Note from APTAWEB: APTA member and Sea Turtle Volunteer, Donna Decker requested that the following information be posted.

This article explains how and where to report fish kills, fish with parasites, or fish with other abnormalities.

Call: 1-800-636-0511

You can report a fish kill, diseased fish, or fish with other abnormalities directly to the Aquatic Health Group at the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg. You can report a fish kill in three easy steps:

1. Leave a brief message about the event you are reporting.
2. State the location and the type and number of fish involved.
3. Include a mailing address and a phone number or e-mail address so Aquatic Health staff can call back if they need more information.

Although we do not research freshwater fish here at the Institute, we get many reports about them. We record the information and pass it to the respective authority.

Fish kills, diseased fish, or fish with high numbers of parasites may be an indication of a localized environmental problem. The information provided by hotline callers is immediately relayed to researchers investigating fish kills and is used by researchers studying long-term environmental health. The Aquatic Health Group has been conducting research and monitoring the health of marine fish in Florida for more than 15 years; we have collected a large database of fish health information. Fish health information is important for the development of management strategies to better preserve and protect Florida's marine environment.