Pawtucket, R.I. — Dead and dying Atlantic mehaden fish have been washing up on the banks of the Seekonk River this week.

Tom Kutcher, an ecologist and advocate with Save The Bay, tells the Providence Journal about 2,000 of the bait fish have been found dead and dying near Pawtucket Falls, likely from lack of oxygen.

Kutcher said the menhaden population that migrates from the mid-Atlantic to Narragansett Bay has been swimming further upriver to feed on plankton. He says a recent lack of rain combined with the discharge of nitrogen-rich treated sewage has caused more algae growth and decomposition, reducing oxygen.

State marine biologist Jason McNamee said the state Department of Environmental Management has been getting reports of the dead fish since Tuesday. He said the fish kill is relatively small compared with the total menhaden population.