Minhee Green came upon a disconcerting sight while out for a stroll on a Lincoln City beach this weekend.
“It was a very nice day. Saturday was warm and sunny,” she said. “Around noon, after a couple miles, we started seeing lots of small dead fish. I don’t go often to Lincoln City, but it was alarming.”
Green said there were at least “a couple thousand” dead fish. Most of them were small, she said, about 3 inches long, but some were up to 7 inches. On closer inspection, it became apparent that some were still alive despite being washed up on the beach.
A small crowd of curious beachgoers began to surmise what might have happened. Some folks thought the fish may have been victims of climate change and warming ocean waters. Others guessed a fishing boat may have dumped its bait fish for some unknown reason.
But while the fish die-off might look at first glance like another symptom of climate change, warming seas or ocean acidification, the real explanation is much simpler, and less frightening, according to John Spangler, a fish biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The fish in question were mostly yellow perch, Spangler said, a species that, under ideal circumstances, stays in the freshwater of Devil’s Lake, east of Lincoln City. The lake’s outlet, at its southern tip, is D River, a waterway less than 500 feet long that drains into the ocean.
Sometimes, during large rain events, young fish, who tend to be weak swimmers, can get sucked into D River and end up in the ocean, Spangler said.
“It happens every so often, maybe every four or five years,” Spangler said. “Once they hit the saltwater, it’s not long before they are upside down. Then the seagulls come in and clean up the mess.”
Spangler also pointed out that yellow perch are “prolific spawners,” so there’s no cause for concern for the species as a whole.
-- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale
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