Odor near Sanibel Outlets due to salt pan, SCCF reports
The noxious scent near the Sanibel Outlets and Shell Point Retirement Community over the past week is being blamed on a nearby salt pan, according to the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation.
SCCF research scientist Rick Bartleson reported that decaying organic matter exposed by high tide the past couple of weeks caused the smell. The stench has been felt into the city of Fort Myers and areas off-island near Fort Myers Beach.
“It depends on which way the wind is blowing,” he said.
Bartleson said the cause was purple sulfure bacteria growing in a lake bed where there is no oxygen west of Bunche Beach near the Sanibel Outlets. The salt pan moves across mangroves and as the water evaporates it kills the marshland.
SCCF Marine Lab Director Eric Milbrandt said the sulfide creates a “mangrove swamp.”
He expected the odor to go away once it started raining.
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