Something Fishy
San Benito News photo by Francisco E. Jimenez
Dead fish scattered the banks of the Heavin Resaca Trail Thursday, a sight that has been common recently as the freeze was reportedly to blame for the dead fish floating up to the surface.
By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com
There’s something fishy about the resaca. Many concerned citizens of San Benito have contacted the News after noticing an abundant amount a dead fish floating along the banks of the resaca this week, officials blame the freeze.
According to City of San Benito Code Enforcement Director John Rodriguez, the dead fish are attributed to the recent arctic freeze which bombarded the Rio Grande Valley with freezing temperatures about two weeks ago.
“I spoke with the lead biologist who is based out of Mathis, he’s employed with the state Parks and Wildlife,” said Rodriguez. “He said that it is normal for that to occur because of the freeze.”
Rodriguez said that when the water freezes, the fish die because they are used to the sub-tropic environment in the resaca.
“Because of that freeze, the water put them in an unstable environment that they were not used to, so they died. With the cold, the fish that were dying were going to the bottom, now with the warmer water, their starting to pop up,” said Rodriguez.
There might be another wave of dead fish in the near future due to the lack of oxygen in the water during the freeze.
“I have three individuals who I spoke with – all of them are biologists, they say that it’s normal. It’s the normal process of what happens,” said Rodriguez about another wave of dead fish. “It’s possible, not guaranteed. Depending on how much oxygen was exhausted through the freeze.”
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