Here's why hundreds of dead fish are washing up at Echo Lake
Dead fish have been washing up on shore at Echo Lake, and other lakes in the Qu’Appelle Valley.
Residents told CTV News dead carp began to appear on the shore roughly two weeks ago, but has become a bigger problem in recent days.
“Depending on who you talk to almost everyone has pulled out at least a couple dozen from their property,” Steve Sunquist, B-Say-Tah cottage owner, said.
Sunquist said he has pulled carp, some as long as three feet, off his property.
Experts believe the significant number of fish washing up on local shores can be attributed to higher than normal temperatures.
“Water gets warmer and it holds less oxygen so there is less for the fish to breathe,” Peter Leavitt, Canada research chair at the University of Regina said. “As it gets warmer, fish respiration, how they process their energy also goes up. So not only do the fish have less oxygen, but they need more so that’s where they get into a pinch in the warm water.”
A provincial biologist said the sight of dead carp on shorelines is an annual occurrence, a shocking one – given carp can survive on little to no oxygen.
“The situation in the southern lakes is going to get worse,” Gord Sedgewick, fisheries biologist for the Ministry of Environment, said.
“We’re going to have more areas of warm water and less areas of deep cold water. I think we are going to see some adverse effects especially on the Qu’Appelle lakes in the future.”
Some say the smell is the worst part, with dead fish, algae and increased temperatures culminating in an unpleasant odor. Despite this, Sedgewick said he does not see any concern with eating fresh fish from the lakes.
“Make sure your septic tanks don’t leak into the water,” he said. “Anything we can do to reduce the nutrient load in these systems is a good thing. If we have more heat, we won’t be able to do much about it.”
The province said it will not handle cleanup of the fish around the Qu’Appelle Valley. Cottage owners, and in some areas park staff, will be in charge of cleaning up the fish.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.