MYSTERIOUS MASS DIE-OFF EVENT: Hundreds of Thousands of Dead Fish Wash Up on the Shores of California Lake

“I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea… saith the LORD.” – Zephaniah 1:3

“The land shall mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.” – Hosea 4:3

NEWSWEEK reports: Hundreds of thousands of lifeless fish have washed up on the shores of Lake San Antonio in California in an unprecedented mass die-off affecting a wide variety of species.

The deaths began last week, when smaller baitfish were found at the water’s edge on Friday, but in the days since, larger and larger species of fish have also washed up on the lake’s beaches.

“It seems like every fish species in the lake is being impacted. We have never seen this type of multispecies die-off, especially on this scale,” Bryan Flores, Monterey County chief of parks, said.

The plague has prompted closure of the popular lake area, while officials test the water and clean up shores, the County of Monterey said on Wednesday.

The dead fish included smaller shad, as well as trout, carp, crappie, catfish, and bass. One dead bass weighed between 3 and 4 pounds, said County officials.

“There is a large fish death event happening at Lake San Antonio,” the County of Monterey said in a Facebook post on Saturday. “The fish die off we alerted you to [last week] has gotten worse, and the lake is being closed as a public health precaution while testing is being done. All campers and boaters are being asked to leave and no new guests will be admitted,” they said.

The range of species affected and sheer number of the dead fish washing up is unprecedented for Lake San Antonio, an artificial lake formed by a dam on the San Antonio River. The lake is a very popular destination for a variety of recreational activities, including camping, boating, hiking, and fishing.

It was initially suspected that the heat wave currently scorching California and the rest of the U.S. southwest may have killed many of the fish, causing them to wash up dead. However, the heat would only be expected to impact the fish that spend most of their time near the water’s surface, but even bottom-dwelling catfish are being found dead.

“We’re starting to see fish that shouldn’t really be impacted by the heat … that is when we said, wait a minute, something else might be going on,” Flores said… (Continue reading)