Vacuums may be used to remove dead fish; remains will be used for fertilizer

Dozens of officials and volunteers were racing against the clock Wednesday to remove perhaps millions of dead sardines and other fish from Redondo Beach's King Harbor.

Authorities and dozens of volunteers were skimming floating sardines. Divers were expected to complete their survey work to assess how many fish are under the water's surface. Officials said they have to siphon those fish using a giant vacuum device.

Officials estimated it could take days to complete the job. Remains of the dead fish will be used for fertilizer.

Larry Derr, who heads bait operations at King Harbor, said the big winners amid the stench of dead fish are sea lions and seagulls.

"They are sitting there fat and happy," Derr said. "They don’t know what to do with themselves; there are thousands of them."

Authorities said it appeared that a massive, churning ball of sardines, and some mackerel and anchovies, was chased toward shore over the last few days, primarily from a spring storm that brought wind gusts of 45 mph off the coast last weekend. Hungry, migrating whales spotted offshore in recent days may have added to the sardines' plight.

So officials said the sardines did what anyone might — they headed for safe harbor, to a picturesque complex of four marinas that is home to 1,400 boats (mostly private fishing boats, sailboats and cruisers), an easygoing town of surf shops, dive bars and tanning salons.

There, they suffocated.

Even at high tide, King Harbor is only 22 feet deep, and though it is home to mackerel and perch, there simply wasn't enough oxygen to support such a massive influx of fish, even of the four-inch variety, officials said. The basin of the marina complex the fish chose also happened to be a spot with very little water movement, critical for maintaining oxygen levels.

State wildlife officials sent a batch of the fish to Sacramento, where they will undergo necropsies and chemical analyses. But the officials described that process as a formality; two independent water samples conducted Tuesday revealed no trace of toxins, nor any oil slick, nor any suggestion of an algae buildup that had caused problems in the past.

"It is a naturally occurring -- but unusual -- event," said Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game. "It's just a mess."

The fish are beginning to decompose. That will draw bacteria, which will, in turn, consume more oxygen. That could imperil more fish, experts said.

-- Nate Jackson, Andrew Blankstein and Tony Barboza

Photo: A couple eases their boat through a mass of dead fish at the King Harbor Marina in Redondo Beach. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Lindsey]

I hope those fish will be used purposefully in some way, for example as a medium in composting, instead of being wastefully thrown into a nearby dump.

[greg lindley]

Has anyone considered a community ceasar salad?

[Mason Jefferson]

Oil companies pollute the ocean poisoning the food we eat and now killing it. Go to KiLLFoROiL dot com to down load plans on how to build water powered cars, magnetic engines and solar cells, all of which have no pollution or adverse animal effects.....Mason Jefferson Bless

[My view means nothing]

I think it's amazing that they can come up with a solution to this so quickly and yet can't explain why this happened.

[Anon]

How many caesar salads do you eat with fish in it?

[sari4ewe]

Good Lord...did you read the article? There were no oil toxins..the fish will be used as fertilizer...and the fish appeared to have suffocated. And Anon, Caesar dressing has anchoivies in it...so EVERY Caesar Salad has fish in it.

[Jessica]

Why would they use vaccums?! Whats wrong with the old fashioned way of catching fish... with a net!?

[think]

God is letting us know our time is short better get your act together. if science can't explain it it's god

[Phil]

A better solution would be to use the remains as BIOFUEL

[paranah]

Ceasar salad? Those fish would make enough fish taco's to feed the hungry for a week.

[Rita-of-Sunland]

How are they going to vacuum 'em up? With a "SQUIRT-DEVIL?"

[mansterEZ1]

How many feral cats are there in LA? Lure them all down to the marina to gorge at their hearts content. Massive heart attacks to follow. Two problems solved. This is not brain surgery.

[Alberta]

WOW! What next? :)

[Alberta]

Maybe it's a good thing, all is coming to past! I'm happy! ;)

[Leo]

Is fish dying due to global warming?
Or due to global cooling?
Or due to global fаrting?
I am confused.

[KJCA]

Jesus is Coming! Quickly! Signs of the Times!

[Diana]

This is for "think". Why don't you "think" for yourself and leave God out of it???

[Bebe]

Do people READ before posting?????????

[LovesDaisies]

Kudos "Bebe" and "Sari4ewe". I was thinking the same thing as I read through this. Doesn't ANYONE read before they post? This was a fluke incident. Scientists HAVE figured it out. The fish accidentally wandered into the wrong place en masse. Not enough oxygen to support them. They died. No toxins, no oil, not God damning us because there are homosexuals living amongst us, or because we are fighting a war in Afghanistan.

Ignorance infuriates me.

[Marie]

I think you are guessing at what happened to these fish.
At the Salton Sea we see huge fish die-offs often, and I am sad to see this going on in an ocean. Hopefully, someone will monitor what happens to the next layer of the food chain that eats the fish.