Fishing club lands cash to restock lake after big freeze killed fish

[Elton]

The fish are thought to have been starved of oxygen after ice up to 18 inches thick formed at Mount Pleasant Lake, Fatfield, Washington, during the extreme cold spell before Christmas and new year.

 

Article here:

http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/local/f..._fish_1_3341891

[Steve Walker]

A good news story, though two things occur to me - £500 isn't going to go far, and has anything been done to reduce the chances of it happening again?

[Ken L]

Sounds like they would have done better to pump the mud out and/or control bird feeding because without addressing the route cause, all the new fish will just die next time it freezes.

[philocalist]

A good news story, though two things occur to me - £500 isn't going to go far, and has anything been done to reduce the chances of it happening again?

 

I don't profess to be an expert, but I am local to this lake and typically walk the banks with dog and littl'un several times a week .. though I hasten to add, this was not the case during all the freezing weather, partly down to illness.

 

I'm at a loss how anyone can prevent this happening again. What happened was we endured one of the longest, coldest spells of weather in recent history, and the lake froze to a depth of at least 18" ... more in some areas, as I'm able to personally testify. The lake is already at decent depths in places, and has never experienced a problem such as this before: like many places it was simply an unfortuinate casualty to the weather, and thankfully was NOT stocked to idiotic levels, as are many commercials and club lakes.

 

Correct: £500 will not go far, but that sum is only a contribution to the costs, with (I guess) additional funding also being sourced elsewhere. The belief had been that the lake would be safe, as in all normal respects it was healthy, i.e no apparent need for remedial removal of mud or sludge.

 

Bird predation? There is a massive heron colony within a couple of miles, and cormorants use the Wear, which runs alongside, as a flight-path ... though in fairness I've NEVER seen a cormorant or heron on the lake in more than 10 years of living locally. Plenty of ducks, and the odd swan or three, but that's it with bird life, and furry critters bankside are limited to rats: I've seen nothing else there, nor heard any reports or complaints of other predators (apart from a rogue wels pulled out by the EA a year or so back

 

Strangley enough, the river Wear, running within 100 metres of the place is largely devoid of cormorants and herons too, even though the fish population in there is quite healthy (and unfished!) ... though we have a resident seal on one of the low water gravel banks in summer ... and I've even seen bloody dolphins in there on two occasions!

[Steve Walker]

I think Ken mentioned bird feeding not because of predation but because excessive bird waste can increase the biological oxygen demand. Likewise the removal of sludge and leaves, which as well as requiring oxygen can also kill fish by releasing toxic hydrogen sulphide gas. Fish kills have always occurred under ice and always will, but the fact is that while some waters were affected, most were not. Where a kill has occurred, I would hope that proper investigation has been made into the causes - if nothing can be done to reduce the risk of it happening again, you just have to cross your fingers, but it would be a shame to restock if the lake remains at risk and something can be done.

[Bowsa]

To be honest I am surprised we didn't have more ponds/lakes in the North East affected like this one was. With temps of minus 10 to minus 15 every night for 3 weeks and day time temps at times no better than minus 5 every lake was solid. Well into January when temps had risen again lakes were still frozen as took ages for ice to slowly melt.

 

As a "sad" aside we had a lake where deer had walked on and their narrow hooves had gone through the ice. The deer were frozen in the ice/water. Took a few weeks to be able to safely remove them as the ice was to thin to walk on and obviously no boat could get through the ice either!!! Sad lose of a number of animals this December!!!