By Michael Sol Warren | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The dead fish floated along the surface, covering much of Branch Brook Lake.
Catherine Marcal was stunned by the sheer number of them, stretching from the lion statues at the Prudential Concert Grove to the Park Avenue overpass.
But somehow, that was not the most disturbing image the Bloomfield resident saw earlier this month when she visited Branch Brook Park in Newark.
“A lot of them were still alive,” Marcal said. “They were still flip-flopping, and it was just horrifying.”
The fish die-off June 16 claimed hundreds of bluegill and pumpkinseed sunfish, plus a few largemouth bass, said Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
”I had no idea that there were even fish like that living there,” Marcal said. “I couldn’t believe the quantity. There were hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of fish.”
Branch Brook Lake sits in the heart of Branch Brook Park — the largest stretch of open space in Newark and one of the crown jewels of the Essex County parks system.
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