Thousands of Baby Fish Found Dead in Amouli & Laulii

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A repeat of what occurred in Amouli yesterday, that is thousands of baby fish dead on the beach and in shallow waters, occurred again in the village of Laulii today.

Yesterday a resident of Amouli, contacted the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources after people who were fishing found thousands of lo or rabbit fish dead on the beach and in the water close to shore.

Chief Fisheries Biologist at DMWR Domingo Ochavillo said the same thing was reported from Laulii village this morning.

He and two biologists, Shaun Felise and Alama Tua responded to the fish kill at Laulii.  Felise and Tua had checked out the dead fish in Amouli the day before.

Amouli  had the bigger quantities of dead fish, which was in the thousands, and the one in Laulii was slightly smaller.

Ochavillo says they cannot ascertain the cause and are sending samples of the dead fish off island for analysis,.

According to the resident of Amouli who reported the fish kill in their village, the same thing happened there in 1996.

Lo are baby fish that never grow big in waters around American Samoa.

They swim in large schools of fish close to shore.

DMWR asks residents to please notify their office as soon as they see large quantities of dead fish on their beaches.

Orchavillo adds that the quicker they do this the better DMWR’s chances of collecting data that would help determine the cause of the fish kill.

Call 633-5102 and ask for the Fisheries Division or leave a message with the receptionist.

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