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Crews Finish Cleaning Up Millions Of Dead Fish In Keansburg

KEANSBURG, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Crews have finished removing more than a million dead fish that recently appeared near a Jersey Shore town.

Public works crews on Thursday morning picked up the last of the peanut bunker fish that washed on shore at the Waackaack Creek, Keansburg Mayor George Hoff told NJ.com.

State environmental officials raised the estimate of dead fish from hundreds of thousands to more than a million. They say the scores of fish were likely chased into the Raritan Bay by other fish. Once there, they apparently were killed off by low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water.

The highest numbers have been found in the Waackaack Creek. They also have shown up in Natco Lake and Thornes Creek.

Crews will take the dead fish to the Monmouth County landfill.

The Department of Environmental Protection said there was a smaller fish die-off last week and one last year, but residents said they have never seen anything like the one on Tuesday.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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