Thousands Of Dead Fish Mysteriously Wash Up On Biscayne Bay

Thousands of dead fish have been washing up on the shores of Biscayne Bay, and scientists are trying to figure out why.

Residents started noticing earlier this week because of the smell. The heaps of dead fish have been spotted as far north as 135th Street and as far south as the Museum Park area, reports Local 10.

“It was a river of dead fish, and then, last night, there were islands of dead fish,” said resident Kathryn Mikesell told WSVN.

It's different types of fish, too. Residents reported seeing puffer fish, crabs, tilapia, snappers, and more, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fish Kill Report.

“It smells bad. It’s pretty embarrassing to come out here. You want to enjoy the view and all you are doing is you are smelling the filth,” Rick Rigueria, a resident, told CBS 4.

Aside from the ick factor, there's genuine concern about what's causing the fish to die off en masse.

FWC said it received multiple calls about the fish and will investigate. In a statement, the state commission said that its researchers suspect "low dissolved oxygen."

Florida International University researcher and professor Piero Gardinali also believes a lack of oxygen in the water may be to blame. This can be caused by a variety of factors including pollution, warm water temperatures, and algae blooms.

In an interview with Local 10, Gardinali called the dead fish "a warning sign." He was among a group of researchers from FIU at Morningside Park on Wednesday collecting water samples and data.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez wrote on Twitter that whatever is happening to the fish is "unprecedented."

"... Fish dying at this level is proof of increasingly uninhabitable waters and this is unacceptable," he wrote. He added the need to do more to protect the local ecosystem in follow up tweets.

Photo: Getty Images