Thousands of dead fish wash up in Oakland lake to create a putrid mess – The Guardian US
Scientists are racing to understand why thousands of fish are dying in the San Francisco Bay and Oakland’s Lake Merritt.
Rotting carcasses of striped bass, bat rays and other fish have been washing up on the shores of the San Francisco Bay Area in recent days, after a toxic algae bloom spread across the area.
Damon Tighe, a naturalist who documents wildlife in Lake Merritt, said the lake is home to a range of fish, crustaceans and mollusks.
A bloom of Heterosigma akashiwo is killing fish in the San Francisco Bay, and the resulting ruddy, brown water is slopping into shores along with thousands of bloated fish bodies.
Sturgeon are large fish that can live for decades. Their deaths have been especially striking. Researchers are also conducting tests to investigate what might have caused the bloom. They believe wastewater treatment plants are to blame, but the statewide drought may also have contributed.
As the Bay Area braces for a brutal heatwave, the bloom of dead fish could get worse. The heat could further cook the carcasses and worsen the stench.
Workers wearing hazmat suits and N95 masks collected dead fish and other wildlife floating in Lake Merritt’s shores.
To learn more about this toxic incident, please consider the news outlets listed below.
- Thousands of dead fish wash up in Oakland lake to create a putrid mess The Guardian US
- Toxic algae bloom kills off fish around San Francisco Bay NBC News
- Clean-up of mass fish die-off at Oakland’s Lake Merritt underway KPIX CBS SF Bay Area
- What’s happening to all the dead fish around SF Bay amid the algal bloom? SFGATE
- Is it safe to swim in San Francisco Bay with the algal bloom? SFGATE