Thousands of dead Menhaden fish wash ashore on Texas beach after suffocating due to a lack of oxygen in the warm and shallow Gulf of Mexico
- The dead fish were found on Friday near the end of Bryan Beach and close to the mouth of the Brazos river, six miles down the coast from Quintana Park
- Video shows thousands of Menhaden fish washing up on the shore and an alert was sent out to the public warning them to stay away and not enter the water
- Quintana Beach County Park officials said higher temperatures were to blame for their deaths as warmer water can't hold as much oxygen as cooler water
Thousands of dead Menhaden fish have washed ashore on a Texas beach after suffocating due to a lack of oxygen in the warm and shallow water along the Gulf of Mexico.
The dead fish were found on Friday morning near the end of Bryan Beach and close to the mouth of the Brazos river - six miles down the coast from Quintana Park.
Quintana Beach County Park officials said the higher temperatures were to blame for their deaths as warmer water can't hold as much oxygen as cooler water.
Footage shows thousands of fish washing up on the shore and an alert was sent out to the public warning them to stay away from the beach and not enter the water.
It took two days for crews to clear away the dead animals from the pedestrian beach.
Staff at Quintana Beach County Park said it becomes harder for Menhaden fish to receive enough oxygen to survive when the temperature of the water rises above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Shallow waters warms faster and Menhaden will suffer from hypoxia, a condition where oxygen levels are too low to maintain stability, if they become trapped.
And fish behave erratically and further deplete their oxygen levels in this state.
The presence of cloudy skies is another factor in the lack of oxygen in the water as it prevents microscopic phytoplankton or macroalgae from undergoing photosynthesis.
Calm seas over the last few weeks was also a factor as oxygen enters the water through surface mixing, where air meets the water through wind and waves and mixes into the ocean interior.
More fish washed onto the beach into Saturday morning and were still seen floating on the water.
Park crews raked up what they could over the weekend and some of the fish had deteriorated to the point of being shredded skeletons.
'The pedestrian beach is cleared with the exception of a spattering of fish that the machinery couldn't get,' Quintana Beach County Park wrote on Facebook.
'High tides over the next couple of days should sift the rest down into the sand and bury them.
'According to the Kills and Spills Team in Region 3, the fish kill was investigated and it was determined to have been caused by a low dissolved oxygen event. The species most impacted was Gulf menhaden.
'Fish kills like this are common in the summer when temperatures increase. If there isn't enough oxygen in the water, fish can't 'breathe.'
'Often before a kill event occurs, fish can be seen trying to get oxygen by gulping at the surface of the water early in the morning.
'Some fish may also be lying on the bottom or at the edge of the water.'
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June 14, 2023 at 02:52AM
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Thousands of dead Menhaden fish wash ashore on Texas beach in warm and shallow Gulf of Mexico water - Daily Mail
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