New estimate: Millions of dead fish in Keansburg

“From there, the water gets shallower and warmer, and the fish likely became tightly packed”, he explained. Considine said predatory fish probably chased the peanut bunkers into Waackaack Creek, where they encountered the stagnant, low-oxygen water and died.

Hundreds of thousands of dead fish washed into a marina in Keansburg, New Jersey, following a massive fish kill in a nearby creek, CBS New York reported.

Peanut bunkers are the spawn of menhaden.

Many residents in the area say the dead fish are making the area smell bad. “Hemmed in by the shoreline and predators, they used up the dissolved oxygen in the water and basically suffocated”.

But what to do if live in Keansburg, Hazlet or Middletown and actually have dead fish on your waterfront property?

“Other crabs and fish will eat them, and it’s all just a part of nature”, he said.

The Department of Environmental Protection said there was a smaller fish die-off last week and one past year, but residents said they have never seen anything like the one on Tuesday. “I don’t know if this particular fish kill was caused by global warming, but this problem will be more frequent and worse as waters continue to warm along the East Coast”.

In the meantime, as one witness eloquently put it, “Whole town smells like a sewer”.

Keansburg Mayor George Hoff said they are taking care of the fish that washed up on the beach.

Any cleanup would be the municipality’s responsibility, Considine said.

While conditions may be miserable at the moment, local officials say that they are doing all they can to clean up the mess.