Steve Quayle News Alerts

August 13, 2004
By CANDICE FERRETTE
Staff reporter

Scientists soon may have more answers about the puzzling deaths of more than 1 million Atlantic croaker along beaches from Virginia to Delaware.

Wolfgang Vogelbein, a scientist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science is examining the fish for infection or disease. His lab is expected to finish its pathology work today.

"We don't know what is going on," Vogelbein said Wednesday.

"These fish look healthy overall. The only thing I've noticed is they're hemorrhaging extensively from the gills. That's unusual - I've never seen that before."

Vogelbein was not available for further comment Thursday.

While estimates from the Maryland and Delaware portion of the Eastern Shore placed the number of dead fish at about 1 million, no estimates were made on the uninhabited barrier islands that stretch down Virginia's Eastern Shore coast.

Mark Luckenbach, of the institute's Eastern Shore lab, said the shores near Wachapreague Inlet "were absolutely littered" with the fish on the July 31 weekend and dead croaker were found along the beaches of Sandbridge.

Luckenbach said all of the fish have been croaker 4 years and older. The species, a food and sport fish, is plentiful on the coast and inshore waters. Water samples collected where dead fish have been found show no signs of toxic algae or low dissolved oxygen that could kill fish.

In southern Delaware, beach crews picked up six dump trucks full of the dead croaker fish. Because the fish were already decomposed, scientists were unable to recognize any fish with bleeding gills. A ton of croaker fish was taken to a landfill in Sussex County by Aug. 5.

Roy Miller, fisheries section administrator for the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control said he did not know what could have caused the bleeding. "I don't want to speculate," Miller said.

Maryland scientists don't believe infection or disease played a role in the croaker deaths. They have theorized a surge of cold water generated from an offshore current was the cause of the massive fish kill.

"It had nothing to do with disease, said Ana Baya a researcher at the University of Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. "The fish died because they were exposed to cold water."

The fish reportedly departed the Chesapeake Bay three weeks earlier than usual this year. They encountered deeper offshore waters where temperatures had fallen drastically to 40 degrees, conditions that were too cold for the fish to acclimate.

But, Miller said that the cold water was a working theory and the bleeding gills finding could lead scientists down another path.

"I don't think exposure to cold would cause the gills to bleed," Miller said.

Evidence of the massive fish kill washed ashore at popular Delaware and Maryland resorts raising concerns that bacteria levels could rise in the ocean, though only parts of Bethany Beach were temporarily closed after water testing indicated safe swimming conditions.

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2004/08/13croakerfishkill.html