This past week, there were multiple reports of an unexpectedly high number of dead fish washing ashore on both South and North Center Lakes. After reaching out to Leslie George our Area Fisheries Supervisor, what has been reported sounds normal for this time of year.
From Leslie:
Not an uncommon report over the last week or so on various lakes, with more to come given the next week’s weather forecast (HOT!) if I had to guess. These minor spring fish kills are usually due to Columnaris outbreaks – attached is a little more info on these occurrences. Fairly common this time of year when warming water temps (or other environmental stressor) adds stress to fish already stressed from spawning-related activities. We like to keep note of where this is occurring, so we appreciate the email. Please let me know if you observe significantly more dead fish in the coming weeks, or happen to see anything that might suggest something other than a seasonal fish kill (ex. a new point source of pollution coming into the lakes, etc.).
columnaris-disease
.pdf
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As noted, please reach out to Leslie George to report a significant increase of dead of fish over the coming weeks. You can reach Leslie via email at leslie.george@state.mn.us
