The dead sardine count is at 175 tons three weeks after the fish die-off in King Harbor Marina.
It's still not clear why they ended up there, but researchers said as many as 2.5 million sardines were on the surface of the harbor. After the oxygen-depleted fish surfaced on March 8, about 700 volunteers and city workers removed the remains to ease the threat to other sea life.
The fish were trucked to a Mojave Desert composting firm, where they were recycled for use as fertilizer.
Later that week, an earthquake triggered the Pacific tsunami off Japan. Redondo Beach City Manager Bill Workman said that might have actually helped crews because the tidal surges flushed fish out of rocks and crevices.
Workman estimated the cleanup will cost at least $300,000.
As for oxygen levels in the harbor, which dropped because of the large number of fish, they are slowly returning to normal.
"If you go around the banks you can still see some of the fish," said councilman Bill Brand. "The water is still murky and smells, but I bet you won't be able to tell anything happened in a month."
Researchers determined that the toxin demoic acid was not a factor in the die-off.
"The only question that remains is why the fish jammed themselves into such a little spot?" said Dave Caron, a biological sciences professor at USC.
