For the second time this month, residents in the township of Little Egg Harbor are dealing with the stench of rotting fish in the water.
LITTLE EGG HARBOR, N.J. – For the second time this month, residents in the New Jersey township of Little Egg Harbor are dealing with the stench of rotting fish in the water.
“Horrific,” resident Rayna Pelcak told FOX 29 reporter Cheyenne Corine. “The only thing I could compare it to, which is a little gross, is a public bathroom.”
Neighbors find the sight of the dead fish, which are bait fish known as “peanut bunkers“, to be unbearable, as well.
Drone footage shows a layer of dead peanut bunkers floating on the water, gathering along the edges of the boats and docks and filling the back of the township’s lagoon.
Fish backed up at the end of the lagoon.
(Cheyenne Corin / FOX 29 Philadelphia)
Because of the sight and smell, residents have not been able to enjoy their usual summer activities.
“We wait all summer to enjoy a home on the water, and you’re literally locked in the house for at least two weeks,” said Joseph DeGrande, a resident of Little Egg Harbor.
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The only ones appearing to enjoy the smelly phenomenon are seagulls, which have covered many parts of the township in bird feces and feathers, according to Pelcak.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection told FOX 29 that they couldn’t immediately determine the cause. However, neighbors reported that they’ve been told the issue lies upstream.
Dead fish float on the water.
(Cheyenne Corin / FOX 29 Philadelphia)
“Our lagoon is a direct run from the bay. There’s thousands and thousands of these peanut bunkers,” DeGrande said. “They shoot in, and from what we’re understanding, the lagoon narrows, funnels at the end. And when they turn around to get out, they clog up.”
Because of this, DeGrande said, the fish lose oxygen and die.
Little Egg Harbor residents said this phenomenon has occurred two to three times annually, and they hope a permanent solution to the problem is found soon.