Fish kills for 4 years running 'very discouraging'

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CBC News Posted: Aug 11, 2014


Fish kills for 4 years running 'very discouraging'
1,000 dead fish collected from river


Volunteers are continuing to work along a three and half kilometre
section of P.E.I.'s North River near Springvale, cleaning up after
2014's first fish kill.

Over the weekend about 1,000 dead brook trout, rainbow trout, and
Atlantic salmon were pulled from the river. It's the fourth year in a
row an Island river has been hit with a fish kill.

"To see a large number of dead fish in a stream is very discouraging,"
said provincial wildlife biologist Rosie MacFarlane.

"I had hoped going into this year that we wouldn't see one, we'd have a
break from the last three years of fish kills."

Last year's fish kills were in July, in western P.E.I.

Jordan Condon, a volunteer with the West River Watershed Group, is
disappointed to see a fish kill in the Charlottetown area.

"It's not a sight you want to see," said Condon.

"It takes a while for them to bounce back, and I'm a fisherman too and I
do fish this river."

Environmental officials have collected water and fish samples to
determine what caused this fish kill. MacFarlane suspects heavy rain
earlier in the week played a role. It's too early to say for sure, but
she said runoff from agricultural land is usually found to be connected
to large fish kills.

It will likely take weeks to determine for certain who or what is to blame.