Lake Erie Fish Kill Sept 2

[OldTimer]

In my look about today I read an American website’s discussion on the fish kills on Lake Erie…. and finally saw what I feel is a fairly good explanation of what happened.

I wasn’t buying the “simple” low oxygen deeper water turnover story thing, being circulated in our Canadian press, as it was (cuz in summer usually the deeper colder water has higher oxygen- that’s why some fish (lake trout, whitefish, herring, smelt, etc) go there).

But I do believe this as it was described………… – 2011 was THE record year for Algae growth on Lake Erie……….it died and sank to the bottom this winter……..then the algae began to decompose – which takes oxygen, and depleted the dissolved oxygen at that level…… then recent local high winds combined with the natural lake turnover process brought the cooler, deeper , oxygen depleted, rank smelling partially decomposed algae laden waters to the surface.

This would be the cause of horrible smell residents complained of several days before the fish washed up on shore.

Would be like swimming in sewage sludge for the fish………………. Gonzo………….

What might be a bit concerning is that this year (2012) we are on our way to even higher algae blooms in Erie and other lakes.

However the "Final" lab results are not back yet……………?????????????