Charles' Fish Dying

But you thought fish could never live in the Charles River.

Well, they could, until recently, in the cleaner stretch of the Charles which lies upstream of Harvard. Over last weekend, however, thousands of fish began dying in this stretch of the river, near Water-town. Most of the dead fish were carp, although some bluegills and suckers also died.

Preliminary examinations indicate that industrial wastes caused the death of the fish, state officials said yesterday. A complete investigation now underway will take about a week, the officials said, and those responsible for dumping the industrial wastes into the river--if their identities can be determined--are subject to prosecution.

None of the dead fish have as yet floated down to the portion of the Charles adjacent to Harvard. After finishing a tour of those banks yesterday afternoon, and observer said, "Believe me, dead fish would be the most pleasant thing there. I saw dead rates, old sanitary napkins, and everything else but dead fish."