The fish were killed by toxic Red Tide blooms and then pushed ashore by Tropical Storm Elsa, said St. Petersburg Emergency Manager Amber Boulding at a Friday news conference. The city has collected 15 tons of dead fish in the past 10 days, she believes the 9 tons that recently washed ashore was blown in by the storm’s winds.
“You look at Elsa and that push of water from the wind seems to have definitely pushed in more of the fish kill,” Boulding said.

The conclusion to Justin Bloom, a board member for the environmental groups Tampa Bay and Suncoast Waterkeeper, is inescapable: