April 30, 2008
Fish kills: It could be worse
I'm doing some research for a story on the Cave Spring Optimist Club's 40th annual fishing tournament at Smith Mountain Lake and have been digging through some old newspaper clippings.
Yesterday I looked at a bunch of clips from 1969 and 1970 and one type of story stood out: fish kills.
As frustrating as the recent kills we've seen have been, it was a lot worse back then.
Unlike many of the kills we've been dealing with lately, the kills back then were most from point source pollution. Somebody put something bad in the water and it killed a bunch of fish.
Just a basic search turned up stories on kills on just about every stream in the region, including the New, James and Smith Rivers. A kill on the Clinch River in June of 1970 wiped out most life in the river in a 10-mile stretch. The kill was caused when an equipment failure at a hydroelectric plant allowed acid into the water.
I also found stories about anglers complaining that fisheries managers were unfair about the attention they gave to certain species and fisheries. It's safe to say that's one thing that hasn't changed.
Comments
[May 1, 2008 7:38 AM]
BacklashInformation and questions to VDGIF: I was able to float tube fish Pandapas Pond the 26th and 27th of April thanks for all the positive comments. You could see some really nice fish, but the bass was uncooperative.
I was told that the pond would be stocked with fish for a fishing Rodeo May 3, 2008 is this true?
Is this for kids only or can all participate. And what type fish will be placed in the Pond and when?
I was able to use a fish and depth finder on the Pond, it seems to be about 11 ft. at it's deepest point and 5 to 6 ft deep across the middle with a sharp 6 to 9ft. drop off near the sandiest point.
The fish seemed sparse and scatter with no schools of large fish outside of Blue Gills and trout.
Fish finder used Humming Bird's My Buddy fish finder.
Response from VDGIF:
The kids fishing day is from 8-12 noon for children up to 15 years of age only. Usually it is catfish or trout. Yes, it is a shallow pond. Thanks for your inquiry,
Catherine Hancock Information Receptionist GW/JNF's Eastern Divide Ranger District Email: chancock@fs.fed.us Phone: 540-552-4641
To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.--Winston Churchill
[May 2, 2008 7:16 AM]
BacklashA person would wonder about those past spills and dumping in the river system, that those contaminating agents is being stirred up from the bottom of the river re-effecting the eco-system and it's boundaries... The animals and human population.
[May 2, 2008 9:08 AM]
Mark TaylorGood point, Backlash. All you have to do is look at all the rivers and lakes under fish consumption advisories (http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/Epidemiology/PublicHealthToxicology/Advisories/ ) to see that we are still paying the price for letting nasty stuff get into our water decades ago.
mt
[May 5, 2008 2:21 PM]
John"As frustrating as the recent kills we've seen have been, it was a lot worse back then."
Mark Is is really better? With point source pollution you could go after the offender. Today with the numerous forms of Non-point Source chocking our streams and rivers (James and Shenandoah) there does not seem to be any direction that we can point a finger. At lest when you can point a finger you can make violator stop. Today we have fish kills but no where to place blame. If you can not place blame anywhere then you can not stop the problem.
[May 5, 2008 5:11 PM]
Mark TaylorJohn, You make a good point.
I guess I'm thinking that when the answer finally comes we will be able to trace the cause to something fairly specific. Maybe this a point-source pollution -- on a large scale.
Thanks for the comment, and thanks for reading.
mt