1,300 striped bass die at Thurmond Lake

1,300 striped bass die at Thurmond Lake


By Rob Pavey

Late-summer oxygen depletion has killed almost 1,300 striped bass at Thurmond Lake, with little sign that water quality near the dam is improving.


Biologists began recovering dead and dying fish -- mostly adult striped bass -- around Aug. 8 above and below the dam, where the large fish often congregate.

"We're still getting fish, but the rate seems to be starting to decline," said Billy Birdwell, spokesman for the Corps of Engineers' Savannah District. "The size is diminishing, too, to fish mostly in the 5-pound range."

Earlier fish recoveries included larger percentages of fish in the 10-pound range and some as large as 20 pounds.
Stripers, along with their smaller cousins, the hybrid bass, tend to seek out cooler, oxygenated water.

This year, because heavy rains refilled the drought-stricken lake rapidly, the oxygenated layers are deeper than usual. When the limited oxygen in those layers dissipates, the fish trapped in the "bubble" are asphyxiated and die.

Mr. Birdwell said oxygen levels in the 20-foot-deep range have been averaging as low as zero parts per million to 1 part per million. When levels drop below 2 parts per million, it begins to kill the larger fish.

He said the submerged layer of deoxygenated water extends about a mile upstream from the reservoir's dam area.
Biologists will continue to monitor the fish kills. Oxygen levels in other parts of the lake were much better.

I wonder if you were to monitor the fish kills in the saltwater bays, vis-a-vis the cooling towers at the nuke plants, if people would get angry when they realize how many juvenile fish were killed every year?