On the morning of March 16, COA reported thousands of dead and dying menhaden in the Oceanport Creek, a tributary of the Shrewsbury River. After alerting the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and Oceanport WaterWatch (OWW), investigations were conducted by NJ Fish and Wildlife Service, NJDEP, and OWW. Additional calls from citizens expanded the search throughout the two river areas. NJDEP collected water samples and confirmed that the dissolved oxygen was very low.According to the NJDEP, this incident was caused by predators (bluefish and striped bass) chasing fish into shallow areas, which uses up the oxygen resulting in suffocation. However, the amount of dissolved oxygen in an estuary depends on many factors and includes natural phenomena such as temperature, salinity, wind direction, and tide conditions. COA continues to monitor this situation.
While predator-led fish kills in the Two Rivers are naturally occurring, nutrient inputs from human activities into sensitive estuarine environments such as the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers should be avoided at all costs by avoiding fertilizers, cleaning up after pets, and maintaining septic systems. If you see something of environmental concern, call WARNDEP, take photos, confirm location, and request an incident number.
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