August 29, 2016 — In the Keansburg area a massive fish kill was experienced on Waackaack Creek where an estimated million peanut bunker died, a result of low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, the state Department of Environmental Protection said.
Low levels of oxygen can be caused by a prolonged increase in water temperature. Officials said the creek water can also get stagnant during certain tides and with so many fish concentrated in a small body of water, there just wasn’t enough oxygen for them to survive.
Some fishermen don’t think oxygen depletion was the only cause.
Rich Isaksen a third-generation Belford commercial fishermen, said it was a result of menhaden mismanagement. New Jersey purse seine fishermen reached their quota of bunker almost two months ago and their nets are sitting dry on the dock.
“There’s so many fish right now and nobody’s catching them. That’s why you had this fish kill. You’ll see more of them,” he said.