Similar conditions were found during a massive menhaden kill last week in Bald Eagle and Torquay Canal at the north end of Rehoboth Bay. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control officials also found high counts of red tide algae, Gyrodinium instriatum , in Pepper Creek, Miller said. The algae may have been what made the water in Pepper Creek a mahogany brown during and after the kill. The algae deplete oxygen in the water. Various types of Gyrodinium algae were linked to three fish kills in the Inland Bays in 1998.
Pepper Creek flows into Indian River.
Boating is fine but water-skiing, swimming and other activities where there is direct contact should be avoided. Pfiesteria has been linked to skin sores and neurological disorders in people exposed to the microorganism when it is in its toxic form. On Tuesday, few people used Pepper Creek. Timmons said he had not seen many dead fish. Miller said a trawl survey done Tuesday found dozens of live fish, including four menhaden.