Just on News? Dead Carp at Port Perry

[mikeymikey]

Hi...

 

As I was just coming home from work

I heard on 680News.

 

Dead carps washing up on shores at Port Perry and unknown what the cause is.

 

 

Anyone know anything?

[ccmtcanada]

Honest...I was nowhere NEAR there today...

 

I swear...all my carp swim away!!!!

 

This is very curious...they are supposed to be pretty hardy...hope it's nothing serious that can spread to the walleye, muskie and other species in that lake! I'll be watchin this thread.

[ccmtcanada]

Not for Scugog...but another huge carp die off in New York a few years ago...

 

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...80349/-1/NEWS06

 

They noted dead muskie as well....they noted Koi virus...

[MJL]

It seems like a cyclical thing around southern Ontario. 6-7 years ago, there was a massive carp kill that took fish along the shores of Lake Erie through to Lake Ontario. I remember the Rouge was particularly bad...You could literally smell the dead carp even before you hit the beach at Port Union and Lawrence. I'm not entirely certain but I remember reading at the time something about a herpes virus that only affects carp.

 

Also spoke with one of the old regulars who fished Frenchman's bay for the last 20 years and he recalls a big fish kill there 14-15 years ago.

 

Hopefully it doesn't spread or mutate to other species of fish.

[urbanangler1990]

well they do eat really unhealthy, this could be a reason

[wolfville]

Hopefully it doesn't spread or mutate to other species of fish.

 

What? you mean there are other species? Just kidding.

 

Yeah, hope it's not too serious.

[verno]

Uh oh. I was up at scugog island yesterday and my pup got sprayed really good by a skunk, so I sent him in for a swim right away. That smell is enough to kill anything.

[Terry]

oh yeah

I reported it on another thread

I was there Sunday and there were dead carp everywhere on the west side of the lake

 

hundreds and hundreds of them..real nasty

[Zamboni]

Week ago Saturday we saw a dead carp carcass up on the beach of Goerski's trailer park, 2 others washed up in the next 2 hours. We were visiting friends, he said there was another or same fish laying on beach 2 days earlier....sounds like a real problem.

[Guest mistyriver1]

I was on the east side of the lake yesterday and saw at least 10-15 of them floating.

[ccmtcanada]

Here's an article found online....

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/scugog/article/80925

=====================================================================

 

'They're not spawning, they're dying'

 

Something's 'different' in Lake Scugog this spring as dozens of carp die off

Thu Jun 07, 2007

 

By Chris Hall

 

SCUGOG -- The sight of fish darting around the shoreline near the edge of her Coulcliff Boulevard property is nothing new to Elizabeth Amey.

In the decade or so that her family has lived along the small waterfront roadway she's taken to watching, each spring around this time, nature take its course as Lake Scugog's resident fish began their annual spawning ritual.

 

This year, however, things have been a little different.

 

"Usually at this time they come to shore to spawn and they make such a racket splashing around," says Ms. Amey, who routinely watches the action from her dock. "This year they're not spawning, they're dying."

 

It is almost exclusively carp that Ms. Amey has observed floating to the top of the lake in large numbers. She estimates that along her property alone, her family has located anywhere between a dozen and 16 dead carp recently.

 

Just Monday night, she says, her family saw a lone carp swimming slowly on its side, "and then it died." Elsewhere, dead carp litter the surface of the lake, resting on the ever-present weeds.

 

"This is most surprising to me," says Ms. Amey. "They're just dying."

 

It's also a situation that has provincial officials a bit puzzled as well.

 

While it is not uncommon for fish in Lake Scugog to die off in the early summer due to sudden and intense heat, such as last week's weather conditions, this particular case is seemingly targeting just Lake Scugog's carp community.

 

In what is described as 'fish-kills', a number of natural causes can lead to reduced oxygen levels in the water which ultimately can prove to be fatal to sudden and large numbers of fish at one time. In cases like this, the dead fish show no signs of illness.

 

However, according to Dan Taillon, a biologist with the Peterborough district's Ministry of Natural Resources office, the thinning of Lake Scugog's carp population hasn't yet been pinpointed.

 

"The carp look different... some show signs of hemorrhaging and are consistent with something other than (lack of) oxygen," he explained. "They don't (show) the normal signs that they died (of oxygen deprivation), there's something else going on. The (carp) species is not as sensitive to changes in oxygen."

 

In an effort to determine what is happening in the carp community, MNR officials have collected samples and sent them off to a lab in the Guelph area for analysis. A report is not expected back until about a month's time at the earliest, says Mr. Taillon.

 

He acknowledges that fish dying off at this time of year is normal because of the spawning season. Species such as sunfish and bass usually carry out their reproductive business in shallow water where they are susceptible to thermal stress as well as a lack of oxygen if the circumstances are right, and are usually unwilling to move away from their nests even if it means death.

 

"They're very protective parents," says Mr. Taillon.

 

But this mystery ailment which has claimed what "sounds like a significant, a large number" of Lake Scugog's carp, he continues, is different.

 

"Some fish-kills are really normal, you get them every year (across) a fairly wide area (which) suggests there's not contamination in one area," says Mr. Taillon. "With the carp, we've noticed it on (Lake) Scugog and only (Lake) Scugog."

 

The carp, he explains, show signs of hemorrhaging, a decaying of tissues, the eyes look like they're bugging out and they show typical signs of stress.

 

"They look bad," says Mr. Taillon.

 

In fish that have died through fish-kills, "other than they're dead, they look normal," he adds.

 

And before panic sets in amongst those who live around and fish out of Lake Scugog, Mr. Taillon offers some comfort by explaining the carp are "probably safe to handle" and adds that making a meal out of them isn't much of a concern because "they're not a desired species to eat."

 

As for your ordinary, everyday fish-kills, Heather Surette of the Kawartha Conservation Authority sums it up as simply nature at work.

 

Essentially, she explains, it's a combination of the sun, weather and vegetation, combined with the shallow waters of Lake Scugog and the reproductive habits of fish.

 

Take a hot, warm, dry spell which doesn't allow the lake to hold as much dissolved oxygen and combine that with calm conditions -- which do not permit the lake to recharge its oxygen levels through waves -- and shallow, sheltered bays with heavy vegetation and limited water circulation and you have perfect conditions for low oxygen levels and fish-kills.

 

"If you have a day that's cloudy, there's no wind and it's hot and there's not a lot of mixing and adding of oxygen (through wave action) then the daily production (of oxygen) is less than the nightly consumption," explains Ms. Surette, an aquatic biologist with the conservation authority.

 

She adds that typically low oxygen levels affect larger fish first because of their increased need for oxygen. Carp top the list of those hit by fish-kills, but pan fish and large-mouth bass have also been spotted belly-up on the lake.

 

But, no matter how natural the phenomenon is, Ms. Surette adds that this year's casualties easily outnumber any that she's seen in the past.

 

"I've seen fish-kills in the past, but this year seems (worse), greater than in the past," she says, adding that "climate is a huge factor" in the process.

 

"The weather is not as amenable to their needs as in the past."

[tonyb]

Hmm if it was low Oxygen levels, Carp would be one of the last fish to be affected, something is fishy...

 

Tony

[ccmtcanada]

Hmm if it was low Oxygen levels, Carp would be one of the last fish to be affected, something is fishy...

 

Tony

 

Yes....anything that I've read on them and their habitat is that they like stagnant waters, can tolerate low oxygen and prefer higher water temp environments.....strange indeed.

[lazybum]

"The carp look different... some show signs of hemorrhaging and are consistent with something other than (lack of) oxygen," he explained. "They don't (show) the normal signs that they died (of oxygen deprivation), there's something else going on. The (carp) species is not as sensitive to changes in oxygen."

 

These appear to signs of bacterial or viral infection. Hmmm, another theory - who's feeding them wheat gluten from China in their ground bait?

[Lostchild]

As long as it only effects the carp who really cares!

[xrap]

Maybe thier turning into salmon!!

[keram]

Hmmm, another theory - who's feeding them wheat gluten from China in their ground bait?

Call the MNR, tell them that you've solved this mistery, thay do not need to waste money on lab tests.

I did not noticed that it is only theory and at this stage is worth nothing (like your post ).

[fishindevil]

Well i hope they get the probloem under control....and get to the bottom of it....thanks for the info and making us aware....cheers

[Terry]

a guy just told me it was the MNR trying out a new carphicide that only kills carp

and will rid Ontario of all carp within 7 years.....I find it hard to believe

[Kirk]

Hope your right Terry.

 

Another technique to erradicate Carp would be for the Federal Government to ban carp fishing

(punch line is in there)

[ccmtcanada]

a guy just told me it was the MNR trying out a new carphicide that only kills carp

and will rid Ontario of all carp within 7 years.....I find it hard to believe

 

Oh great...just when I find a BIG fish I can target from shore in the summer months close by my house, this carpicide is being developed!!!

 

I find it hard to believe too....seems a bit extreme....the MNR has no money anways to fund something like this. That being said, this is a government agency we are talking about here...they never cease to amaze and confuse me!!!!

[Photoz]

Don't worry CCMT, there are a few people who mostly lurk on this board who occasionally feel they're not gettin' enough attention (they should try actually contributing something useful ) and they come up with a pile of horsefeathers like this. One of 'em just lurks and tries to stir it up, first thing he's posted in months . . . . but . . . . since he has no life, and his buds are pretty boring over where he usually hangs out, and ambulance chasing ain't w'at she used to be, I think he's trying to make a stab at some humour! I'm gettin' bored with carp anyway, gonna try muskies . . . . since they also serve no useful purpose, I suppose we should toss 'em in the bushes, like carp, eh?

[wolfville]

Don't hate something you don't understand. What you don't care might be very cared by others. Just a friendly suggestion.

 

Some people don't like carp because they think it's ugly and not good eating. I'd again suggest to go to a supermarket if you want to eat fish, and go to a aquarium if you want to see pretty fish. If they have bad effects on other fish, explain to me why you can still catch muskies, walleye, bass, and whole bunch of other things after carp has been in Scugog for so many many years.

 

Carp population costs virtually nothing for MNR or the government to maintain but it provides a lot of fun for people targeting them (tell me when was the last time you catch a 20lb fish from shore), it even attracts a lot of people from foreign countries to spend money to get here to fish for them. What is so bad about it?

 

Oh well, hope I don't get this thread axed.

[Terry]

tell me you don't mean me

 

 

 

 

 

I was told by a guy that he heard it

Edited June 12, 2007 by Terry

[ccmtcanada]

I hope you are not talking about me

 

I was told by a guy that he heard it

 

and I hope your comments are not directed at me.........

 

I'm not questioning what you said...Photoz said something about lurkers...you my friend are FAR from being a lurker....LOL.