Neuse (river N.C.) sees biggest fish kill in years

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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/story/92575.html


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A series of fish kills has hit the lower Neuse River off the Craven County coast since mid-August. The state estimates that the latest kill claimed an estimated 18 million to 20 million fish, while Lower Neuse Riverkeeper Larry Baldwin puts the number at 50 million in the last week.

However many there are, the small bait fish called Atlantic menhaden continue to die in the Neuse. Giant schools swam near the shore late Friday morning. A few fish flapped sluggishly near the surface, and then stopped moving.

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The state says that the fish are suffocating in oxygen-depleted water. Fish kills aren't unusual in the Neuse around this time of year, when physical forces mix low-oxygen water from the bottom with water near the surface.

State testers also saw blooms of aquatic plants called algae that can contribute to oxygen starvation and are an indicator of pollution.

The Neuse is a river stressed by septic systems, effluent from municipal sewer plants and landscaping chemicals.

The state has a plan to curb Neuse pollution.

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"What we're putting in the river, to me it's criminal," Baldwin said. "It's criminal, but we can't get the state to do anything about it."
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