I saw so many dead fish’ – Gowanus residents disgusted with dead fish smell coming from neighborhood

Gowanus residents are unhappy with the smell of dead fish that has resonated throughout the neighborhood recently.

Mary-Lyn Buckley and Rob Taub

Aug 9, 2023, 2:39 AM

Updated 436 days ago

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Gowanus residents are unhappy with the smell of dead fish that has resonated throughout the neighborhood recently.
They told News 12 the fishy stench has been in the air for weeks and they just can’t get rid of it, to the point that some of them are keeping their windows closed to keep the smell out of their homes. Some even saw the dead fish washing up.
“I saw so many dead fish,” said Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club president Gary Francis. “They must have been trapped in the canal.
Francis said back in July there were several large thunderstorms, which is where the stench and dead fish washing up.
Two new sewage holding tanks are in the works, according to Mayor Eric Adams, but the billion-dollar project won't be ready until 2030.
The Department of Environmental Protection in a statement said, "As has happened many times previously, schools of bunker get chased by a predator into a dead-ended canal or basin and they quickly consume all the oxygen in the water, and they die.”
The department also acknowledged oxygen levels in the water are at their lowest during the heat of the summer.