A lot of those fish that started showing up at the Charles River locks are now dying

Although some of the pogies that began showing up at the mouth of the Charles a few days ago made it out to their briny destiny in the Atlantic, others are now piling up by the locks and dam, dead.

The pogies, also known as menhaden, normally begin their migration out to sea this time of year after breeding further up the Charles - and normally not all of them make it - according to the Charles River Watershed Association.

We spoke with MA Wildlife and confirmed that the recent fish kill at the Charles River locks is a typical occurrence for this time of year. We think between the extreme heat and algae blooms, the oxygen levels in the water are probably extremely low and fish are suffocating

In recent days, the state has occasionally opened the locks to let the fish through into the harbor.

A large die off of the fish last year in the Mystic River was ruled death by natural causes.

That there are pogies at all in the river is the result of a conservation effort by the state starting about ten years ago, when numbers had dropped drastically and the state banned pogie fishing.