Cape Coral, FL - Residents in a Southwest Florida community are speaking out after dealing with the smell of hundreds of dead fish in the city's canals.
Francesca Nappi, a resident of Cape Coral, tells ABC 7 News that the smell is "some kind of gas" that eventually leads to the death of the fish.
To avoid the smell, residents have been keeping their windows and doors shut.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has not reported any algal blooms or red tide in the area, but John Cassani, who recently retired as the Calusa Waterkeeper, believes that high temperatures may have caused an increase in the decomposition of organic debris in the water, leading to a decrease in oxygen and resulting in the fish's deaths.
Cassani also pointed to Hurricane Ian as a possible cause of the organic debris in the canals.
While the cause of the deaths are still unknown, Cassani suggests that residents may need to get used to the smell until something can be done to restore the water.
Residents who come across any dead fish in the city's canals are advised to contact the FWC hotline.