By Anthony Rifilato
Mark Lowery, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation, said the small, silvery fish died because of depleted oxygen levels due to the incessant heat, a natural cause. Lowery said that even though the menhaden have now sunk to the bottom of the canal and were a feast for seagulls, if the blazing temperatures persist, they "expect it to happen again."
The DEC agents did water testing last Monday and found low oxygen readings, which were less than two milligrams per liter of water, well below the three millimeter limit needed to sustain menhaden, which are unable to detect low oxygen levels opposed to other fish, Lowery said.
"When there's warmer water there's less oxygen," Lowery said.
For several days last week, residents who live near Parsonage had to endure a foul stench from the hundreds of fish floating belly up. Neighbors floated their own theories about the dead fish.
Some suspected the cause was due to residual contamination from a March dielectric fluid leak when a Long Island Power Authority pipe burst.
Lowery said the dielectric fluid levels from the LIPA leak were too insignificant and non-toxic to be the culprit, but added that everyday societal pollution, such as stormwater runoff that carries pesticides, bacteria, and fecal matter, can contribute to the drop in oxygen levels.
"When that [runoff] flushes into creeks, it decomposes and depletes oxygen levels," Lowery said.
And when the menhaden started to die, a snowball effect took hold, as the fish decomposed and ate up more oxygen, causing other menhaden to die en masse, said Lowery.
Some residents are convinced the canal is polluted and want to see the fish themselves tested.
"I want to know if the DEC has done testing on the fish or if they're just speculating," said Dawn Devine, a Lincoln Street resident, who said she believed pollution was a factor.
Other residents in the area thought it was a natural phenomenon.
"It's nature, you can't do anything about it," said Lisa, an employee at the Dolphin Marina on Arthur Street who asked her last name not be used.
Joe Alessandria, another Arthur Street resident, said that after three days, the fish were gone.
"There was no oxygen, it has nothing to do with pollution," said Alessandria.
