The Nation - News from Sept. 29, 1986

Thousands of dead fish littered a four-mile stretch of Seattle’s Duwamish River, apparently after sediment washing into the river depleted the oxygen supply, a state official said. Witnesses said some people were carting home the easy catch, including flounder and salmon, although experts warned against eating the fish until the cause of the kill was verified. The official said bacteria in sediment that accumulated when the tide came in Saturday competed with the fish for the dissolved oxygen in the water. He said similar kills occur every year, but this was the largest he had seen in 15 years.