Thousands Of Fish Die In Mill River
POSTED: 9:34 am EDT August 18, 2005
UPDATED: 9:34 am EDT August 18, 2005
OCEANSIDE, N.Y. -- Thousands of dead fish are stinking up the Mill River in East Rockaway and Oceanside on Long Island.
A representative of the state Department of Environmental Conservation said the fish were killed by unusually warm water that resulted in low oxygen levels.
DEC spokeswoman Maureen Wren said the temperature of the Mill River was 84 to 86 degrees.
Many residents called it the worst fish kill they've seen in their area.
Dead fish -- as well as dead crabs and shrimp -- washed along the shores of the river.
DEC officials said that the full moon generates uncommonly high tides that pulled more fish than usual into the waterway.
Preliminary water testing indicated that the high fish population, soaring water temperatures and low oxygen levels were catastrophic.
Wren added that DEC investigators examined the possibility that a mineral-oil coolant leaking from a power cable buried near the waterway may have contributed to the die-off. But they concluded the oil, called dielectric fluid, played no role.
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