Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 11, 1990                   TAG: 9007110509
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B9   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FREDERICKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

THOUSANDS OF FISH KILLED IN STAFFORD

The fish, mostly shad and carp, have been found dead in Aquia and Potomac creeks recently, and a larger kill at Potomac Creek surfaced over the weekend. Officials said the fish, which have been dead for several days, were stirred from the bottom of the creek by a thunderstorm.

A similar kill of about 30,000 fish occurred in the Potomac River two months ago.

Fish within a two-mile section of Potomac Creek have large, open lesions and other signs of illness.

Albert Giles, a supervisor at the state Water Control Board, said the past weekend's finding showed all types of fish had been affected.

"When that affects all varieties, this tends to lower the expectation that it's a disease," said Giles, who is heading an investigation of the latest kill. "Some of the lesions are extremely deep, right down to the bone."

Investigators caught some live fish to send to Richmond for testing. Investigators haven't ruled out toxic pollution, but they say the fish kills could be related to a natural fungus.

John Odenkirk, a biologist with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, said low dissolved oxygen levels in the creeks might play a part in the recent deaths. Odenkirk said a lack of oxygen in the water could be stressful to the fish, which then lose the ability to fight off diseases.

He blamed the hot weather for reducing dissolved oxygen in the water. Sewage and other materials dumped into the river could also compound the problem.

This spring, fish kills on the Potomac River and its tributaries have affected areas of Maryland and Virginia.