Hundreds of dead fish float in popular Houston park, investigation underway

It’s a report that would baffle any official. State, county and city authorities are trying to figure out what killed hundreds of fish in a popular Pasadena park.

The fish were found floating in Vince Bayou in Memorial Park, just off Jackson Avenue.

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KPRC 2 contacted state authorities on Monday after our newsroom received a tip from a viewer who reported the unbearable sight.

KPRC 2 contacted Chris Jensen, a spokesperson for Texas Parks & Wildlife’s Kills and Spills Team. Jensen noted in a statement, “This may be a low dissolved oxygen incident. The fish all appear to be the same species of mullet.”

“A mullet is a type of ray-finned fish, meaning its fins are made of skin membranes supported by bony spines,” says the Marine Stewardship Council website.

In addition, mullet has been part of the human diet for thousands of years.

KPRC 2 photojournalist Patrick Hardesty relayed his observations of the dead fish to Jensen by phone and through several pictures.

“There are currently no fish snapping at the surface for food as the mullet are currently active and not showing any stress. The hot weather and potentially low current along with bacterial degradation of organic material and/or algal blooms from nutrient overload (runoff) may deplete oxygen locally,” Jensen wrote.

County officials went to the park Monday to take water samples to determine what killed the fish, according to a Harris County Pollution Control spokesman. The spokesman said Pasadena Fire Department officials are assisting with the investigation.

Jensen also stated that there was no obvious chemical or sewage-like odor and the water did not have any strange appearance.

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Anyone wishing to report dead fish should call Texas Parks and Wildlife’s 24-hour Communications Center at 512-389-4848.