Mona Lake - DNR official: Lake fish kill likely natural

[Hamilton Reef]

I was at Mona Lake photo sites Wednesday not knowing press story was already in progress. The gizzard had I observed were perfect muskie forage size making up 99%+ of the dead fish I saw.

DNR official: Lake fish kill likely natural

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/04 ... ll_li.html

04/03/08 Jeff Alexander | The Muskegon Chronicle

MUSKEGON COUNTY -- This year's long, hard winter was likely responsible for an unusually large fish kill on Mona Lake, a state official said today.

Thousands of dead gizzard shad washed ashore this week along much of the Mona Lake shoreline, according to residents.

Gizzard shad die-offs are common in several area lakes. The fish often die during winter as ice cover decreases oxygen levels in the water; the fish also die from thermal shock when the lake warms up rapidly in the spring, said Rich O'Neal, a fisheries biologist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

"We had a pretty strong winter, with a lot of ice cover on the lake ... and we had a couple of good years of gizzard shad reproduction," O'Neal said.

The combination of more shad in the lake and decreased oxygen levels in the water, due to prolonged ice cover, likely caused the massive fish kill, O'Neal said.

Several Mona Lake residents said this year's fish kill is one of the worst they've seen.

"This is nasty," said Geno Roswell, of 605 Lakeshore in Norton Shores. "This is not normal ... there are too many to count."

Roswell, who was using a "pooper-scooper" to pluck dead fish out of the lake in front of his house, said dead gizzard shad began washing ashore after heavy rainfall earlier this week.

Jan Wood, of 876 Mona Brook, said there were countless dead fish, many in the 12-to-18-inch range, washed up on the south side of the lake.

"I can smell it," Wood said. "For 20 years, I've never seen anything like this."

A similar fish kill occurred last month on Lake Macatawa in Holland.

State officials have been paying more attention to fish kills since viral hemorrhagic septicemia, known as Ebola virus for fish, began killing gizzard shad and other species of fish in lakes Erie, Huron and Ontario. VHS was confirmed last year in Lake Michigan fish, near Milwaukee; it has not been detected in fish in West Michigan.

Fish killed by VHS often have blood-filled eyes and red bloody marks around the edges of their gills.

O'Neal said state officials could not test the dead fish on Mona Lake for VHS because the fish had been dead too long to get accurate results.

O'Neal discounted the theory that low water levels last summer, which temporarily blocked the Mona Lake channel to Lake Michigan, contributed to the fish kill.

The most likely cause, he said: Too many fish and not enough oxygen in Mona Lake, which is known for low oxygen levels due to excessive amounts of aquatic vegetation.

[hemichemi]

Wow.

One thing I'm not clear about is a statement near the end:

The most likely cause, he said: Too many fish and not enough oxygen in Mona Lake, which is known for low oxygen levels due to excessive amounts of aquatic vegetation.

I assume aquatic vegetation PRODUCES O2, not deplete it while it's growing. Do they mean the oxygen depletion occurring during aerobic decomposition of the foliage, after it dies in Fall?

[Will Schultz]

I assume aquatic vegetation PRODUCES O2, not deplete it while it's growing. Do they mean the oxygen depletion occurring during aerobic decomposition of the foliage, after it dies in Fall?

Yes, decomp uses up a ton of O2 plus with no light penetration the remaining weeds and phytoplankton aren't going to be producing any O2.

[Hamilton Reef]

Fox TV 17 video of Mona Lake Fish Kill
http://fox17.trb.com/news/?track=nav

[Will Schultz]

Same deal going on right now in Macatawa. I found live/dying shad this morning and took some photos of the live ones (camera phone since I left the real camera at home by mistake). There were a couple drum out there but no other spiecies were observed. There seemed to be some hemorraging on their body but that happens with stressed fish and doesn't mean this was VHS.

[MuskyTom]

There were a couple drum out there but no other spiecies were observed. There seemed to be some hemorraging on their body but that happens with stressed fish and doesn't mean this was VHS.

Hopefully this isn' VHS. Kid will be upset knowing some of the drum died off, I know he loves to hunt the Drums!

[Will Schultz]

Same deal going on right now in Macatawa. I found live/dying shad this morning and took some photos of the live ones (camera phone since I left the real camera at home by mistake). There were a couple drum out there but no other species were observed. There seemed to be some hemorraging on their body but that happens with stressed fish and doesn't mean this was VHS.

[Hamilton Reef]

Residents, gulls clean up stinky fish

http://www.mlive.com/news/chronicle/ind ... xml&coll=8

04/17/08 By Chad D. Lerch clerch@muskegonchronicle.com

Maybe seagulls have an undeserved bad reputation for being messy and annoying.

For the past week, at least, Mona Lake residents say the scavengers have been tidy and helpful.

Seagulls and other wildlife have feasted on thousands of dead gizzard shad that recently washed ashore.

"Mother Nature works wonders sometimes," said John Zarimba, 1457 Forest Park. "They've been doing a pretty good job cleaning up."

Zarimba said Wednesday that "only about 10 percent" of the dead fish remained along the shoreline.

His wife, Judy Zarimba, said there were so many seagulls feasting on fish at one point that "it looked like we had a snowstorm across the lake. There were thousands of them out there."

Residents reported the fish kill around April 1.

Gizzard shad die-offs are common in several area lakes. The fish often die during winter as ice cover decreases oxygen levels in the water.

They also die from thermal shock when lakes warm up rapidly in spring, said Rich O'Neal, a fisheries biologist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

He said there is no health risk to humans.

"Fish die in our lakes all the time. You just don't see them," he said.

Jay Wesley, a DNR spokesman, said there is no evidence disease led to the Mona Lake fish kill. Unless more fish die, an official investigation is not necessary, he said.

"It sounds like winter stress," he said.

The city of Norton Shores last week placed trash bins at Ross Park and Hidden Cove Park for residents who want to get rid of fish carcasses from their yards.

The trash bins are available 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. They will remain until the cleanup is completed.

Others are burying fish in their yards.

"We're just trying to give the people out there another alternative," said Norton Shores Community Development Director Dick Maher.

Jan Wood, 876 Mona Brook, said she has not noticed overwhelming odors on the south side of the lake, even though carcasses remain.

"If we get a cold front out of the north, I'm sure I'll get a whiff or two," she said. "It won't be pleasant."

John Zarimba, who lives on the lake's north side, said it doesn't smell bad near his house, either.

"It was scary at first when you looked out and saw thousands of dead fish," he said. "It's amazing how it's getting cleaned up."

Judy Zarimba said she didn't see dead shad on the beach during her Wednesday walk.

That wasn't the case last week.

"It was horrible," she said. "There were areas where I had to cover my nose."