Early report says Oyster Creek pump failure killed 1,800 fish

When an outside power failure shut down a cooling pump at Oyster Creek last week, the nuclear plant stopped mixing cool water with the warm water that’s discharged from the plant.

Water temperatures rose, killing what a preliminary count says is 1,800 fish.

“No number is really acceptable,” spokesperson Suzanne D’Ambrosio told Toms River Patch about the number of fish that died.

Jersey Central Power & Light investigated the outage and found a goose had flown into a power line, leaving 16,000 customers — Oyster Creek included — without power.