Pew! 2000 Bushels of Menhaden Spilled onto Virginia Beach

Cleanup crews pick up fish spill on Chesapeake Bay beach

Cleanup crews have begun picking up thousands of dead or dying menhaden fish that washed up on a Chesapeake Bay beach in Virginia.

Local news outlets report that the fish spilled after a fishing net on a bait boat ripped open Tuesday morning off Silver Beach.

James Kellum, the fishing boat’s owner, says the tear in the net was an accident. He says about 2,000 bushels of fish have washed up on the bay.

Well, you wouldn't do it deliberately, since catching and keeping menhaden was the idea to start with. 2000 bushels is a lot of fish.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission says Kellum reported the spill immediately and has hired cleanup crews to begin picking up the fish. The cleanup efforts started Thursday and Kellum says the crews will work for a few days until the fish are gone.

Menhaden don't smell good fresh, even by fish standards, so a few days in the current delightful 80+ degree weather, and that beach is going to be just lovely. Skye, however, would volunteer to do her very best to eat all the dead fish, and roll in the rest after they get to the "toothpaste" stage of decomposition.