Tens of thousands of dead fish have washed up on a 25-mile stretch of Lake Erie's northern shore, and Ontario environmental officials say they could be victims of a natural phenomenon called a lake inversion.
The inversion brings cold water, which has lower oxygen levels, to the lake's surface and fish suffocate.
"Essentially it's a rolling over of the lake," Ontario Ministry of the Environment spokeswoman Kate Jordan told The Chatham Daily News. "Something – whether it be a storm, or cooler temperatures at night, or strong winds – triggers a temperature change in the lake."
Jordan said it was windy and choppy on the lake Friday night, according to a report in The Windsor Star. The fish kill was reported Saturday.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the central basin of Lake Erie, between Cleveland on the south and Chatham, Ontario, on the north is particularly susceptible to oxygen deprivation, with the danger peaking in late August and mid-September.
Others suspect a sewage spill may have something to do with the fish kill.
David Colby, chief medical officer of the Chatham-Kent district where dead fish litter the beaches, told The Windsor Star that residents reported a strong sewage smell the night before the fish washed ashore.
“All kinds of people were woken out of a sound sleep by a stench and it was like a septic tank was backing up,” The Windsor Star quoted Colby as saying.
But Jordan said tests of lake water taken Saturday showed no signs of what might have killed the fish. The water was tested for oxygen, PH levels, conductivity and temperature, she said.
"The ministry did not observe any evidence of a spill or pollution and water quality measurements done did not show anything unusual," Jordan told CNN.
The investigation was continuing, she said.
The dead fish included carp, sheepshead, perch, catfish and suckers, the Daily News reported, and Colby said most were of good size.
"I haven't seen anything like this in quite some time," the Daily News quoted him as saying. "The interesting thing is that most of the fish are sizable. There are very few little ones."
Jordan told the Toronto Star the cleanup of the fish has yet to begin.
“We are having discussions with Environment Canada, the health unit and natural resources about that now,” the Toronto Star quoted her as saying.
Meanwhile, residents said the smell of rotting fish is overpowering.
"I had family here (on Monday) and I didn't allow them to take the dog or the children down to the beach," Chatham-Kent resident Patricia Pook told CNN affiliate CBC News. "I knew it was bad, but the smell is just overwhelming. It would make you sick to your stomach."
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Confidential to raven:
Did you sweep one of these under your rug?
i always thought cold water contained more oxygen? hot water boils and oxygen leaves the water, there has to be another reason
Cold water does contain more oxygen. I can't explain why inversion kills fish, but lack of oxygen isn't it. Perhaps the opposite...too much oxygen.
There's a mistake in the lead. Cold water holds more oxygen than warm water, the opposite of what is stated. Also, in low-oxygen fish kills it's not uncommon to find more big fish, which require more oxygen.
Correctamundo. Think cold beer vs. hot beer, and why the North Sea (cold as all get out) is such a rich fishery.
This is not always true.
Hypoxia (low oxygen) in the bottom waters of the lake is common.
Many eutrophic waters (areas with high primary production) like the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie have hypoxic bottom waters.
If they are brought to the surface before they have had time to oxygenate this can happen.
Cold water can still become anoxic. Look at the Baltic Sea, very cold with deep water that is stagnant and without oxygen, Erie has it's own dead zone caused by too much Nitrogen & phosphorus. Fish kills are normal in the summer months,
interesting that they were all bottom dwelling fish.
10,000 dead fish are on the beach in the morning and during the night a strong smell. Can a rocket scientist go up there and explain this to some of the residents
?
Obama's fault
Or the liberal media!
Nope. Bushes fault
I thought Lake Erie was declared dead decades ago. Where did all these fish come from?
it cam back to life when the union based manufacturing sector dried up
Unexplained and reaching for theories as science does, although don't discount the end times is upon us. This is not the only event hurting the Nation and others as well. Stand back and look at all the events, plagues, disease, earth quakes, wars, children against parents, all prophesied. The rise of a religion which will behead non believers. No matter what we do, you cannot stop time or the events.
OK Loughner, medication time
Name a period in human history that didn't have plagues, disease, earth quakes, wars, and children against parents. Go ahead, I dare you. A prophecy about such things is about as useful as a prophecy that claims that the sky will be blue in the end times.
I just figured out where the maple syrup was dumped!
Sweet!
There is something fishy going on here and I think we can all agree on that.
The fact that suckers were among the dead is not too disturbing, after all, facts show that one of these is born every minute.
The interesting thing is – according to the article – "All kinds of people were woken out of a sound sleep by a stench and it was like a septic tank was backing up,” This means that whether you are short or tall, heavy or thin, and regardless of ethnicity or political affiliation you were still likely to be awakened by the stench....I find that to be flabbergasting – to say the least
Take all those fish and main fish fertilizer out of it...Do the same thing with the Asian Carp...Catch em with nets and make fish fertilizer...
Polluted fish fertilizer. Perfect.
Take all those fish and make fish fertilizer out of it...Do the same thing with the Asian Carp...Catch em with nets and make fish fertilizer...
alot of garbage fish any how who cares?
Lake Erie has a huge Dead Zone of anoxic water, not unlike the one found in the Gulf of Mexico. This is due to excess amounts of nitrogen and Phosphorus from Agriculture and industries.
Is it possible that this water was to blame?