More Than 3000 Fish Die in Upper Marlboro Pond
Fish are dying across Maryland because of low levels of oxygen, which are an indicator of water quality.
By Clara Vaughn, Capital News Service ANNAPOLIS - In April 2011, more than 3,000 fish died in a pond in Upper Marlboro. High demand for oxygen triggered a lethal drop in oxygen levels in the pond, investigators from the Maryland Department of the Environment found. Three months later, 1,500 fish died in a storm water management pond in Charles County, also the result of lethally low levels of dissolved oxygen. Over the last three decades, low dissolved oxygen has been the likely culprit behind more fish kills reported to the Maryland Department of the Environment than any other cause, including disease, toxins and discards from commercial and recreational fishing. Low-oxygen conditions accounted for 519 of 1,770 lethal …
