Millions of Fish Die in Southern California - Update

I used to live in Redondo Beach where King Harbor Marina is located. These sardines are called grunion. This event occurs often up and down the beaches just not to this scale. If you want to learn more search for "grunion run."

This sickens me, I don't think im going to the beaches anymore...With all those bp chemicals floating around.

Wonder what will do when humans start dieing off in millions...Will we change? Or continue ignoring it.

If the bird eat them, and the birds are fine, than the canary survived the coal mine. LOL - That rhymed.

APOCALYPSE!

Awww poor little sardines, I bet the seagulls are just over the moon right now though.

Chemtrails?

Ceviche anyone?
1 M dead sardines
# 2 Tbs. good quality extra virgin olive oil
# 1 jalapeno pepper
# 1 sweet white onion (Maui or Vidalia)
# 1 garlic clove
# 2 Tbs. handpicked whole small cilantro leaves
# juice of 5 limes (zest and reserve as garnish)
# juice of 2 lemons
# 3 red grapefruits
# 3 avocados

"Natural" man made causes, the great and powerful Oz has spoken! Nothing to see here...

This sounds fishy!

voting up all comments to counter somenone who appears to have voted down all comments, lets maintain this thread until we have the truth

Preface: My thoughts are my own based on the aquaculture knowledge I have, take my opinion as an opinion, but remember that no conclusions can be drawn in either direction before we get more then the limited information available at this time! You can't arrest a man because you think he is guilty without evidence to back your theory. Read my points, then collect the facts so we can find the "truth"...you all know the old addage about "assuming" things.

No, I actually believe this to be natural. Has a similar event in my home town when I was younger with a local fish called "smelt". Smelt are very similar to sardines in size and schooling behavior, but fresh water schools never get so numerous so the event was on a much smaller scale. There was a storm and the smelt began to cluster in a marina that was shletered by three berm like piers. Problems: Mid summer result in warmer water tempurature., Warmer waters can not hold as much oxygen. Still water in the marina also does not aerate like water in motion, therefor leading to even lower oxygen levels. Lower oxygen saturation leads certain algea to proliferate. These algeas also consume oxygen and/or thicken the water preventing surface agitation. Add a large school of very active fish that consume lots of oxygen and soon they start to die off. The weaker and younger ones first, these now dead carcasses produce bacteria that also consume oxygen. It's a cascading effect at that point.

The lake that this happened on was smallish, and very isolated from any industrial complex by MANY miles of wilderness. Northen Maine back woods, pinetrees and black bears kinda wilderness. the lake was nearly completely surrounded by cabins on private lots with limited access, owned by eco hippie types who live on lakes in Maine to avoid government as much as possible.

This particular new event may have easily been propeled by any number of additional possible conditions both natural and man made. It shouldn't be hard to get samples for indipendant toxicology tests to be sure of some other factors. Anyone have first hand information on the conditions surrounding this harbor? Water temps? Weather conditions the 72hours prior to the high winds? Local industry? Near by water/sewage treatment systems? Recent sluice releases? Is this located near the mouth of a watershed for a large agricultural region? Are there non-indeginous bacteria present? What are the nitriite and nitrate levels in the water and the specimens? Is there a major shipping lane near the harbour mouth or a nearby USN base? Any recent USAF activity with sonic booms over open water? Is there evidence of bacterial infection prior to death(i.e. fin rot)? Have the boats been cleared of fungal infections? Local kids known to play with explosives? Big kids in big uniforms with big explosives? et cetera...

There are still dozens of questions left ot be answered on both the natural or manmade or DELIBERATE debate.

There is more that needs to be learned here, but one thing that is known is that large dieoffs are common, but not everyday. Also they typical point to environmental conditions that are NOT isolated.

No foul play?!?!?!!?! please, the government did this and they are just hiding their bullshit experiments!

I'm really starting to lean towards some sort of virus due to warming oceans due to global warming (biodistress.) This is just too spread out and to voluminous to be something natural. It isn't that these fish just decided to commit hari kari. Something is killing them. Also, do we have any idea how far the so called methane eating bacteria experiment BP did in the Gulf can spread? Those bacteria eat oxygen as well.

We are witnessing ecocollapse people.
The fish, the frogs, the bats, the birds, the bees.....
And what are we DOING about it?
Methinks nothing but complain.
I am disgusted with my generation!
We have seen this coming since Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1960.
Are we waiting for the government to take action?
We can talk and write and protest until our faces turn blue and our heads explode but until we start taking drastic action (like the now defunct EarthFirst!) it will only get worse.
How does it feel knowing that we are all still contributing to the Sixth Mass Extinction?
I am praying for an ice age which is, at this point, the only thing I can think could heal our planet at this point.
And with the rate the Arctic is melting I just might get my wish.

"This is natural selection"
Right...
The fish died as a result of oxygen deprivation. Yes, that happens naturally from time to time. But the use of pesticides in the past few decades have caused an incredible increase in deoxygenated bodies of water. (The fertilizer runs off into the ocean, the nutrients in the fertilizer stimulate bacterial growth, and the bacteria consume all the oxygen). This is not natural selection. This is human selection.
These events are connected by one factor. This lifestyle we humans are living is impossible to maintain, and we're encroaching on the space that should be reserved for other life.

Ok,,,here is one more post....All of the list below HAPPENED IN JANUARY 2011.....during a few week period.

According to officials in Maryland, two million fish have washed up dead on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.

*More than 3,000 red-wing blackbirds fell out of the sky dead in the Arkansas town of Beebe on New Year's Eve.

*Approximately 40,000 dead crabs recently washed ashore near Kent, England.

*Large numbers of dead birds were also found in Kentucky right around Christmas.

*Hundreds of snapper fish have been discovered dead along the shores of New Zealand.

*Approximately 500 dead blackbirds and starlings were recently found in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana.

*Approximately 100,000 fish washed up dead on the shores of the Arkansas River recently.

*More than 150 tons of fish known as "red tilapias" have washed up dead along the shores of Vietnam.

*Dozens of dead birds have been now been found near the town of Sullivan, Missouri.

*Thousands of gizzard shad have washed up along the waterfront in Chicago, Illinois in recent days.

*More than 150 tons of fish known as "red tilapias" have washed up dead along the shores of Vietnam.

*Dozens of dead birds have been now been found near the town of Sullivan, Missouri.

*Thousands of gizzard shad have washed up along the waterfront in Chicago, Illinois in recent days.

*More than 100 dead birds have just been found near Geyserville, California.

*Approximately 200 American coots were recently discovered dead on a highway in Big Cypress Creek, Texas.

*Thousands of turtle doves recently fell out of the sky dead onto roofs and cars in a little Italian town called Faenza.

*Dozens of dead birds were recently discovered in the town of Constanta, a small village located 160 miles east of Bucharest, Romania.

*Somewhere around 100 tons of dead fish, primariardines, ly swere found on the beaches of Paranagua, Brazil a few days ago.

Since that time, we have gotten more reports of other die offs, but I don't have access to all that tonight....

Just saw that someone has now posted a submission elsewhere, but mentions only the anchovies. In addition to the anchovies, the sardines and the mackerel are part of this particular (and dreadful) die-off.

Sorry, but one more post....Do these events have a common denominator? Well, seems one thing that seems common, the [die offs] are usually limited to one or two species, when it happens. I do wonder why in the many global cases of die off, which have been occurring since first of this year, each time the deaths are limited to one or two species? All crabs, or baby dolphins, black birds, tilapia fish, on and on...one species, sometimes a mix of two.

So I kept looking to see if anyone has any other ideas, ran across another link with a list of explanations we have received along the way over the many different groups of large number die offs.......

Theories That Have Been Put Forward To Explain The Huge Numbers Of Dead Animals, Dead Birds And Dead Fish Around The Globe

*Changes In The Magnetic Field Of The Earth

*Extreme Weather
...
*A Pole Shift

*Pesticides

*HAARP

*Other Secret Government Programs

*Cold Weather

*"Global Warming"

*The Approach Of 2012

*Methane Gas

*Loud Noises

*Disease

*UFOs Are Responsible

*Effects Of The BP Oil Spill

*The Second Coming Of Jesus

*Birds Are Dying Because Of Indigestion

*Increased Radiation From The Sun

*Large Groups Of Animals Always Die And This Is All Normal

* (my add to this list) Red Tide and lack of oxygen.

This interest me, so I have done a little googling, here is another similar report in Jan. 2011 "Found this (date Jan. 2011) Additionally, the Parana Online reports that 100 tons of dead fish, mainly sardines, were found on the beaches of Paranagua, Brazil Sunday. They have also begun to appear on the coasts of Pontal do Pontal do Para...na, Guaraquecaba, and Antonina.

http://www.examiner.com/us-headlines-in-national/dead-birds-louisiana-dead-fish-...

i can't wait to hear the reason why this is happening "oh it's natural it happens all the time"

No foul play? Did you assume that humans don't have brains as well?

There are alot of these fish kills going on around the country. There is something to this. It's not natural like I keep hearing. That water is just covered in dead fish. Lack of oxygen? I think not.

Yes, this is totally natural.......nobody has to feel bad for altering the planet.

This is where my wife grew up and we had our rehearsal dinner. My kids have played on the beach that is now covered with dead fish. I hope they can figure out what happened. It's a shame. Thanks for posting this. We are so bummed.

Humans can't change their surroundings. We should use all of the resources in the world, while we drive massive fat trucks for our fat American behinds.

I wonder how many people will write something funny, or not even read this, because it's unimportant to them. In fact, it's very, very important, because we don't know the cause... and, too, these little fish suffocated to death, which is horribly sad.

Los Angeles Times

Massive fish die-off likely due to oxygen depletion, not pollution, Redondo Beach officials say [Updated]

March 8, 2011 | 11:24 am

Dead Fish Mystery

Redondo Beach officials said initial assessments suggest oxygen depletion in the King Harbor basins caused the massive fish die-off.

City Manager Bill Workman said city officials with the help of marine experts would help determine if there was any environmental issue involved. Tests are now being performed on the water as officials begin removing the dead fish, which city officials estimated to be in the millions.

“There are no visible signs of any toxins that might have caused [the die-off] and our early assessment is that this was oxygen depletion,” Workman said. “This is similar to what we experienced five years ago but that was distinctly a red tide event but there’s no discoloration of the water, no associated foaming in the waves, Workman said. “There are no oil slicks or leaking of substances into the water.”

Workman noted that the harbor had been teeming in recent weeks with bait fish that even after their deaths “had no signs of degradation.”

“It looks like what happens to goldfish when you don’t change the water in the tank, mouth open and belly up,” Workman said.

Although he said it did not appear that the die-off was due to a red tide, the city diverted all of its city crews to the harbor to help with the response to the fish kill by bringing in dumpsters and nets.

Workman also said the city was preparing to call in volunteers to assist with the cleanup. In addition, he said, marine biologists that deal with red tide monitoring also came to harbor to assist, including from USC's marine biology department.

Fish, including anchovies, sardines and mackerel, were floating lifeless in Basins 1 and 2 of the north side of King Harbor Marina.

"There’s basically fish everywhere you go in the harbor," said the harbor's assistant manager, Jason McMullin, who added that there were reports that a red tide may have driven the fish into the harbor in massive numbers, where they died because of limited oxygen.

[Updated at 11:35 a.m.: Marine biologists from USC have been dispatched to King Harbor to test for elevated levels of dissolved oxygen, a key indicator of whether the cause of the fish die-off was a harmful algal bloom.

USC installed oxygen sensors in the harbor after a mass fish die-off in 2005, and since then researchers have been monitoring the harbor to better understand what happened, said biological sciences professor David Caron.

When there is a preponderance of algae in a single area, they can consume massive amounts of oxygen in the water and can deprive other sea creatures of the air they need to live. But algae can also produce toxins that can kill marine life.

“What we're trying to tease apart is whether it's a consequence of algal buildup, a fish buildup or something toxic in the water,” Caron said.

They plan to check the monitoring devices Tuesday and later use robotic vehicles to probe the harbor for other clues about the cause of the fish kill, Caron said.]