Dead Fish

The estimated 200,000 yellow perch, menhaden, mummichogs and silverside that died in the upper reaches of Magothy and Patapsco rivers' tributaries in the past week represent the worst such fish kill in 10 years, state officials said yesterday.And unless the weather changes, the fish kills will only get worse, said Charles Poukish, environmental specialist for the state Department of Natural Resources.The kill is another indication of a Chesapeake Bay ecosystem "living on the edge of severe problems," added Robert Magnien, DNR's chief of resource assessments.

The drought-driven fish kill that has sent perch, carp, pike and many other species belly-up on local river banks for the past week continued to mount yesterday, with waterfront residents in Cape St. Claire reporting thousands of dead fish along beaches there."

Thousands of fish in tributaries of the Patapsco and Magothy rivers have been killed over the past week by lack of oxygen, caused in part by drought, say state environment officials.Such widespread oxygen depletion has not been seen in more than a decade, said Charles A. Poukish, a specialist with the Maryland Department of the Environment. He is investigating the most recent fish kills in the Baltimore metropolitan area."We periodically see these types of things in some areas of the [Chesapeake]

In Maryland Health agency tells doctors to watch for Pfiesteria signs A federal health agency has told the nation's doctors to watch for problems that could be associated with Pfiesteria piscicida, the microorganism blamed for making some Eastern Shore watermen and boaters ill two years ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published its alert, similar to one issued last spring, because the approach of warm summer weather...

Grasping nets and buckets, scientists from the state Department of Natural Resources waded into the icy waters of the Patapsco River yesterday and snagged their quarry: stone flies, hellgrammites and other insects that survived a mysterious fish kill that destroyed 20,000 fish two weeks ago."We appear to have lucked out," Bob Lunsford, the state's freshwater fisheries director, said about the plentiful supply of insects, which indicated good water quality.Investigators from the Maryland Department of Environment say they don't know what killed the fish that were found floating in the water Dec. 22, but with the river apparently in good health, scientists are focusing on the weather.

Investigators from the Maryland Department of the Environment are searching for what killed 20,000 fish along a four-mile stretch of the Patapsco River last week, Maryland's largest fish kill since the outbreak of Pfiesteria on the Pocomoke River last year.The fish -- at least five species -- were floating in the river and lying on the banks Dec. 22 between the Avalon Area of Patapsco Valley State Park and U.S. 1, next to Elkridge, said department spokesman Quentin W. Banks Jr.Environmental officials who visited the scene that day concluded that the fish had been dead at least 24 hours.

SHELLTOWN -- This thatch of land mocks maps. So a visitor follows the thirsty corn and the granite tombstones bearing family names like MARINER and FRESHWATER. Stapled to a nearby telephone pole is a sign: FREE SUSHI AT BOAT RAMP! Getting warmer.Hogs the size of hippos and chicken condos are other landmarks. At the Baptist Church, turn left and follow the Dead End sign to waterman Fred Maddox's home in this shell of an Eastern Shore town. Park on the dented grass by the state government cars and TV satellite trucks.

OXFORD -- State pathologists who study Maryland's fish kills warn that Pfiesteria piscicida could pose a potent danger to anyone who touches a sick-looking fish."

Several hundred more fish were discovered dead in the Pocomoke River yesterday morning, but Maryland natural resources officials monitoring the waters where thousands of fish have died in recent days said they were encouraged by the declining numbers."

SHELLTOWN -- With thousands of fish mysteriously dying in the Pocomoke River for the second day, state authorities closed three miles of the Eastern Shore waterway yesterday to all fishing, crabbing and recreation.State health officials said they knew of no health risk to people, but closed the river as a precaution. Ten people, including eight watermen, have complained of river-related health problems."There's been no definite evidence yet" that the two are linked, said state Health Secretary Martin P. Wasserman.