THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 10, 1995 TAG: 9508100468
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Several thousand fish have died over the past few days at a Great Neck lake, but state health and environmental officials say no public health hazard exists.
Fish kills are a common occurrence in the summer during extended periods of hot weather, said Frank ``Skip'' Scanlon, environmental health manager for the city's health department.
City crews have been working since Monday on land and by boat retrieving the carcasses of thousands of small mouth bass, crappies, blue gill, perch and catfish from Lake Trant. The cleanup was expected to be completed Wednesday.
Scanlon believes it's the largest fish kill this year.
During periods of extended high temperatures, the level of oxygen in the water plummets. He said competition for oxygen by algae blooms and evaporation contribute to the low oxygen levels.
``This body of water is relatively shallow which didn't help,'' Scanlon said. The more shallow the water the quicker the water heats up.
``It's a natural phenomenon,'' he said. ``The environment will support only a given number of species.''
The Department of Environmental Quality on Wednesday confirmed the health department's assessment.
``There really isn't anything we can do,'' said Tony Silvia, regional biologist for DEQ's water division. ``It's pretty much a natural sequence of events.''
Residents around the 27-acre freshwater lake are relieved to know it's a natural occurrence, but nonetheless are annoyed by the stench.
``Ever smell dead crabs two days later?'' said Roy Garrigues. ``It's odoriferous.''
Garrigues has used the fish that washed up in his back yard to fertilize his garden. ``I figured if fish helped the Indians grow corn, this will help my garden,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN/
Cleanup crews worked from Monday to Wednesday hauling away bags of
dead fish from Lake Trant in the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach.
Public health officials attribute the kill to heat and the resulting
lack of oxygen in the water.
KEYWORDS: FISH KILL HEAT by CNB