Midweek Photo: Death In The Water

PayPaul sent over the above photo this weekend, wondering why he’s seeing these large dead fish floating around Sheepshead Bay. He asked if this “disturbing trend” is a matter of pollution, and noted that the bay hasn’t looked this bad since the 1970’s.

From what I understand, fishermen often toss some of their remains overboard after they pull into the marina. I’ve been seeing dead fish floating around the bay for years, and it’s certainly nothing new even if it is unattractive.

There does appear to be a large amount of litter collecting in the waters – someone even told me they saw a dead cat floating around. Again, it’s nothing new, but if anything is getting worse it’s this situation.

In terms of actual chemical pollution in the bay, though, the waters are cleaner than they have been in decades. That’s right, all of you who remember diving in back in the 60s should know that the waters were far more polluted in those days. Tighter regulations on boat emissions, industrial dumping, sewage runoff and more have improved the quality of Jamaica Bay’s waters more than you’d believe.

Now go check out the rest of PayPaul’s photos.