'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAX/xAAVAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAv/aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAAowiX/8QAHxAAAQIGAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIEAAMFBhMhFEGR/9oACAEBAAE/AHlz1ENMk1zOWTraye4VcdRKieSvwR//xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAL/2gAIAQIBAT8A0t//xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAAH/2gAIAQMBAT8ABy//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Beachgoers witnessed a startling sight along the Texas Gulf Coast this weekend, where thousands of dead fish washed up to the shore. Officials said the heap of rotting menhaden fish was found on Friday, June 9, at Bryan Beach, close to the mouth of the Brazos River, a few miles down the coastlines from Quintana Beach County Park.
Officials from the Texas Parks & Wildlife and their Kills and Spills Team said in a statement that the mass kill of fish was caused due to a low dissolved oxygen event. They added that warm water stirred up this event, which cannot contain as much oxygen as cold water.
Park officials wrote in a social media post that once the water temperature rises above 70 degrees Fahrenheit, it becomes difficult for menhaden fish to receive enough oxygen to survive. They added that shallow waters get warm more quickly than deeper waters. So, if a school of menhaden fish is trapped in the shallows when it begins to heat, they will start suffering from hypoxia.
Many beachgoers captured the hoard of dead fish blanketing the Texas Gulf Coast. Following this, various outlets reported the event as well. One Twitter user, @FelixHelix4, commented under a post by CBS News and wrote that it was "the beginning of an end."
Dead fish along Texas Gulf Coast raises concern among netizens
Although the Kills and Spills Team Region of Texas Parks and Wildlife said that the phenomenon at the Texas Gulf Coast was caused by low dissolved oxygen in shallow waters, many did not buy that. Several people said the government was hiding something bigger from the common public. Meanwhile, other asserted that toxic chemicals were involved into this.
People walking along Quintana Beach near the city of Freeport in Texas observed that dead carcasses of fish were scattered for miles down the Texas Gulf Coast. Darrel Schoppe, a beachgoer, who shared a video of the scene online, said that he was hoping to catch a speckled trout but the plan didn't go as he had hoped.
“Was hoping to take advantage of the flat surf and catch a quick limit of speckled trout, but things didn’t go as planned, unfortunately!”
Park official says that fish kill is a common occurrence during summer
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that the fish called Gulf Menhaden has the largest yield in the fishery in the Mexican Gulf. However, this species has been the most impacted by this fish kill.
Lerrin Johnson, the spokesperson for the Kills and Spill Team Region 3 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife, said that fish kills like this are quite common during summertime when the water temperature increases. Moreover, if there is not enough oxygen in the water, it’s hard for fish to breathe.
A park supervisor at Quintana Beach County Park, Patty Brinkmeyer, said that hundreds of thousands of dead fish have likely washed up on the Texas Gulf Coast stretching along six miles since she first observed the phenomenon Friday morning.
“You could literally see a straight-across mass of fish floating on the water. It looked like a big blanket,” she said.
Patty, who has worked at Quintana Beach County Park for 17 years, said that this was the third time she was observing this occurrence where such a large number of dead fish washed ashore.
