Fish Kill: Thousands Of Fish Spotted Dead In The Waterways In New Jersey

Hundreds of thousands of dead fish were seen floating into the marina in Keansburg, New Jersey this week. The type of fish spotted dead is known as a peanut bunker. The fish died due to low oxygen levels in a marina.

"We're talking hundreds of thousands of fish, if not millions of fish," said Bob Considine of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. "Basically, there wasn't enough oxygen in the water to sustain them," as noted by CBS News.

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The officials from Department of Environmental Protection said that the fish were probably chased into the bay by bluefish or skates. Then, they were killed by low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water. They also said that this was the second fish kill in the waterway as of this week. This has become a common occurrence due to the cocktail of warm, still waters and growing plant life, according to NBC New York. A test also showed that oxygen levels in the waterways were below the minimum concentration for fish to survive.

Greg Remaud, the deputy director of NY/NJ Baykeeper said that the temperatures have been sweltering and you can imagine what it's like in the smaller bodies of water. He further said that this is primarily a natural phenomenon, but it is exacerbated by polluted runoff, including fertilizers from lawns, which is why preserving stream corridors and buffers are significant.

Keansburg Mayor George Hoff stated that they are taking care of the fish that washed up on the beach. He further said that right behind them in the creek they really can't do much about it because it would be a massive clean-up effort, but on their beach where they washed up, their Department of Public Works is taking care of it.