Cold snap kills several hundred fish in Unity's Saint Vincent Lake, state says - TribLIVE

kuaciasing.blogspot.com

Several hundred gizzard shad fish were found dead in Saint Vincent Lake this week, officials with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission confirmed.

An officer from the Southwest Regional Law Enforcement office was notified Monday of the fish kill, according to Mike Parker, spokesman for the commission. Parker said the officer investigated the incident the same day and observed the dead fish in the Unity lake.

“The cause of the kill is considered natural via cold stress,” Parker said. “This is typical this time of year for the species, which is susceptible to cold temperatures.”

Parker noted the fluctuation of temperatures from warm days to temperatures dropping into the teens overnight “is enough to cause some of these fish to die, as they do not handle the cold water very well.”

The Fish and Boat Commission is regularly called to the lake when similar incidents occur, according to Kimberley Metzgar, spokeswoman for Saint Vincent College, who cited Father Earl Henry, prior at Saint Vincent Archabbey. The college “generally lets nature take its course,” Metzgar said, noting that birds are already taking care of the dead fish.

Gizzard shad are native to the Ohio River basin, and Pennsylvania is considered the northern part of their natural range, Parker said. He noted the fish do not typically occur naturally in Pennsylvania lakes. They could gain access through a connecting stream or be moved by anglers, he said.

The commission does not stock gizzard shad in Pennsylvania waters.

Over the years, several fish kills have been investigated by the state. In 2012, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Fish and Boat Commission investigated the death of about 200 fish that died in Youghiogheny River Lake, which stretches 16 miles from Confluence into Maryland.

A similar investigation took place in 2019 at Cranberry Glade Lake in Somerset, when a natural occurrence caused several bluegill and common carp to die.

Megan Tomasic is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Megan at 724-850-1203, mtomasic@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Local | Outdoors | Westmoreland