DNR investigates fish kill in Lake St. Clair
Research biologist says cause of thousands of deaths happened somewhere out on the lake
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06/09/09 Jim Lynch / The Detroit News ** you do not have permission to see this link ** (313) 222-2034
St. Clair Shores
State wildlife experts want to know why thousands of dead fish are floating on Lake St. Clair near St. Clair Shores.
Rotting fish, including smallmouth bass, muskie, walleye, perch and bass, are littering boat wells and shorelines across several miles.
"It was just unbelievable," said Adam Jankowski, a Harrison Township resident who usually puts his boat in the water at St. Clair Shores. "Thursday and Friday, my wife and I were on the boat coasting south from 11 Mile Road to Seven Mile Road. We saw fish after fish after fish — all dead."
Officials with Michigan's Department of Natural Resources began receiving complaints about a fish kill last week, but answers remain a long way off. Biologists removed fish — both live and dead — from Lake St. Clair and sent them on to a laboratory in Lansing for testing.
However, many of the dead fish were already so decomposed that they may yield nothing to investigators. The live fish taken in showed no outward signs of disease, said Bob Haas, a DNR fish research biologist. Results from the samples taken won't be available for six to eight weeks.
"At this point, we're certain that this originated somewhere out on the lake because the winds have been from the northeast — blowing all of the fish into the shore area," Haas said. Since fish are being found over a fairly wide area, and have been turning up for nearly a week, Haas said it is hard to pin down how many have died. But he said the figure is likely in the thousands.
Lake St. Clair has seen its share of fish kills for various reasons. In 2006, thousands of fish turned up dead from viral hemorrhagic septicemia, a particularly nasty disease that has been likened to "Ebola for fish." The virus has caused large-scale die-offs among several species such as muskies, perch, trout, gobies and emerald shiners.
Officials said no signs point to VHS in the latest fish kill.
In 2000, state officials attributed two large fish kills to chlorine used in wastewater treatment at the Chapaton Pumping Station.
For 30 years, Bruce Terwilliger has lived in a Lange Street home that backs up to a canal feeding Lake St. Clair. And while dead fish occasionally turn up, what he has seen lately is something completely different.
"I've never seen a fish kill like this," Terwilliger said Monday afternoon.
"There are probably 30 dead smallmouth bass and few carp out in our part of the canal right now."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2009
Contacts: Steve Hewett 517-373-2842, Gary Whelan 517-373-6948 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014
DNR Continues Investigation of Fish Kill on Lake St. Clair
The Department of Natural Resources is actively investigating a fish kill on Lake St. Clair. The fish kill was reported to the DNR on June 2 and is concentrated in the area of 9 Mile and 11 Mile Road in St. Clair
Shores.
“The fish kill appears to be a few thousand smallmouth bass and low numbers of a few other species, including yellow perch, northern pike and carp based on the observations DNR staff at the Lake St. Clair Research Station.” states Steve Hewett, DNR Fisheries Division’s Lake Erie Basin coordinator. “It is not unusual to have fish kills like this one right after spawning when the fish are in poorer physical condition. It has been a while since we have had a smallmouth bass die-off like this one, but it is not unique.”
“It is likely that these fish have been concentrated along the St. Clair Shores shoreline by an abnormal weather pattern with sustained east winds,” said Bob Haas, manager of the DNR Fish Research Station
in Mt. Clemens.
DNR Fisheries Division staff collected 14 smallmouth bass and 1 northern pike on June 4 for further analysis at the Michigan State University Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory.
Preliminary results have detected heavy Flavobacterium columnare infection, a common fish bacterial pathogen in Michigan’s waters that usually causes mortalities when fish are stressed.
“Typical stressors that allow this bacteria to cause fish kills are spawning stress when fish do not feed normally, abnormal water temperatures, and extra human handling such as catch and release fishing,” said Gary Whelan, DNR fish production manager. “We are awaiting additional results from the lab, including viral analyses. It should be noted that there are no practical treatments for diseased wild fish.”
“As additional information is available, we will ensure the public is informed on this fish kill,” Dr. Kelley Smith, chief of the DNR Fisheries Division.
For more information on fish in Michigan, including how to report a fish kill, visit the DNR Fisheries Division Web site at <url url="[Permission to view this media is denied]
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The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural resources for current and future generations.
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