Major Fish Kill Reported Near Freeport

“Was hoping to take advantage of the flat surf and catch a quick limit of speckled trout, but things didn’t go as planned unfortunately!! The sunrise was gorgeous!! The aftermath of oxygen depleted water not so much!!”

This Facebook post by Darrell Schoppe along with the accompanying video has went virtal and shows a massive fish kill at Quintana Beach near Freeport.

“There were thousands of dead fish from the mouth of the Brazos River down the entire shoreline for miles headed east on Bryan and Quintana Beach!,” he said.

He said the vast majority of fish were menhaden but there were also speckled trout, redfish, a few sharks and jack crevalle..

Video Courtesy Darrell Schoppe

Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Kills and Spills Team Region 3 investigated what’s happening along the coast and spokesperson Lerrin Johnson said the following in a statement to CNN.

“Fish kills like this are common in the summer when temperatures increase,” Johnson said.

“If there isn’t enough oxygen in the water, fish can’t ‘breathe,’” she added.

While certain fish kills may be common, this is. quite large one, especially for so early in the summer. We will have further reports as we hear them.

If you have info on this kill or others along the coast, please contact TPWD and email cmoore@fishgame.com with any photos, videos or other information.