Red tide recovery continues with redfish release in Manatee County

Over 2,000 redfish to be released to support the recovery of the fishery.

The Coastal Conservation Association Florida, Duke Energy, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will continue red tide recover efforts with the shoreline release of 2,000+ redfish in Manatee County on Tuesday, February 26th. The organizations joined forces to address the loss to the redfish population on the southwest coast of Florida as a result of red tide. The redfish release program was announced in the fall of 2018. The upcoming release will include approximately 2,000 juvenile fish and 30 adult redfish, all hatchery-reared and donated from the Duke Mariculture Center in Crystal River. Over 8,000 juvenile and adult redfish have been released in February in Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties, and another 6,000+ will be released in Lee, Collier, and Charlotte Counties in March.

The release will take place beginning at 11 a.m. at Robinson Preserve, 1704 99th Street NW, in Bradenton.

Additional upcoming releases:

• Lee County – March 12, 11 a.m., at Tropical Point Park, 3401 Tropical Point Drive, St. James City
• Collier County – March 15, 11 a.m. at Shell Island Boat Launch, 10 Shell Island Road, Naples
• Charlotte County – March 19, 11 a.m. at Ponce De Leon Park, 3400 Ponce de Leon Parkway, Punta Gorda

For more information about the release program, contact Teresa Donaldson at (407) 923-3530 or via email at tdonaldson@ccaflorida.org.