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Subscribe to RSSExperts believe a lack of oxygen caused thousands of dead menhaden to wash up on a South Carolina shore. WMBF's Ken Baker reports.
Thousands of dead fish washed up on a mile and a half stretch of beach in South Carolina Tuesday, officials said, at least the second such occurrence in the region in a week.
Roughly 30,000 to 40,000 menhaden fish, 6 to 8 inches long, were spread along the shore from DeBordieu Beach in Georgetown County, S.C., to Pawleys Island, a town on the state's Atlantic Coast, and thousands more were expected, Pawleys Island Police Chief Michael Fanning said.
Similar incidents have happened in the area before, including late last week when hundreds of thousands of the small, oily fish were washed ashore near Masonboro Island, N.C., and last year when an influx of dead starfish were found on the same beaches.
The fish were first spotted by beachgoers taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather.
"We came down to the beach for the day just to have, you know, a nice day on the beach, smell the fish smell, came down to look for shells and all these fish -- dead," Pawleys Island resident Pat Hawkins told NBC station WMBF in Myrtle Beach, S.C. "It's a shame. I don't know what's causing it."
Officials from the Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Department of Natural Resources visited the area Tuesday and took water samples in an effort to determine what killed the fish.
Marine experts determined the fish died from hypoxia, which occurs when the amount of oxygen in the water drops.
Pawleys Island Police
Thousands of dead fish washed up on a Pawleys Island, S.C., beach Tuesday afternoon.
Mel Bell, director of the Office of Fisheries Management for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, said the occurrence was an entirely natural event.
“On Friday we had a new moon (which caused) real high high tides and real low low tides,” Bell told The Sun News. “Probably what happened was a school (of menhaden) got in an area of water on a high tide, in a hole or depression, and at low tide they were trapped and depleted the oxygen in the water. Then, all the fish would suffocate. Then, when the tide came back in, it washed the dead fish out and they washed up on the beach.”
"When it's one species like that, that's usually indicative of a low dissolved oxygen situation because they tend to be more fragile," added Dan Hitchcock, an assistant professor at the Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science at Clemson University in Georgetown, S.C.
Fanning said the city has no plans to clean up the fish and will let the seagulls and the tide clear the sand.
“We’re just dealing with it as a force of nature," Fanning said. "There are some residual fish, most of it has gotten washed away, there were a ton of birds down there. If you went down there (Thursday), you’d get more birds than fish.”
Menhaden fish, typically used by fishermen as bait, are a small, silver fish, whose oil is used in vitamin supplements, lipstick and livestock feed.
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I blame organophosphates, gay marriage, and gun control.
It is OBVIOUS what happened here .....
These fish were so SHOCKED (as was I) when they found out that Mark Sanford was running for office again, that they had a heart attack and just turned belly up.
DOH!
Have you ever been to South Carolina? You might wanna kill yourself too.
When I first saw the story, I thought that maybe Rahm Emanuel was sending them a message.
mass suicide!
Cue the empty headed liberal comments...
Revelation 8:9 - c'mon h8rz - let's see what you got!
9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The end is near. But why worry about it. If it happens, it happens!! There is nothing anyone can do about it. Global warming, God's will, plague, whatever. Just deal with it and enjoy everyday you have
i agree with you 100%
You mean too say that every time I kiss my lady I'm kissing these mothers slimy oil?
That's it...........no more smoochy time I'm done.
LMAO!
poor little fishy.............dying all over the place like this.........its just terrible I tell ya.
I'm never gonna eat or kiss anything fishing ever again.
Ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Doh!
An event like this is certainly not a ''naturally occurring event.'' Name other instances of this type of even occurring in the last 100 years...before 1980...you wont find any in recorded history. Man is responsible for this type of event occurring. Its occurring more frequently in the last 25 years!!!
Good grief, I think Bill is actually serious!
Because before 1980 nobody really cared and you didn't have this stuff shoved in your face every time it happened. Yes, it is a naturally occuring event. Do some research on fish kills and I promise you will find plenty of these events.
Damn you George Bush! This is all your fault!
"I, YAHWEH Will Utterly Consume All Things from Off the Land, says The Lord. I Will Consume Man and Beast. I WIll Consume the Fowls of the Heaven and the FISHES of The Sea." Zephaniah 1:2-3 Glory Be To The GOD Liberals Says Doesn't Exist and His Son, Our Lord and Savior YAHSHUA(JESUS Christ)
Alan-1380274
Don't...................just stop it right now!
No more religious end times nursery stories on this vine you hear me?
These poor little fishy died a horrible death, you should be ashamed of yourself for using such words too make these poor dead little fishy any worse off then they already are.
Say yeh with me brother?
Say ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my with me brother?
Say I am nuts to yourself brother.....leave me out that one.....LMAO later.
The Mayans only missed it by 4 weeks.
The Bushs own the only factories that grind Menhaden for fish meal. With oil down in price they probably did it to raise the price of fish meal.
Last time I checked NC has about a 2 foot tide difference between high and low. The scientists must be looking for grant money to study the natural occurence. LOL
NOT POLUTION,oh its NC, Thats where the GOP lives
they just found out manti te`o lied about a girlfriend ...
The fish can be collected and turned into fuel very easily.
I heard of putting a tiger in your tank but a fish?
I don't know about fish, but the way you put a tiger in your tank is... kick em in the gass hole.
Maybe the culprits are paying Mel Bell to tell lies. There's nothing natural about 40,000 dead fish.
They can't put anything on the Internet unless it's true. Bonjoure
Obummer said this is Bush's & the GOP's fault!!!!!!
low oxygen in the sea ? my butt!
i'm willing to bet that it was a sonar ping or two that did them in !
Free food for all!!
I am sure the cause of this will be found by whoever can make the most money off "finding" the cause, and the politician who aligns themselves with the money making cause finder.
OJ Simpson escaped and killed the fish over night. Just kidding. Oxygen gets depleted with warmer weather in water due to its gas absorption rates. The tide idea also sounds possible. Maybe there is a nasty storm drain from city run off in the area as well, which could affect oxygen levels. If this happens more than once in the same area, then fixed variables may be in place.
Fish frogs flies boils then the first born oh my the end of the world. Get a grip folks this happens it's not global warming or pollution.
a blind man walking the beach was overheard muttering "good morning, ladies"
Sardines anyone? MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmm gooooooood!!!!!!