LAKEPORT — Efforts began Tuesday to remove dead fish that washed up along the shoreline in north Lakeport over the weekend.
For property owners who may have received mixed messages about how to dispose of the dead fish, city Public Works Superintendent Doug Grider said, “If there was any misunderstanding we need to clarify that the city will not be performing curbside pickup.”
The city has placed a dumpster at Dutch Harbor and another at the Clearlake Avenue Boat Ramp for public disposal of the dead fish, not at Natural High School, as they previously stated.
Clear Lake Lands Coordinator Skip Simkins was out on the lake monitoring the fish Tuesday. “We were checking to see if it is more of a widespread problem than we thought and it is not,” he said of the fish die-off.
“The only place I really saw any concentration of dead fish was over in Rumsey Bay. This is nothing compared to what happened in back in 1987 — there is no comparison,” he said, referencing a massive fish die-off nearly two decades ago.
The city borrowed a barge from the Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce, and on Tuesday located a motor to power it, said acting city manager, Richard Knoll. However, there were still some issues.
“I understand they are getting a slow start because of mechanical issues with the motor,” Knoll said.
The barge will be part of the continuing cleanup today.
“I hope the cleanup will be completed by the end of today, but it may take until Thursday,” said Grider. “The barge will be in the water today and it can haul six garbage cans per trip instead of two and this will help speed up our efforts.”
Grider added, “This is one of the nastiest things I”ve ever done.”
The California Department of Food and Agriculture is aiding in the fish disposal.
“We”re providing a couple of boats for a couple of days,” said Patrick Akers, statewide supervising scientist for the hydrilla eradication program.
Akers said his office received phone calls from both Supervisor Anthony Farrington and Grider. “We”re just helping with the clean-up. We”re not normally involved in this kind of fish die-off.”
Just what killed the fish is still not a settled issue.
On Monday, Fish and Game biologist Rick Macedo said he believed the fish die-off was a natural phenomenon that resulted from a reduced amount of oxygen in the water.
Oxygen in water, or dissolved oxygen, is mainly the product of suspended microscopic algae and other green plants and from the mixing of air and water, Akers explained.
To survive, fish use the oxygen that is dissolved in the water at small concentrations ranging from two to 15 parts per million (ppm); concentrations of less than two or three parts per million for a prolonged period could cause a die-off.
Akers said his department took a dissolved oxygen reading on July 31; the water temperature was 78 degrees Fahrenheit and the dissolved oxygen at 7.6 parts ppm at that time.
Contact Cynthia Davis at cdavis@record-bee.com.
