Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is asking for help if you are on or around bodies of water this summer and see fish kills to give them a call. LDWF Inland Fisheries Technical Advisor Robby Maxwell.
“If you see dead fish in public waters please report them. Call your local district fisheries office and just report what you’re seeing, where you are and how many dead fish there are and we will respond to it in an appropriate manner.”
Maxwell says there could be multiple reasons for fish kills this summer.
“Some are conditions others can be spills of some type. IF they are spills we coordinate with DEQ or Ag and Forestry to determine the cause and follow up on it.”
Fish kills are typical this time of year. Causes have been from droughts to hurricanes, but mainly it’s due to temperature and low oxygen in the water.
Maxwell says typically after a fish kills they see very good recovery of the fisheries resources.
“In the next year or two if the conditions are right we ofter see a boom that we could see years down the line of higher number of fish and larger fish. Kind of open up conditions following a fish kill.”
Neighborhood ponds are prone to fish kills due to the small size and depth and while LDWF doesn’t investigate neighborhood ponds they do keep records.
If you see any fish kills natural and non-natural this summer, report them to the LDWF as soon as possible.
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