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Blounts Bay fish kill claims 13,000
Low levels of dissolved oxygen blamed for incident
By MIKE VOSS, Contributing Editor
The Pamlico-Tar River Rapid Response Team investigated a fish kill in Blounts Bay on Wednesday.
Low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water are being blamed for the kill.
About 13,000 fish — spot, croaker, menhaden and blue crab — died near the mouth of Blounts Creek, which is in the western section of Blounts Bay, according to Diana Kees, communications director with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Blounts Bay is on the south side of the Pamlico River.
About 11,000 of the dead fish were identified as spot, with about 1,000 of the fish identified as croaker, Kees said.
“We got a call about 9:30 on so (Wednesday) morning,” said response team member Aaron James on Wednesday afternoon.
A man who lives at Gilead Shores reported the kill and directed the team to it, James said. Most of the dead fish were “real small ones,” James said.
“Everything was just dead,” James said. “They died pretty quickly”
James estimated the fish had been dead less than 12 hours when the team inspected them. The fish did not have lesions, which may have been evidence that other factors contributed to their deaths, he noted.
A U.S. Geological Survey monitoring station near the kill site provided data indicating a sudden drop in dissolved oxygen levels from midnight Tuesday to 3 a.m. Wednesday, Kees said.
“Those monitoring stations ... give us a little bit of environmental history,” James said.
Kees, in a brief interview, said dissolved oxygen levels in the kill area had rebounded by Wednesday afternoon.
“There is a potential for more fish kills when the water gets this warm,” James said.
This fish kill appears to be the second in the area in less than a week.
Boaters on the Pamlico River on Saturday reported seeing evidence of another fish kill involving as many as 1,000 fish in the Core Point area. That report could not be confirmed with the response team.
A fish kill on Duck Creek in late July was blamed on low levels of dissolved oxygen. About 150 silver perch and 10 catfish were found dead by a resident, according to Susan Massengale, spokeswoman with the N.C. Division of Water Quality.
The rapid response team is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The team has a hotline anyone may call to report fish kills or algal blooms. The hotline number 1-877-337-2383. The team also may be reached at (252) 948-3999.
By MIKE VOSS, Contributing Editor
The Pamlico-Tar River Rapid Response Team investigated a fish kill in Blounts Bay on Wednesday.
Low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water are being blamed for the kill.
About 13,000 fish — spot, croaker, menhaden and blue crab — died near the mouth of Blounts Creek, which is in the western section of Blounts Bay, according to Diana Kees, communications director with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Blounts Bay is on the south side of the Pamlico River.
About 11,000 of the dead fish were identified as spot, with about 1,000 of the fish identified as croaker, Kees said.
“We got a call about 9:30 on so (Wednesday) morning,” said response team member Aaron James on Wednesday afternoon.
A man who lives at Gilead Shores reported the kill and directed the team to it, James said. Most of the dead fish were “real small ones,” James said.
“Everything was just dead,” James said. “They died pretty quickly”
James estimated the fish had been dead less than 12 hours when the team inspected them. The fish did not have lesions, which may have been evidence that other factors contributed to their deaths, he noted.
A U.S. Geological Survey monitoring station near the kill site provided data indicating a sudden drop in dissolved oxygen levels from midnight Tuesday to 3 a.m. Wednesday, Kees said.
“Those monitoring stations ... give us a little bit of environmental history,” James said.
Kees, in a brief interview, said dissolved oxygen levels in the kill area had rebounded by Wednesday afternoon.
“There is a potential for more fish kills when the water gets this warm,” James said.
This fish kill appears to be the second in the area in less than a week.
Boaters on the Pamlico River on Saturday reported seeing evidence of another fish kill involving as many as 1,000 fish in the Core Point area. That report could not be confirmed with the response team.
A fish kill on Duck Creek in late July was blamed on low levels of dissolved oxygen. About 150 silver perch and 10 catfish were found dead by a resident, according to Susan Massengale, spokeswoman with the N.C. Division of Water Quality.
The rapid response team is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The team has a hotline anyone may call to report fish kills or algal blooms. The hotline number 1-877-337-2383. The team also may be reached at (252) 948-3999.
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