By ANTHONY BOTTAN
Belly-up, eyes bulging, fish of all shapes, sizes and varieties came to their final rest in the murky canal.
That was the scene in East Rockaway two years ago, and this bad science fiction movie might have a sequel due out this year. Dead fish have surfaced again in the waterway from Mill River to Bay Park, and an unnatural dam blocking the entrance to Bay Park may be the reason. Robert Peppers, a life-long resident of East Rockaway and a fisherman for the last 20 years, said he saw the fish trapped by the dam and is afraid that what happened two years ago will inevitably happen again.
"We're about a month away from this happening again," Peppers said.
But according to environmentalists and biologists, there could be several reasons for the die off, including the natural life cycles of certain fish. Alex Chmielewski, a biologist for the Long Island National Wildlife Refuge, said that during this time of year, submerged plants in the waterway die off due to their natural life cycles, so they no longer produce oxygen. When the plants decay, Chmielewski said, they use up the oxygen in the water.
"It's possible that a run-off of fertilizer and septic tanks into the water naturally fertilizes the waterways," Chmielewski said. "With more plants in the water, more oxygen is used up when they die and decay."
Spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Conservation Aphrodite Montalvo, agreed with Chmielewski. She said it is a process called eutrothication, which is when nutrients and fertilizer runoff into the creek, it promotes plant growth, and in turn, the decay of plants.
Montalvo said another reason for the fish kill may be due to an increase in bunkers-a type of fish-in the water. "Bunkers have a very tight schooling behavior, so when they are corralled by predators, the school of bunkers come close together and deplete their own oxygen," Montalvo said. "The bunkers in the middle of the school don't get any oxygen, which is the reason why more bunkers might be popping up dead."
Montalvo said there is not much management that can be done to stop this. She said because of the decrease in marsh habitat-which act as a sponge for water and nutrients-the water has no where to go but into the creek and brings the fertilizers and nutrients into the creek with it.
Peppers said if the waterway, located underneath the westbound platform in East Rockaway, is dredged out a couple more feet underneath the train tracks, it would alleviate the blockage and save more fish, but only time will tell.
Mike Schnitzel and Karenlyn Barone contributed to this story. Comments about this story? Mmalloy@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
