Mosquito Eating Fish Move To New Facility In South Jersey

by David Madden

LINDENWOLD, NJ (CBS) -- New Jersey officials have made it easier for South Jersey counties to battle mosquitoes by opening a regional facility for distribution of larvae-eating fish in Camden County.

The state has been increasing its efforts to take out the bugs before they bite, distributing 650 thousand of the inch-long minnows statewide this summer. That's a half million more than last year. But it's been a challenge for county workers to drive up to Hackettstown to get them.

No more. Now they come to the Camden County public works facility. State DEP Commissioner Bob Martin. "Each of the counties will take them from here on a constant basis and be able to replenish their fish every single week and how many days a week they want," Martin told KYW Newsradio, "they can grab some fish and put them into lakes and ponds."

The state has also increased funding to counties by a half million dollars this year to bolster mosquito fighting efforts on the local level.

Mind you, they're still asking residents to make sure they get rid of standing water which serves as a mosquito breeding ground this time of year. Everyone's worried about Zika, even though there have been no mosquito-spread cases in the US, yet.