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Fishermen rally against Lake Okeechobee releases


(WPEC)
(WPEC)
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Fishermen on both coasts of Florida, who are fed up with the toxic algae blooms, met in the middle to rally against the polluted water released from Lake Okeechobee.

“This is a health hazard,” Marty Baum, Indian Riverkeeper, said.

Baum is angered by the toxic algae that’s polluting the water once again. He has been fighting the water releases from Lake Okeechobee for 30 years.

“Our only hope is a ballot box. If we don’t have a change in who is administering this, nothing will change,” Baum said.

And to make that message clear, he and other fishermen from the east and west coast of Florida are joining together for a rally in Clewiston to illustrate the blooms have spread and stretched from Fort Meyers to Lake Okeechobee to Stuart.

Fishermen say seagrasses have been destroyed, fishing is suffering, and people’s health is at risk.

“Right now our biggest concern is human health. Human health trumps fishing, it trumps everything,” Captain Mike Conner said.

Conner is a captain of an independent fishing guide and a sports fishing writer, and is worried about his community. He and others coming together as one with signs, and their boats with hope that someone is listening – and that action will finally be taken.

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