Fish die off

[chinook35]

Oneida lake is connected to LO through the Oneida and Oswego river system. Hope this is a local die off and not some new environmental problem 

 

https://www.newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/2023/06/what-killed-thousands-of-this-oneida-lake-fish-last-week.html?outputType=amp

Edited June 7, 2023 by chinook35

[Todd in NY]

Looking forward to the results of their lab tests.

[GAMBLER]

From the pics I saw, it looked like big gizzard shad.  

[chinook35]

2 hours ago, GAMBLER said:

From the pics I saw, it looked like big gizzard shad.  

That's exactly what they are   LO has a huge population of Gizzard Shad   The DEC needs to find out what caused this die off  

[GAMBLER]

18 minutes ago, chinook35 said:

That's exactly what they are   LO has a huge population of Gizzard Shad   The DEC needs to find out what caused this die off  

Don't know but usually there is winter kill with shad.  No winter kill and stress from spawning?  Who knows.  I wouldn't be too worried about a shad die off.  If it was a lot of different species, I would worry.  

[Sk8man]

Brian makes a good point about it only being the Gizzard Shad (at least reported right now). if it was low O2 or contamination, or disease you would thing it would be multiple species affected.

[Frogger]

Read an article from a Virginia lake where shad die offs are common. 
 

https://www.fauquier.com/news/nothing-s-fishy-gizzard-shad-die-off-at-lake-brittle-is-a-common-natural-occurrence/article_b92b5766-8e5e-11ec-90bc-4b677812e442.html#:~:text=While unsightly%2C dead gizzard shad,Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.

[GAMBLER]

16 minutes ago, Sk8man said:

Brian makes a good point about it only being the Gizzard Shad (at least reported right now). if it was low O2 or contamination, or disease you would thing it would be multiple species affected.

I am sitting at work next to a guy that owns a cottage on in island in the West end of Onieda and he said it was all shad and Carp but the carp had arrow holes in them.  The big thing about shad is, they are at the Northern end of their range.  

[Sk8man]

I think the article Frogger posted nailed it

[ifishy]

Gambler is right we are at the north end of the range for shad. There is always someone winter kill it actual an important feeding time for catfish. That said a mild winter can cause a population boom which leads to a larger kill I'm later years if it all or mostly shad it's a good thing its normal cycle and means the lake could produce that much life in the fist place

[fisherman21]

Shad die offs isn’t unusual at all. It happens in the ponds in Greece in the spring from time to time. I wouldn’t worry about it 

[chinook35]

That’s probably why the experts are looking into it  😝 

[salmoseine]

Update... Experts uncertain what killed thousands of Oneida Lake fish in May:  https://www.syracuse.com/outdoors/2023/07/experts-uncertain-what-killed-thousands-of-oneida-lake-fish-in-may.html

[McWally]

Maybe gizzards are like lemmings and they’ll all just go over the cliff out of nowhere.