Inner Harbor tourists gawked at the aftermath Tuesday: thousands of dead Atlantic menhaden floating on the surface.
The aquatic annihilation — and its lingering stench — is a reminder of the challenges facing the harbor and the broader Chesapeake Bay.
State regulators say no single pollution event caused this fish kill, but point instead to decomposing algae and other organic material — the result of widespread nutrient pollution from runoff and wastewater overflows that has depleted oxygen in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries for decades.
Close to 25,000 fish have died in the event, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment, whose inspectors evaluated the area Monday. The fish kill stretched all the way around the harbor, from Canton through the Inner Harbor to Locust Point, agency spokesman Jay Apperson said.
This week’s carnage comes about a month after a sudden dip in temperatures seems to have triggered two even bigger menhaden die-offs in the harbor. Unseasonably cool late August temperatures helped to deplete oxygen that bay denizens need to survive.
25,000 isn't a lot of Menhaden when it comes to supporting all the Ospreys, Striped Bass and Bluefish that want to eat them, but when they're dead and rotting on your beach, they sure do stink.
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