Dead Fish

[joco]

HI ALL


I am just finish working wit the quebec mnr..............i call them to say what i saw here....and they came right away........

so i caught 3 live one and 3 dead one..all size.........for there test field....and they will come back here tomorow(probably,they say.) for more...so i will have to get more for them.......they did not no there was some here in the capital right in ottawa,.those live ones dont come frome up the river the biologist told me..................... .


here some picture i took off the one i caught for them..........you will see some white spots on LIVE ones.....











the big one you see is still alive even wit all those white spots..... ..





this is realy bad..........



and it those not look its been hot weather thing...more somthing helse.....but i wont say more....... ,for now.



people.............if you do see some other species.........realy see them.not a story that sombody told to sombody helse kind off storys.real stuff.they would like to no.........if there realy other species...........sturegeons etc...or animal or ducks........call them right away.......quebec or ontario mnr....

joco

[matcole]

apparently the news said it was some sort of virus that attacks only the catfish

[Kpin]

That's what I heard also matcolecat but that doesn't exactly explain the other wildlife dying off. Either way, it's bad, bad bad.

[fishin loon]

I heard yesterday it was just as far as the bonnechere river but now. I really hope this is just a hot water thing but hears what I found today.
Preliminary test results have found a common bacterial disease in one of the hundreds of dead catfish found along the shores of the Ottawa River, although there's no indication yet that it's the cause of death.


CBC News
Columnaris, a bacteria that enters fish through gills or the mouth, was found during tests on one of the fish that washed up on the shoreline last week.

Ministry of Natural Resources official Doug Skeggs told CBC News the result is very preliminary but added that it gives investigators something to go on. Growth of the bacteria is increased in warmer water.

Earlier, officials with the Ministry of Natural Resources said a period of warm weather at the end of July and higher than normal concentrations of algae may have contributed to the deaths of the fish.

Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources said it's now investigating 60 kilometres of shoreline, more than double the area originally thought to be affected.

The area now extends from Chenaux Dam near Portage-du-Fort east to Constance Bay, about 15 kilometres west of Ottawa.

Don't eat fish or swim in river

Crews from Natural Resources headed back to the river on Wednesday to examine more dead catfish and collect live ones for testing.

Officials have repeated earlier warnings to residents of Renfrew County, asking them to avoid swimming in and drinking from the section of the river under investigation.

"There is nothing that we're aware of that is a concern for human health at this point," said Doug Skeggs, a spokesman with the Ministry of Natural Resources.

"Strictly as a precautionary measure, the Renfrew County health unit has advised people, while we don't know what has caused this, to not swim in the water."

Ministry officials have also warned people not to eat fish caught in the river.

Drinking water OK, city says

Meanwhile, Ottawa Public Health officials said samples taken within the city limits last week showed excellent water quality along the river. No city beaches have been closed.

A spokesperson said there is no threat to Ottawa's drinking water, which is treated after it is taken from the river.


Fishin loon

[sorry about that chief]

this is terrible news.. I'm affraid it's just a matter of time before the big predators like muskies start washing up on shore.. Lets all keep up the good work and for god sakes be careful when handleing these fish..

[Badger Shark]

I dont buy this hot water theory. I can clearly remember the water last year being alot warmer than it is this year, by several degrees. At one point last year the surface temp. in Constance Bay was 86.7f. Why no mass die off then? The entire summer was alot hotter last year than this one so far. But maybe it is the reason, nature plays by its own rules. I hope this is a natural thing and not something caused by man.

[Wallyboss]

There is definetly something wrong with the catfish at Victoria Island. Last night me and Pints fished for 2.5- 3 hours and we only caught 2 which is very strange for that spot. And the 2 that were caught I had to open my bail for for 2 min. and pull off lots of line then let the catfish take my bait. and finally reel in the slack and set the hook, they might not have been hungry but they sure had a lot of fight left in them, cause they fought like catfish that should've been about 5lbs bigger????

Hopefully we can get answers soon.

Proud CFAC member.

WB

[MuskieStalker1]

Ok this is the lates information i can find it looks like its a bacteria that is mainley affecting cats

water-borne bacteria may be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of fish in the Ottawa River.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says preliminary findings show the bacteria is the mystery cause of the fish deaths along a stretch of the river near Arnprior.

Columnaris appears in ecosystems containing warm water or stressed fish.

The ministry says the bacteria poses no risk to humans.

Hundreds of dead fish have been found along a 60 km stretch of the Ottawa River.

The Ministry of Environment says there is no indication of human contaminants in the water.

The City of Ottawa continues to insist the drinking water is safe and Ottawa public beaches are open.

ts .

[joco]

I am just back again working one more time whit the quebec mnr.......

I just caught 7 live cats,,whit white spots on them,,here in hull power, dam...........they told me live one are best to evaluate them........

its nice to be able to help them.......it more easy to catch them here in the curent wit the nets,,,then them puting a big net in the river etc.....


i will put more picture off todays cats i caught........not pretty..here some more picture off the one i caught today all alive.......





hey wallyboss..................I was more lucky fishing here whit my net then at victoria....... .but what i catch is not pretty site..

we have a lot off big one (dead) caught in the grille in front off the turbines........ .

but nothing helse then cats here.










joco

[JimmyBuffett]

Can someone explain to me how catfish which are found in some of nastiest poorly oxegenated water bodies cannot tolerate this contaminant, but all the other fish can
Cheers,

Rich

[Cancatchbass]

Richie:

Purely speculation, but I think it may be a question of overpopulation of this particular species.

I remember a die-off similar to this (hit crappie) in the U.S.

Same diagnosis- Columnaris- resulted in a drastic reduction in the crappie population, but didn't affect other species. The DNR concluded that crappie fishing in Minnesota (maybe it was Wisconsin???) would actually benefit from the natural culling of a large percentage of the (presumably) overpopulation.

Almost makes sense?

Tom

PS- maybe someone should forward this post to the proper authorities?

[Kpin]

Rich, you bring up a very good point. Those infections look nasty. Thanks to all keeping us up to date on this. This particular thread is way more accurate than the local newscasts.

[Relic]

CCB could be correct, there is an overpopulation of cats in this stretch of river which, does explain why it is "mostly" cats being found. They represent a HUGE part of the Biomass of the river, so common sense would say you will find more dead cats.

Cats however are not the only thing to be found. Neighbours of mine have also found a couple of pike, smallies, wallies and pan fish.

In speaking with the ministry they have not found 1 single floater above the Bonnechere river, this as of Tuesday. Know that leads me to believe that whatever it is that spured this is flowing out of the Bonne. The nutrient thing might make some sense, as the Bonne drains alot of farm land, and is a relatively small river by volume.

Here's hoping that this situation does not get any worse, and they we get the truth, and the whole truth from the authorities.

[Smitty]

This is right from the Ottawa Citizen earlier this week...6000 cubic metres - that is a lot of sh*t

Officials confirmed yesterday that they had been investigating the Renfrew sewage treatment plant as a possible source of the fish kill, although that hypothesis appears to have been proven false.

The plant lies on the Bonnechere River, a tributary of the Ottawa River, and contains a by-pass manhole that discharges sewage directly into the river when the main plant exceeds its hydraulic capacity.

On the night of Aug. 2, when a severe thunderstorm system ravaged eastern Ontario, the main plant was overwhelmed, causing about 6,000 cubic metres of untreated wastewater to be fed through the bypass and into the Bonnechere.

But Michel Asselin, director of Renfrew's Department of Development and Works, said staff tested the overflow water that same night, as they are required to do, and the contaminant levels were deemed too low to be of concern.

[yokes]

Hello all!

Just got in from fishing Braeside....

While finessing the boat into position, had a bass hit my jig and worm that was just dangling in the water, didn't stay on the line but had the rod bounce in the boat a bit.

A little later, two pickerel, both about 12", healthy, no marks.

And what's jigging pickerel in the Ottawa without catching cats! (which usually means it is time to go home)

Caught one around 1 lb., healthy(by looks), no marks, nice belly (been eating). Then caught another that was about 10 inches, healthy, no marks.

Back at the launch, talked to some people who were down looking for dead fish...and there appears to be may different takes on the cause of the die off.

While I didn't go looking at the launch today for any dead fish, by other people's account there where from 20 to 30 cats, and one pickerel.

I'm looking forward to the final word on this unfortunate event.

Later,

Yokes