There have been a number of reports regarding dead fish on the shores of Pigeon Lake. Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (SRD) say it is a natural occurrence.
Dave Ealey, Spokesperson for SRD says, “it’s the time of year really, that we expect something like this.”
“We have had some very warm weather and it has caused some problems for the White Fish. Basically, they have a limited capacity to deal with warm water. Once it starts to get about 22, 24 degrees Celsius they start to have a really hard time.
Part of it is because there’s less oxygen in water of that temperature, dissolved oxygen starts to drop once it gets warmer and basically they can’t cope with that.”
SRD staff are now checking the lake to see where, around the lake the issues are, and the circumstances surrounding the summer kill.
There was a substantial kill in 2010 when thousands of fish washed up on the shores, compared to the hundreds that are washing up now. The fish killed in 2010 were also White Fish.
“We’re hoping that the fish are able to rebound from this like they did it 2011 following the 2010 kill,” says Ealey.
“All year long we get dead fish usually from anglers that have let fish go and they die naturally but this was a lot…but not as bad as 2010,” says Pete Langelle, Councillor of Summer Villages.
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“We get them out as quick as we can and we’ve got a place where we can bury them so that it cuts down on the smell; rotting fish is not a pleasant smell.”
The fish are being cleaned up as fast as possible, especially around the area that serves as a public beach.
Al Greenslade and a group of residents volunteered their time yesterday to help clean the beaches.
“Yesterday all the volunteer work…was simple, it was fun, it was easy,” says Greenslade.
Unless Pike or Walleye start showing up dead, the SRD says it’ll monitor the situation. There isn’t much it can do; this affects all shallow lakes across Alberta.
“It’s unpleasant but it’s a natural occurrence,” says Ealey.
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