and watch the water ripple while you wait for a fish to take hold.
Beneath the surface things are not quite as picture perfect. Red tide is a frequent occurrence in the Gulf of Mexico and while its effects are most frequently observed along the coastlines of middle and south Florida, in 2017 and 2018, Port St. Joe, resulting in massive fish kills. (Would be good to get a comment/quote here about how long it would take nature to recover on its own)
In May 2019, 8,000 juvenile redfish were released into the bay at Port St. Joe. With dozens of local residents helping, the relaease was organized by the Coastal Conservation Association Florida (CCA Florida), Duke Energy and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC). It was the ninth fish release for the group.
Community members gathered at Frank Pate Park Boat Ramp, forming a steady line of people carrying the fish in plastic bags from holding tanks to the bay, carefully easing the bags into the water, to see the 5 to 8 inch juvenile redfish dash off into deeper waters. The juvenile fish were donated by the Duke Energy Mariculture Center in Crystal River and will reach a size of up to when they mature.
Port St. Joe resident Jason Upchurch waded into the water to cast a line at sunset on April 31, 2019.