There is no evidence that the present minor fish kill of carp, catfish, and redhorse suckers is associated with any type of pollution event. Based upon my years of professional experience in dealing with many types of fish kills, the evidence at the present time would suggest a natural kill associated with spawning stress or the recent rapid rise in the river's temperature, which may have aided in the growth of disease organisms. Noteworthy is that some of the river's most sensitive species (to pollution) have not been unaffected so far according to PFBC staff on the water, such as shiners, darters and walleye. Observant anglers have noted over the years that post-spawning fish are often pretty "beat up." The open sores and wounds, and well as the patchy loss of slime, the fish's first defense against disease organisms and parasites, provide perfect routes for viral and bacterial infections, which may or may not be fatal. Could the present minor kill develop into a major one? Yes. Will it? Possibly, but we'll have to wait and see. Just two weeks ago a similar kill of alewife began to develop at Blue Marsh Rs. Nearly all anglers were noticing, indicating that there were enough dead fish around to catch peoples' attention. But in the grand scheme of things it was a minor kill and never expanded. It was nature's way of "thinning the herd."
