Saint-hyacinthe – Wildlife officials in Quebec don’t have a good answer for why tens of thousands of fish in the Yamaska River, near Saint-Hyacinthe, are dead. The fish kill was first noticed on Thursday, but many of the fish had been dead for several days.
The fish kill has not been selective, as wildlife officials say the dead fish include minnows to large fish, up to 15 to 20 centimeters (6 to 8 inches) in length.
Christian Blanchette, the regional coordinator for Urgence Environment told CTV News that biologists and scientists came to the river on Thursday and Friday, trying to discover the cause of the fish kill. He said they were looking into several possible causes, including spills, sewage and construction waste.
#Poissons morts dans la #rivière #Yamaska: le flou persiste 🐟 #Québec https://t.co/e3w6boMuBr via @lp_lapresse pic.twitter.com/EtpFlrjr6e
— Jean Lemieux (@jlemphoto) July 3, 2016
According to Blanchette, some fish were found at the bottom of the river in an advanced state of decay, indicating the die-off had been going on for a number of days. Two wildlife officials collected a number of the fish on Friday morning for further study.
Residents in the area were alerted to the fish deaths Thursday evening and at first, everyone mistakenly believed the deaths were caused by companies in Saint-Hyacinthe’s industrial park, which emptied their tailings ponds on Thursday. But the fish deaths obviously preceded the dumping of the tailings by several days, so this was ruled out, according to CBC Canada.
Particularly alarming is the low water levels in the river. Blanchette said he could cross the river on foot without getting wet. He suggests that high temperatures, low water levels, and the use of the river as a source of drinking water may all contribute to the fish kill.