Red Tide, stench of dead fish threatens St. Petersburg’s Fourth of July

Thousands of dead fish and the resulting smell overwhelmed the downtown waterfront. Will it get better over the holiday weekend?

ST. PETERSBURG — Nick Finch’s son Wallace turns 4 next week. The father planned to celebrate during the Fourth of July weekend by grilling Sunday and taking his son’s friends to Lassing Park to swim out to the sandbar.

That was before thousands of dead fish showed up this week.

Finch, 27, did his best to withstand the odor on Thursday as he kicked a soccer ball with his son in the park.

“I’m not sure how long we’ll be outside with that smell,” Finch said.

That will be a question asked by many this Fourth of July Weekend as the stench of rotting fish fills the downtown waterfront.

The Red Tide blooms that have afflicted the region for weeks, producing fish kills and respiratory warnings, is now sending waves of dead fish piling up from North Shore Park south to the St. Pete Pier to Demens Landing and Lassing Parks.