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Sudden Fish Kill in Galveston Raises Concerns About Low Oxygen Levels in the Gulf

Posted byHoumanitarian

(Chris Paschenko, Galveston Daily News)
Low oxygen levels are believed to have killed possibly hundreds of thousands of Gulf menhaden fish found littering beaches and shorelines from Matagorda to Galveston, officials said Sunday.

There was no beach water advisory issued for the thousands of beach-goers enjoying a lazy Sunday in Galveston. The smell, however, prompted some to grab buckets and shovels to clear their immediate surroundings.

“It was pretty gross,” Thomas Powell of Houston said. “It was worse before we cleared them out.”

City Manager Michael Kovacs said Sunday night that the Galveston Island Park Board of Trustees was mobilizing to pick up the fish.

Steven Mitchell, a biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said low levels of dissolved oxygen in the offshore waters could have caused the fish kill, which progressed east from the Colorado River toward Galveston.

“I would say it’s pretty moderate to high level,” Mitchell said. “It’s extended over a large geographical area. It’s not what I would consider a small fish kill now, and it’s still ongoing.” Mitchell fielded no reports of pollution or red tide, an algae bloom that also could deplete oxygen in water.

The Gulf kill was believed to be limited to Gulf menhaden, also known as shad, which are more susceptible to fish killings. Mitchell found mullet jumping from the water and sea turtles that were alive near the coast Sunday. Testing revealed no depleted oxygen levels along the shoreline, but with calm conditions and the heat, Mitchell suspected a dead zone offshore.
(Read the full story at the Galveston Daily News)

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