[Mike]

Dead fish blamed on bacteria
From Wire Reports

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20050715/NEWS/507150305/1001

Published: 07/15/05

Dead carp and bullhead float on the surface of the Big Sioux River in
a pool above the Flandreau Dam in Flandreau.

High levels of bacteria could be to blame for a fish kill at Brant
Lake, where several thousand adult carp have washed up on the shores.

“It’s a short-term, naturally occurring problem,” said Shon Eide,
Lake County conservation officer.

Carp thrash around on the rocks when they spawn, and bacteria are
infecting wounds from spawning, Eide said. Spawning weakens the fish,
meaning they cannot fight the bacteria as well as they could at other
times, he said.

Fisheries experts think that carp is the only species affected by the
bacteria and that the spawning should be done in another week. Only a
small part of the overall carp population in Brant Lake is being
affected, Eide said.

He said samples have been sent in for tests.

The bacteria should not affect people swimming in the lake, but an
infection could be transmitted in any open wounds or sores or if lake
water is swallowed, Eide said.