PAHOKEE, Fla. — A green blanket covered sections on the north side of the Pahokee Marina on Saturday.
"It's beautiful in Florida so far except for this green slime," Pahokee tourist Jay Will said. "It’s disgusting."
Will traveled from Detroit for the fishing, but instead he got toxic algae.
He said, "it's a lot of green algae. Every time I pull up my lures I got to clean them off and clean my hands off. I’ve never seen this up where I'm from."
The Florida Health Department in Palm Beach County released an advisory Friday to warn people of the harmful blue-green algae toxins in the Pahokee Marina.
The same happened in Martin County where toxic algae was found in three waterways of Lake Okeechobee based on samples taken Tuesday.
Pahokee City Manager Rodney Lucas said the city has already begun treating the water in an effort to mitigate the bloom.
He said, "we put algaecide in and we also reached out to South Florida Water Management to assist us with pumps."
Lucas explained Pahokee is no stranger to algae blooms, but he was surprised to see one so soon in the year.
"Usually we get signs of blue-green algae around late June. This time it's come early, second week of April,” he added.
Lucas said efforts are also underway to find a more permanent fix to the algae that builds in the marina.
In the meantime, lake visitors wonder if this is the beginning of what could be a long summer.
“It’s pretty scary. It’s definitely detrimental to the environment," West Palm Beach resident Greg Shepack said. "It’s just not a good thing. it needs to be controlled."
