splashhopper Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 CHATHAM -- The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is investigating a huge die-off of rainbow smelt along much of the Lake Erie shoreline. Andy Cook, a ministry biologist in Wheatley, said samples have been sent to an unspecified university for testing. Cook said dead smelt also have washed up on the lake shoreline in both New York and Ohio. He said storms and strong winds during the weekend of May 8 may have contributed to the die-off. "We've seen it before in the 1960s and 1990s,'' he said. Cook said another possibility is stress associated with the spring spawning process. Smelt are an abundant species in Lake Erie. Last year, Ontario commercial fishers harvested more than eight million pounds. "They are an important forage fish for top predators such as walleye,'' Cook said. He recommends people wear gloves when disposing of the fish along the beach and taking the dead fish to a secure landfill site. "It's a lot of work, but it needs to be done." Cook said large numbers of dead smelt were first reported May 13 east of Port Burwell. The following day there were similar reports from Point Pelee eastward along the lakeshore. "It appears to have been a lake-wide die-off,'' he said. Cook said there was a huge hatch of smelt in 2008 and many of the dead smelt appear to be in the two-year-old range. Chatham Daily News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twocoda Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 (edited) i read alot more into this story then just a die off ...especially when they are concerned to the public health about wearing protection and removing them to a secured landfill.... Question???? are we or the yanks drillling for oil on the lake???? possibly a tanker off loading accident??? Edited June 3, 2010 by Twocoda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbouck Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 i read alot more into this story then just a die off ...especially when they are concerned to the public health about wearing protection and removing them to a secured landfill.... Question???? are we or the yanks drillling for oil on the lake???? possibly a tanker off loading accident??? The most obvious reason for protection when handling dead fish.... SALMONELLA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIFTER_016 Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 I don't know how big a deal it is. There used to be big die offs every spring after the spawn. I remember the beaches in and around Toronto, Mississauga and Oakville being covered with them in the good old days. There could be an issue but I wouldn't panic until the tests are in. Then by all means, panic away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironstone74 Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Correct me if I'm wrong but, isn't the correct term for juvenile Rainbows "smolt"? Smelt are a different species all together and are not Rainbows... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbouck Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Correct me if I'm wrong but, isn't the correct term for juvenile Rainbows "smolt"? Smelt are a different species all together and are not Rainbows... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_smelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Correct me if I'm wrong but, isn't the correct term for juvenile Rainbows "smolt"? Smelt are a different species all together and are not Rainbows... What???????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironstone74 Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 What???????? I sit corrected, I searched smelt and smolt not "rainbow smelt". I've never heard them referred to as rainbow smelt, only smelt... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikehunter Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Question???? are we or the yanks drillling for oil on the lake???? I know you were making a "humourous" comment, but the U.S does not have any drilling sites on L. Erie, but Canada does allow them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twocoda Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 I know you were making a "humourous" comment, but the U.S does not have any drilling sites on L. Erie, but Canada does allow them. we do have rigs on Erie but i always thought they were just for unloading tankers... in lieu of the shenanigans going on in the gulf of Mexico i was trying to make a feeble attempt at humour ( not very successfully i might add) What i should have said ...is BP working on Erie now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikehunter Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Twocoda, a link in regards to Erie. L. Erie Rigs another Yes these are not oil rigs, but where there's gas there's oil. At least so far we have been lucky and have had no incidents in regards, at least as we have been allowed to know. Can you imagine the blame Canada would be facing if something was to happen on Erie! Any fish die off is newsworthy, hopefully it was a natural occurrence with these smelt such as water temp change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Bob Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Back in the late or early 90's I was fishing the Southtown Walleye Tournament and went west out of Dunkirk......found a LOT of dead smelt on the surface over 90 FOW.....we trolled stick baits that went down only 10 - 15 feet behind the boat because we couldn't get them hooked up to the planer board mast because by the time we had 100 feet of line played out a walleye was already on....BEST walleye fishing I had ever experienced in shear numbers but no fish over 6 lbs. BTW fish die offs in Lake Erie is normal for VARIOUS reasons. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewelbee Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Ya, my dog was eating these little fellas before I noticed and I don't have to tell you guys what happened the next day...LOL!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crappieperchhunter Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Ya, my dog was eating these little fellas before I noticed and I don't have to tell you guys what happened the next day...LOL!!!! He had doggie breathe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewelbee Posted June 5, 2010 Report Share Posted June 5, 2010 He had doggie breathe LOL!...seriously tho, I was there again today and noticed lots fish washed up,Carp, Bass, Smelt,I think Gobies too.I couldn't believe the number of Turkey Vultures there for the free meal! Starting to concern me a bit. The water is warmer than usual for this time of year and the algae is very thick and smelly in places. I think this can't be a good thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Bob Posted June 5, 2010 Report Share Posted June 5, 2010 LOL!...seriously tho, I was there again today and noticed lots fish washed up,Carp, Bass, Smelt,I think Gobies too.I couldn't believe the number of Turkey Vultures there for the free meal! Starting to concern me a bit. The water is warmer than usual for this time of year and the algae is very thick and smelly in places. I think this can't be a good thing? http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/06/04/1071049/lake-erie-fish-deaths-called-natural.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfish1965 Posted June 6, 2010 Report Share Posted June 6, 2010 Not unusual and i would suspect we will see another die off soon. With the lakes increasing in temp so fast, thermal shock will take many of them if we get a storm strong enough to roll up the colder waters. Alewife fall victim to this almost every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afraz Posted June 6, 2010 Report Share Posted June 6, 2010 Ya, my dog was eating these little fellas before I noticed and I don't have to tell you guys what happened the next day...LOL!!!! Wow that beach looks gorgeous, where is that on erie ? is it around maitland ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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