Thousands of dead small fish are washing up in the canals and marinas in East Rockaway and causing an odor that restaurant owners say are keeping customers away.

The New York State DEC says a few thousand of the small fish, known as menhaden, died due to recent heavy rain and high temperatures, which caused low levels of oxygen in water.

"It's quite a sight. It's unfortunate there's a whole lot of fish that died off," said Charlie Archibald, of East Rockaway.

People who live and work near Front Street say they first noticed the dead fish Friday, and it’s starting to affect businesses.

"Still out there today, still smells. A lot of people like coming to sit outside for lunch. It's beautiful. It's a shame we can't really sit people out here today," said Scott Buzzolani, who works at Grandpa Tony's Wood Fire Pizza.

The owner of Mush Coffee Shop also says the bad smell from the dead fish is keeping customers away.

"I don't think my customers like the smell of fish," said Jenny Sprizzo, owner of Mush Coffee Shop.

While multiple businesses owners in East Rockaway say they're seeing fewer customers come by, the owner of Lazy Lobster says the sight and smell of the dead fish are not stopping his customers from sitting outside.

"The suns out, we're serving lobster rolls. Nobody has complained to us," said Marco Lionetti, owner of Lazy Lobster.

The DEC says there is no evidence that the recent PSEG oil spill in East Rockaway killed the fish. News 12 reached out to the Town of Hempstead about cleanup efforts and is waiting to hear back.