Still a mystery
No word on cause of Gaspereau River fish kill
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is looking into the cause of a fish kill on the Gaspereau River last month.
DFO visited the site after dead fish began turning up in the river. A spokesperson indicated DFO was notified May 28 and an investigation into the cause of the gaspereau mortality is underway.
Department staff are working to reduce the risk of further impacts to fish migrating at this time, the spokesperson added.
DFO said in a prepared statement that staff are continuing to investigate how these fish were killed and has officers on site to monitor the situation and to reduce the risk of further fish mortality.
Nova Scotia Power’s senior communications advisor Tiffany Chase has said, “we are working right now with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to learn everything we can about what happened on the Gaspereau River.”
Earlier, another NSP spokesman indicated boosting flow through the White Rock Canal for the annual Apple Blossom Festival charity rubber duck race might have triggered a problem.
The fishing season on the river ended on May 30.
The last big fish kill occurred in June 2002. At that time, an NSP hydro engineer blamed a new diversion structure that wasn’t working perfectly.
It took four months at that time for DFO to determine the cause of that fish kill.
A year later, one of the approximately 15 fishers on the river won a court ruling that NSP had to consider the fishers when water levels were altered.