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Fish Kills in Hood Canal

We all need oxygen to breathe, and fish are no different. But while people may have an abundant source of air, fish depend upon oxygen levels in the water, which can be quickly depleted by pollution and other factors.

That’s what happened in Washington’s Hood Canal, where oxygen levels recently hit a five-year low. Several natural and man-made factors combined to cause a rapid decrease in oxygen in waters already depleted, resulting in the biggest fish kill known to date.

Experts believe that pollution from septic tanks and other sources, such as nutrient runoff from fertilizers, aggravated an already difficult problem. Pollution adds to the rapid growth of algae, which consume large amounts of oxygen, leaving less oxygen for fish and other aquatic life. The result in Hood Canal was the rapid death of massive amounts of shrimp, Dungeness crab, lingood, flounder, sand lance and other fish, for six-mile stretch of the fjord.

What can be done to prevent oxygen depletion in our waterways? If we want to protect our underwater ecosystems, we need to decrease the amount of sewage and other pollution (such as nutrients from fertilizer) washing into our rivers, lakes, streams and coastal waterways. Farmers can look at best practices for reducing fertilizer runoff, but homeowners can also help by reducing the amount of fertilizer used on lawns and replacing grass with xeroscaping – using native plants that require less fertilization and watering to thrive.

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To learn more about xeroscaping, please click here.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org