State officials continue to monitor the situation at Lake Norman, where a large fish kill consisting of mainly striped bass has been occurring in the hot summer weather.
According to wbtv.com over 1,600 striped bass have been killed in the last two weeks. Brian McRae, a fisheries biologist with the NC Natural Resources Commission, told the news station that it was only stripers that have been effected so far.
“This is really just an event that is specific to striped bass,” McRae said.
Although biologist cannot confirm exactly why the fish have been killed, speculation centers around the hot weather and the operation of Duke Energy’s McGuire Nuclear power plant.
The water from the lake is used to cool the nuclear power plant, and with the consistent heat the plant has been forced to draw deeper water. State biologists say this means less oxygen for the striped bass, which are in deeper water now looking for food in the heat.
"That bubble of oxygen goes away. They're trapped and have nowhere to go and end up dying," McRae told wsoctv.com.
McRae said that the drinking water from Lake Norman is still safe, and that he's not concerned about the fish population overall because every year the lake is re-stocked with more than 162,500 striped bass.
Striped bass, a particularly popular sport and food fish, are not native to the lake but are stocked there by the state. Striped bass are a hearty gamefish that can live in both fresh and saltwater.
Striped bass kills in the summer have happened in the last few years at Lake Norman, although this one is the worst. McRae said that while it’s possible the state might re-consider stocking the lake with striped bass at some time that was not currently an option.
“I don’t think we’re there yet,” said McRae.
Duke Energy has also said it is looking into the problem by working closely with biologists and using underwater cameras to monitor fish activity.
For more fisheries information and articles see my blog A Dash of Salty
Comments