SASKATOON — The Ministry of Environment has assured the public that fish kills are natural during the summer season and are not a cause for concern.
Summer kills, although unsightly, usually only impact a small portion of the overall fish population in the lake and rarely result in significant impacts on the fishery overall,” said the Ministry in a statement sent to SASKTODAY.ca.
The Ministry released the statement after SASKTODAY.ca received a report of a huge fish die-off incident in Meeting Lake near the Rabbit Lake area.
The Ministry said that they have heard of the report of the dead fish in Meeting Lake, which is about 160 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.
“Summer fish kills occur occasionally, particularly in shallower lakes, resulting from natural processes and are not generally a cause for concern,” said the Ministry in the statement.
“Summer fish kills are often caused by a lack of dissolved oxygen in the water. As water temperatures rise, oxygen levels are depleted, especially in shallow areas of a lake.”
They added that this usually happens during the summer season when temperatures reach extreme heat conditions.
“Recent very hot weather has almost certainly been a factor in the fish kills observed at Rabbit and Meeting Lakes,” the Ministry’s statement said.
Wind and precipitation also contribute to the death of fish as the water in the lakes lack the ability to be re-oxygenated.
Another cause of the drop in oxygen levels in lakes is summer algal blooms as plants in the water also need oxygen.
“At night, plants also consume oxygen in the water and can contribute to summer kill events, particularly in shallow areas of the lake and backwater bays,” said the statement.
