Hundreds of dead fish were discovered in a pond in Bristol Thursday.
Bristol Parks officials and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded to Page Park after someone called to report the dead sun fish floating on the surface of the pond.
Experts from DEEP classified the occurrence as a natural kill.
"The sun fish right now are spawning. When they go into spawning, they are in close proximity to each other," said Don Mysling, Senior DEEP Fisheries Biologist.
During spawning, the fish don't eat and become weak. They can get small cuts and are susceptible to illness.
"Virus or bacteria can spread quite rapidly from one individual to another," Mysling said. "So it's not an unusual occurrence."
Bristol work crews gathered some of the dead fish to keep the area looking clean. Scavengers like raccoons or turtles will take care of the rest of the carcasses, experts said.
