Up to a Million Dead Fish on High Beach in Middle Township, New Jersey (video Link)

There have been odd occurrences this summer of large amounts of dead fish washing up on the beaches of the East Coast. Recently a fish kill occurred in Fairhaven, MA, reports NBC Philadelphia.

The latest occurrence of dead fish washing up on the beach happened today in New Jersey. Thousands of dead fish were found on the beach of the Delaware Bay. Gregory DeBrosse, a biologist at Rutgers and Cape Shore Laboratory manager, told the Press of Atlantic City that there could be up to millions of dead fish on the beaches of New Jersey

Cause of Death Not Yet Identified

The cause of death of the small, juvenile menhaden fish that washed ashore is still being identified, although toxic phytoplankton has been ruled out already by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, notes the Huffington Post.

Sometimes warm temperatures can change the makeup of water in the bay and ocean to deplete it of oxygen. This can result in damage or death to any species that reside in the ocean. New Jersey has had some abnormally high temperatures this summer, so perhaps the hot weather is causing hazardous conditions for the wildlife in the waters in New Jersey.

Could Chemicals from GulfCoast Oil Spill be in NJ?

Or could something more ominous be causing the unusual patterns of fish death on the East Coast? Could oil or dispersant chemicals have made it this far north from the oil spill in the Gulf Coast? If so, could the chemicals be causing the random fish kills?

The NJ Sierra Club reported that "Sprawl, overdevelopment and the failure to clean up sewer plants are the cause of the fish kills," reports the Press of Atlantic City.

Global Warming?

Could the fish kills be a sign of global warming starting to heat up the East Coast? As time passes it will be easier to see the patterns of how the climate and the wildlife are adapting (or not) to the new extremes in temperature felt in New Jersey this summer and all over the East Coast.

A Quiet Scene on the Beach

The scene on the beach with all of the dead fish appears a bit eerie. Though seagulls would normally be raucously feasting on dead fish on the beach, the video depicting the fish kill shows a very quiet beach. There aren't any seagulls seen near the fish.

Could the fish be emitting some kind of chemical odor that alerts the seagulls the fish are not safe to eat? What explains the odd absence of sea gulls from the area where the dead fish washed up?

Video ot the Fish Kill

To see the video of the beach where the dead fish washed up in New Jersey go HERE.

Sources:

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Thousands-of-Dead-Fish-Line-the-Jersey-Shore-100459094.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/12/jersey-shore-dead-fish-wa_n_680150.html

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/article_ee3e7a3e-a5a2-11df-bdfd-001cc4c002e0.html