Dead Fish Mystery: Why Did Tens of Thousands of Fish Wash up on Texas Beaches?

When many fish wash up on the shores of a lake, river, or ocean, it is generally a sign that something is wrong with the water. Last week on the Gulf Coast of Texas "tens of thousands" of fish washed up on the beach, triggering concern in the communities surrounding the body of water. One fisherman discovered the carnage on a seven-mile stretch, while on a fishing trip near Freeport, Texas. Why did all the fish die at once? Keep reading to find out. 

Darrell Schoppe maintains that he discovered "tens of thousands of dead fish," of various types including menhaden, sharks, trout, bass, catfish, and stingrays. He took videos as he drove along the shore. That's all I could do at that point because I was just kind of in awe," Schoppe told The Washington Post. "Of course I wasn't going to go wait out there to try to catch any trout; everything was pretty much dead."

Officials sent cleaning crews to clear the fish and advised people to avoid the water. According to experts, the fish died due to low oxygen levels, which were especially low on Friday because of the combination of warmer water, calm seas, and cloudy conditions. 

"By the time you get one stretch of it raked and cleaned off and pushed back, you look back and a whole new wave of them have come ashore," said Bryan Frazier, director of the Brazoria County Parks Department. "So you've got to do it all over again."

Frazier explained that it is difficult for many of the fish to survive in water above 70 degrees, and temperatures reached as high as 92 on Friday, likely raising the water temperature as well. That, paired with other factors resulted in "the perfect storm to deplete the oxygen levels inshore," they added. 

And, these sorts of events happen every year. "This area is used to these dynamic events," Katie St. Clair, a sea life facility manager with Texas A&M University at Galveston, said. 

Currently, the beach still smells of dead fish. "Just because it's a natural phenomena does not make it pleasant; that's not something anybody likes to see," Frazier said. "But nature has a way of bouncing back."