Officials unsure why dead fish washed ashore BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer KEYPORT - Explanations are varied as to why hundreds of dead bunker fish washed up recently on the borough's beaches. On June 22, Borough Administrator Pete Valesi said he spoke to Capt. Joe Meyer from the state's Marine Fishery Service. Valesi said that Meyer assured him the problem was due to an overpopulation of bunker fish, a natural occurrence. Valesi estimated the dead fish to be in the hundreds. "They are still investigating," Valesi said on June 29. "But they didn't suspect pollution." According to Meyer, the fish are starving for oxygen. If there were a pollution issue, other species of fish would also be washing up on shore. Bill Simmons, the environment health coordinator for the Monmouth County Health Department, tested the water on Friday. "We went out today and took dissolved oxygen readings and got a 9," Simmons said. "And 9 is higher than usual, and low is going to kill the fish, so 9 doesn't really tell us much ... but there doesn't look like there's an algae bloom." Simmons said he talked to workers at Crabby's Bait & Tackle, West Front Street, and asked what they heard. "They are getting a lot of blues," Simmons said. "Bluefish are notorious for chasing the bunkers. The bunkers then bunch up into a really tight school and they suffocate themselves. They do it every summer." "I personally saw a couple years ago in Cliffwood Beach, blues chasing bunkers right up to the shoreline," Simmons added. "They looked like piranhas." The water quality is not brown and does not indicated an algae bloom, Simmons reported. "The other alternative theory is there's been an illegal net cut too close to shore," Simmons said. Simmons said this theory is doubtful because there are no party boats that leave Keyport. Still, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has asked that the marine police be on the lookout for any such activity. Andrew Willner, executive director of the NY/NJ Baykeeper, also does not believe the problem is pollution. "We're not entirely satisfied with the inconsistent answers from the DEP," Willner said on Friday. "One person said it was a fishing accident. Then they said it was low dissolved oxygen." Willner said the answer is most likely a combination of events. A large algae bloom combined with an early spring and a very hot summer could lead to areas of low dissolved oxygen, killing large numbers of the fish. Willner noted that large algae blooms usually occur in July and August, not mid-June. "I can't estimate and I'm not a scientist," Willner said. "And I'm not going to speculate if there's a connection between algae, low oxygen and dead bunker. But it certainly may be a factor." Like the canary in the coal mine, Willner said the dead bunker can be viewed as an indication of an oxygen problem. "If we were seeing more species of fish, I'd be even more concerned," he added. A recent news report on a special type of algae present at nearby Barnegat Bay is also to be considered. "It seems to be smothering some of the underwater grasses," Willner said. "Some Rutgers scientists are even saying the bay is dying as a result." Willner does not believe the Raritan Bay is dying but he is concerned about the effects sewage treatment plants are having on the waterway. "No sewage treatment plants that discharge into the estuary have nitrogen limits," Willner said, adding there are about a dozen such plants in New York and New Jersey. "A lot of them, once you get in the urban areas, have combined sewers so whenever it rains you get a discharge of dirty stormwater and raw sewage into the Raritan and Arthur Kill." Willner said the solution is to keep the nutrients out of the water. "Certainly, we do have a lot more nutrients in the water than we ever had before," Willner said.