24,000 pounds of dead mullet fish make for 'truly unbelievable' sight

Rarely do waters get so cold in this region of the country that a massive amount of fish dies all at one time, but that's just what happened last week in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Water was barely visible when Jeffrey Trout, a salesman at Harbor View Marine in Pensacola, snapped photos of a canal near his home on Jan. 11. Trout estimated he saw at least 4,000 to 5,000 mullet belly up, but that there were "probably more out there." He believes those fish died from a lack of oxygen and said they ranged from 6 to 12 inches in length.

"It was truly unbelievable," said Trout, who said he fishes frequently. "I've seen (the canal) freeze over twice in 12 years, and this occurred both times. Mullet need air, that's why they jump out of water."

The cleanup was both costly and time consuming — Gulf Shores paid a sub contractor $9,600 to clean the 24,000 pounds of dead mullet, according to public information officer Grant Brown. The cleanup took four days.

The smell wasn't pretty, either.

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"Oh, it was horrible. I mean horrible," Trout said. "You didn't want to go outside last week when the temps got back up to 70 degrees. They started to bloat up with the heat and it was very bad."

Trout said the "very rare occurrence" was a result of strong winds from the north pushing water out of the canal on Creekview Drive, making for a shallow body of water. Once the water is shallow and temperatures drop enough to freeze the water, the mullet run out of oxygen.

The lows in Gulf Shores on Jan. 11 were around 40 degrees, just as they were in Pensacola at that time.

The mass death of the mullet is bad news for both fishermen and the wildlife in that area.

"It will affect the pelicans and larger fish that eat mullet," Trout said. "And the baby mullet. It will affect the fishing for sure."

After seeing the photo, a representative with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed Trout's analysis, saying "we suspect these are related to sudden and prolonged drops in temperature."

Jake Newby can be reached at jnewby@pnj.com or 850-435-8538.