NJ Probing Source of Thousands of Dead Fish Washed Ashore on Del. Bay
By David Madden
CAPE MAY POINT, N.J. (CBS) -- A few thousand fish have washed up on the beaches of Delaware Bay in and around Cape May Point. But New Jersey officials insist it is not the result of an environmental problem.
The fish, known as "bunker," started washing up this morning, according to Larry Hajna with the state's Department of Environmental Protection.
"The wash-ups are very sporadic," he tells KYW Newsradio, "probably thickest around Sunset Beach or Higbee Beach, just a little up the bay from Cape May Point."
And, he notes, nothing suggests anything dire behind this.
In fact, investigators are leaning toward the theory that a commercial fishing boat in the bay lost its load.
The problem should dissipate with the tide, Hajna says. Bunker are used for bait and in fish oil products, not for human consumption.
Hajna says the search is on for the vessel responsible, because they're supposed to report spillage of this type to the state, and no one did.