US Shocker: Thousands of Menhaden Dead Fish Wash Up on a Beach in Texas, 'Low Oxygen' Killed Fishes, Claim Experts; See Harrowing Picture
"Shallow waters warm more quickly than deeper, so if a school of menhaden are trapped in the shallows as the water begins to heat, the fish will start to suffer from hypoxia," Quintana Beach County Park said in a post.
Mumbai, June 12: Hundreds and thousands of dead fish washed up on a Texas gulf coast beach in the United States this week. Pictures and videos of the carcasses of the fish washing ashore on the beach in Texas in the US have also gone viral on social media. Local officials said that hundreds of rotten Menhaden fish were found at Bryan Beach near the mouth of the Brazos River on Friday.
According to a report in the New York Post, the mass death of Menhaden fish was allegedly "caused by a low dissolved oxygen event" which was sparked by warm water. Officials said that warms water, which cannot hold as much oxygen as cooler water is reportedly the reason for so many fishes dying and washing ashore the beach. Tonnes of Dead Fish Wash Up on Banks of Polluted Qaraoun Lake in Lebanon, See Harrowing Pictures.
Here's What Contributed to Thousands of Menhaden Fish Kill
Taking to Facebook, Quintana Beach County Park said that when the water in the sea rises above 70 degrees Fahrenheit, it becomes hard for the Menhaden fishes to receive the required oxygen in order to survive. "Shallow waters warm more quickly than deeper, so if a school of menhaden are trapped in the shallows as the water begins to heat, the fish will start to suffer from hypoxia," the post stated.
An official of the Kills and Spills Team said that fish like the Menhaden fish washing dead ashore on the beach are common during the summer season as the temperatures increase. Another official said that the lack of oxygen caused the Menhaden fishes to panic and act erratically, thereby depleting the oxygen levels even further. Carcass of Whale Shark, Rare Largest Known Fish Species, Washes Ashore Sea in Tamil Nadu's Rameswaram (View Pics).
Besides, cloudy skies which are reportedly said to block microscopic phytoplankton or macroalgae from photosynthesis and calm the seas are also said to have created the "perfect storm to deplete the oxygen". As per the report, more dead fish washed up on the beach on Saturday and Sunday again. The dead fishes are said to have "deteriorated to the point of being shredded skeletons".
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 12, 2023 06:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).