Thousands of juvenile menhaden fish were found floating in Wilton Creek near Hartfield on Sunday, September 26, in the most recent fish kill reported by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
There has been a larger-than-usual number of juvenile menhaden fish kills along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia this year, reported Bill Hayden public affairs director for DEQ.
To date, a total of 15 reported fish kills were received by DEQ between August 2 and September 27. There have been five fish kills in Mathews County, three of which were on Cobbs Creek on the south side of the Piankatank River across the river from Wilton Creek. DEQ estimated the number of dead fish at 174,000 in the Cobbs Creek fish kill on August 16.
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