An environmental disaster, thought to be the worst in a decade, is threatening 160 kilometres of American coastline.
Florida is experiencing a toxic red tide which is destroying local marine life and making it hard for residents to breathe.
ABC video shows beaches littered with dead fish, manatee and even a whale shark washed ashore.
The coast from Naples to Sarasota has been ravaged by the red tide.
It's a natural-occurring event but mankind is making it worse.
Run-off from large farms and businesses feeds the algae in a lake, and because of fears of a dam break the federal government is forced to send that algae-clogged water down rivers toward the coast.
Some families are cutting short holidays at beaches in the region, reporting hundreds of dead fish in the water and on shore, and a strong smell.
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