Some Brevard beaches struggling with red tide

COCOA BEACH, FLa. (WOFL FOX 35) - Dead fish litter Brevard County's Lori Wilson beach.  On Friday, locals were seen rakes and buckets, to lend a hand at cleaning up the mess at Cocoa Beach.

"I came out to see why it's so bad here. I live out in fourth street, south. Meanwhile, I decided to help," said Julie Prytherch, a volunteer.

Julie and dozens of others pitched in, but they're facing days of work.  The beach is covered with dead fish. The smell is pretty bad but could probably be a lot worse. Volunteers were collecting the fish, sorting them into piles, putting them in buckets. But a lot of their efforts are just a drop in the ocean.  The toxic red tide algal bloom is killing fish up and down the coast.

"This one is right in our face on the beaches, so we're gonna get busy real quick, get it cleaned up," Bryan Bobbitt, with Keep Brevard Beautiful.

Just up the coast, at the Cocoa Beach Pier -- one of the city's biggest tourist stops -- visitors are feeling the effects of red tide.

Westgate Resorts owns the pier. They tell us they are operating as usual, and they're in touch with fish and wildlife officials, in case they have to make any changes.