Thousands of dead fish are now creating nightmarish conditions for some people in Long Branch along the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers.

Residents at a nearby condominium complex say it’s so bad, they can't even go outside.

“This is the time,” says Josh Costell, of Long Branch. “It's spring. We've all been through this pandemic together. This is the time to get outside, and we are again prisoners, but for a different reason.”

Bacteria is to blame for the ongoing menhaden fishkill in and around the rivers.

DEP officials first noted the problem in the late winter.

News 12 talked last month about what would happen when the weather warmed up and a lot of people feared they would start to rot, and that's what's happening.

“I see a sea of solid fish of garbage,” says Michael Roth, of Long Branch. “It's almost like we might as well live by a landfill.”

Roth says you can't open windows – you have to stay inside and simply can't enjoy spring.  

Representatives from the condominium association say they have reached out to local and state government for help. They fear this will turn into a health hazard if the flies and fish continue to rot along the shore.