Tens of thousands of dead fish stink up Lake Erie shore Barbara the Jew: Tens of thousands of dead fish have washed up on a 25-mile stretch of Lake Erie's northern shore, and Ontario environmental officials say they could be victims of a natural phenomenon called a lake inversion. The inversion brings cold water, which has lower oxygen levels, to the lake's surface and fish suffocate. "Essentially it's a rolling over of the lake," Ontario Ministry of the Environment spokeswoman Kate Jordan told The Chatham Daily News. "Something – whether it be a storm, or cooler temperatures at night, or strong winds – triggers a temperature change in the lake." Jordan said it was windy and choppy on the lake Friday night, according to a report in The Windsor Star. The fish kill was reported Saturday. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the central basin of Lake Erie, between Cleveland on the south and Chatham, Ontario, on the north is particularly susceptible to oxygen deprivation, with the danger peaking in late August and mid-September. Others suspect a sewage spill may have something to do with the fish kill. David Colby, chief medical officer of the Chatham-Kent district where dead fish litter the beaches, told The Windsor Star that residents reported a strong sewage smell the night before the fish washed ashore. “All kinds of people were woken out of a sound sleep by a stench and it was like a septic tank was backing up,” The Windsor Star quoted Colby as saying. But Jordan said tests of lake water taken Saturday showed no signs of what might have killed the fish. The water was tested for oxygen, PH levels, conductivity and temperature, she said. "The ministry did not observe any evidence of a spill or pollution and water quality measurements done did not show anything unusual," Jordan told CNN. The investigation was continuing, she said. The dead fish included carp, sheepshead, perch, catfish and suckers, the Daily News reported, and Colby said most were of good s Barbara the Jew: The dead fish included carp, sheepshead, perch, catfish and suckers, the Daily News reported, and Colby said most were of good size. "I haven't seen anything like this in quite some time," the Daily News quoted him as saying. "The interesting thing is that most of the fish are sizable. There are very few little ones." Jordan told the Toronto Star the cleanup of the fish has yet to begin. “We are having discussions with Environment Canada, the health unit and natural resources about that now,” the Toronto Star quoted her as saying. Meanwhile, residents said the smell of rotting fish is overpowering. "I had family here (on Monday) and I didn't allow them to take the dog or the children down to the beach," Chatham-Kent resident Patricia Pook told CNN affiliate CBC News. "I knew it was bad, but the smell is just overwhelming. It would make you sick to your stomach." Post by: CNN's Brad Lendon  Corwin: I live not too far from the North shore of Lake Erie, and have most of my life, and my folks live right on the shore. Lake Erie is a stinky lake... this is nothing new. It's a shallow lake, and has always had measurable levels of hydrogen sulfide dissolved in it. It's shallowness makes it particularly vulnerable to temperature variations. We are at the tail-end of the worst heat-wave in several decades... the larger than normal fish kill-off from a particularly nasty lake-inversion was completely expected, and quite normal under the circumstances. I suppose that it's not surprising that the CNN would try to make a big deal about it, and get the conspiracy folks all hot-and-bothered about it. Notice how the CNN quotes how residents comment about the bad smell... but they leave out the fact that residents are accustomed to this sort of thing. It's just worse than usual this year because of the heat-wave. Even on a good day, I prefer not to visit my folks if there is an on-shore breeze. Even without a fish kill-off, the shallow lake produces a large amount of algae in the summer, and it washes up onshore and rots there. Lake Erie always smells like a sewer. This isn't news..... this is Lake Erie.  (Edited by Corwin) Barbara the Jew: well The farthest North I have ever been is Virginia! So this is news to me. At least you dont have gators that will come and eat you,if you go for a swim Corwin: LOL. Yeah, we do have that going for us. Not too many things that eat you around here... even the zombies are scarce.  But the lower Great Lakes are not the best recreational lakes to be sure. Lake Ontario isn't stinky like Erie, but it's the most polluted... it looks and smells clean enough, but if you swim in there you want to be sure not to swallow ONE BIT of it... or you'll likely glow in the dark afterwards. lol Lake Huron is better... there are some really lovely beaches on the Eastern shore. And Lake Superior, the upper-most, the largest and deepest, is almost pristine... cold and clear... you could drink out of that lake. Barbara the Jew: which of this lakes belong to Canada and which belong to the ? I am to lazy to look at up!!!!!!!!!! Corwin: Only Lake Michigan is entirely on the US side. Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior all share a border between US and Canada that runs down the middle of them. Corwin: Well... the US is responsible for the larger part of the pollution, but that's because the US is more populated. Canada does it's share too. And because the lakes all run downhill to empty into the St. Lawrence river, Lake Ontario is the last pit-stop that gets the accumulated pollution from all the Great Lakes combined. Barbara the Jew: That Sucks I read that a lot of the fish in the Comes from the great lake, to think we are eating all this garbage makes me sick  Corwin: I won't eat ANY fish that comes out of the Great Lakes... except Georgian Bay which is the Northern-most area of Lake Huron, and Lake Superior. I used to eat fish I caught from Erie... the Ministry of Environment hands out "consumption guide" booklets that tell you how much of any given species is safe to eat. But NO amount is safe for pregnant women or nursing mothers. I thought about that at one point, and thought... "If you can only eat a certain amount to be safe, then it's ALL poisonous to some degree." Now I only eat ocean fish from the grocery store. Cod, Halibut, Haddock, Ocean Perch...... all salt-water fish... and tastier anyway. (Edited by Corwin) Corwin: Actually, Salmon is an ocean-fish... but they swim upstream to spawn and lay eggs. So the only time they spend in fresh water is when they are born, and just before they die. So Salmon is safe to eat. (which is good... I love Salmon) The only sad thing is that the Salmon stocks are beginning to thin-out from overfishing. And it's not the US or Canada doing it. Foreign fishing boats from countries like Portugal and Japan invade our waters and fish illegally. Our Coast Guard and Navy patrol the waters to try to prevent it, but that's a lot of ocean to patrol.... and the Grand Banks off of Newfoundland is kind of a disputed region to begin with. Canada is getting quite militant about the matter. We bought a handful of destroyer submarines from Britain a few years back. Since then, some of these illegal fishing vessels have been mysteriously disappearing. So as a general rule, whenever I buy Salmon I always be sure that it says Product of Canada, or Product of USA.... if it's foreign Salmon, then it's likely OUR Salmon, caught illegally and being sold back to us. (Edited by Corwin) Barbara the Jew: I always get american or Canadian salmon anyway. Thanks for the information I cant belive people still our fish!  jink88: When I was a kid we lived close to Lake Ontario and I remember we could never swim in it. It stunk too all this garbage floating around shore. jink88: Everyone just threw it in the lake. Old bicycles, tires, cars you name it all was there. This was in the 60's then they finally woke up and realized waterfront is so valuable. jink88: Now I live northeast of Toronto with many lakes and believe it or not the cottagers sewage went right into the lake. This only stopped in the 80's!! Barbara the Jew: yes i know about that. and then we eat the fish that swim in our shit (Edited by Barbara the Jew) |