Dozens Of Dead Fish Found Floating In Union County Pond

SUMMIT, NJ — Dozens of dead fish were seen floating in a pond in Summit this past weekend.

Barbara Wylie said she saw many dead fish near the waterfall, floating in the water and a dead raccoon as well in the pond at Briant Park in Summit. She added that the geese, ducks, and turtles have all disappeared.

"The stench of rotting corpses and the stench of the bacteria is overwhelming!" said Wylie to Patch.

Wylie reported the situation to the Union County Department of Parks who contacted the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife(NJDFW).

Director of the UC Department of Parks Victoria Durbin Drake told Summit officials that a NJDFW Conservation Officer was at the park on Sunday, July 9 as crews removed all of the dead fish that were reachable.

No chemicals were introduced to the lake. A bioagent was introduced, as a part of the county’s oxygenation system, according to Drake.

"Most of the dead fish were identified by Union County as large carp, which don't belong in any of the lakes in Union County and certainly not one as small as Briant Pond," said Summit Chief Communications Officer Amy Cairns.

According to Drake, this is not the first fish kill in Union County this summer, and there have been others throughout the state.

"Fish kills can be related to a number of causes including infectious diseases, toxic substances, or suboptimal environmental conditions. Fish kills most commonly occur in the spring and summer when water temperatures are rising," according to the NJDFW.

The fish kill in Summit was linked to a combination of factors including "high temperatures, low dissolved oxygen, and too many fish competing for the limited oxygen," according to Drake.

In order to successfully determine the cause of a fish kill it is important to arrive during the early stages, when freshly dead or dying fish are available for examination.

If a fish kill is observed, the NJDFW urges the public to report it immediately to the 24/7 DEP Hotline at 877-WARN-DEP (877-927-6337).

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