Florida investigating St. Pete Beach mothball mystery
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Black skimmers on the beach. Photo: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Instead of sunscreen and salt water, the musty stench of mothballs wafted over a section of St. Pete Beach this week.
Why it matters: State wildlife officials are working to determine who littered the beach just south of the 4700 Gulf Blvd. parking lot with hundreds of the pellets, which are toxic to humans and animals.
State of play: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) senior officer Brian Ferguson responded Monday morning to the sand behind the Lido Residences.
- There, he joined beachgoers and Audubon Florida volunteers cleaning up the mess.
- Then, on Tuesday, the agency received another report of mothballs scattered in the same area, a spokesperson told Axios.
- It was too soon to say whether they were left over from Monday or dropped on the sand a second time, FWC said.
Threat level: Ferguson told reporters he believes the culprit was trying to deter state-threatened black skimmers from nesting in the area.
- "It didn't work because the birds were ... sitting within inches of the mothballs," Ferguson told WTSP.
- The black and white seabirds with long orange and black bills have a long history of nesting on Pinellas County beaches.
What they're saying: "We don't want to speculate on motive given the active FWC investigation, but attempting to interfere with nesting of a protected species is against the law," Audubon Florida said in a statement.
- So is using mothballs to repel animals. They're considered a pesticide and are regulated by both state and federal law.
The big picture: The incident marks the latest controversy related to beach wildlife in the last few weeks.
- After environmentalists raised concerns that a music festival planned for the beach could harm nesting sea turtles and birds, Country Thunder Florida organizers moved the event to Coachman Park in Clearwater.
- Producers for the TV adaptation of Florida historical novel "A Land Remembered" also backed off plans to film scenes involving livestock at Fort De Soto Park after activists brought up similar worries.
What's next: FWC is urging anyone with information to call 888-404-FWCC or report it online here. The agency offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
- St. Pete Beach residents and businesses have also started their own reward fund.
The bottom line: "I don't want to see our wildlife tampered with," said Deborah Lynn, a St. Pete Beach resident who organized the fund.
- "It concerns me that small children might think it's candy and touch the mothballs or — worse, yet — eat them. That's terrifying."