Officials link massive fish kill in Hawaii to molasses

Fish began dying off en masse in the waters around Honolulu after hundreds of thousands of gallons of molasses spilled into Honolulu Harbor last week — and there’s nothing officials can do.

Thousands of fish have died from the sugary sludge. Crabs lay dead along the floor while fish float listlessly in the harbor, some seeming to gasp above the surface of the water, so contaminated by the thick, syrupy sweetener.

The spill is one of the worst man-made disasters to hit Hawaii in recent memory, officials said, not least because no one has seen anything like it.

“There’s nothing you can do to cleanupmolasses,” said Jeff Hull, a spokesman for Matson Inc., the company responsible for the leak. “It’s sunk to the bottom of the harbor. Unlike oil, which can be cleaned from the surface, molasses sinks.”

Put another way by Janice Okubo, a spokeswoman for the Hawaii Department of Health: “It’s sugar in the water. If you know a scientific way to remove it from water, let us know.”

Once at the bottom, wildlife officials said, the sludge replaces the oxygen-bearing seawater that bottom-dwelling fish use to breathe.

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday said it will dispatch two coordinators to assist in the response, according to Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.