A Fish and Wildlife officer confirmed on Wednesday evidence of a partial fish kill at Vincent Lake north of St. Paul.
The officer found dead fish in an advanced state of decay, said Sustainable Resource Development (SRD) spokeswoman Trisha Anderson, in a phone interview.
Cottage owner Bob Odriscoll has also found several dozen dead fish on the south end of the lake at Westcove.
The Fish and Wildlife officer found six dead pike on 100 metres of shore in the southwest corner of the lake where the ice is off about 10 metres from shore. On the southeast side, the officer found six dead perch on 100 metres of shoreline and on the northeast corner, where ice is off the shore about 50 metres, the officer found four perch and two pike. The east-central and northwest parts of the lake did not have any signs of dead fish or scavenger birds, said Anderson.
The officer noted the dead pike were small in size.
Fish and Wildlife will conduct an assessment once the ice is completely off to determine the extent of the kill, said Anderson.
SDR suspects the long cold winter with heavy snowfall depleted oxygen levels to kill the fish.
For full story, see the Journal, or www.spjournal.com, on Tuesday.
