Hundreds of Fish Die Alarming Ohio Anglers
Article taken from The Lima News, July 21, 1931
PORTSMOUTH, O., July 21--(AP)--The weird spectacle of hundreds of dead fish floating down the Scioto river caused alarm among sportsmen and health officers here today, so numberous they resembled driftwood. The fish first were noticed Sunday and many persons picked them from the water yesterday. Health officers warned against eating any of the fish. Rivermen said the condition resulted either from a stange poison or extremely muddy water.
State Unable to Find Cause of Fish Death
Article taken from The Lima News, July 24, 1931
COLUMBUS, O., July 24--(AP)--E. L. Wickliffe, chief of the bureau of scientific research of the state division of conservation, announced today that he had been unable to determine the cause of the deaths of thousands of fish of every variety in the waters of the Scioto river between Columbus and Portsmouth.
When Wickliffe started his investigation he said the river was near the flood stage and this badly hampered him. He said that many of the fish were too decomposed for proper examination.
The deaths may have been a natural result of flood conditions and again the fish may have been poisoned by pollution from strawboard plants at Circleville and Chillicothe.