'Minor' fish kill in Hood Canal could get worse, scientists warn

By Christopher Dunagan

Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, Wash.

At least 200 dead fish were reported on the beach near Potlatch, Mason County, in the southern part of Hood Canal Monday morning, apparently the result of low-oxygen water rising to within 10 feet of the surface.

Strong south winds were recorded early Monday, according to oceanographer Jan Newton, who heads the Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Program. South winds tend to blow away oxygenated water at the surface and bring low-oxygen water up from the deep.

"So far, I would call this a minor fish kill," said Wayne Palsson, a biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife who observed dead fish at Potlatch and fish swimming in shallow water at Sund Rock to the north.

Palsson warned, however, that there is the potential for many more dead fish, because dissolved oxygen conditions in southern Hood Canal are worse now than in 2006, when thousands of fish perished.

"We're 'teetering on the edge' is one way to put it," Palsson said late Monday afternoon.