Officials of the Forestry and Wildlife Division have been taking measures to solve a ‘fishy’ problem in the West of the island.
According to information reaching DNO, dead fish have been surfacing in the river where the construction of the Batalie Bridge is taking place.
DNO understands that hundreds of fish have died in section of the Batalie river on the west coast. A reliable source has linked the death of the fish to some dredging activities that is taking place by the Chinese in that area, where they had to divert the river up to a certain point and as a result thousands of fish were stranded.
When DNO contacted the Forestry and Wildlife Division on Wednesday, Forestry Ranger, Felix Eugene, said although hundreds of fish died, officials were successful in saving 3000 to 4000 of them.
“We went there, we did some salvaging operations and so we removed them from where they were trapped on the river bed and we brought them on the other side,” he said. “We did some operations there for three consecutive days.”
Felix said officials visited the area on Friday [January 11] and Monday [January 14] to help further solve the issue.
“Most of the aquatic life was taken across,” Eugene stated.
He went on to say that the quality of the water has been negatively affected because of the fish that have died there.
“There is a stench in the area,” Eugene added.
He said the situation is under control in the sense that the water was diverted to the other side and the fish were brought there.
“What we would do on every voyage, we would bring back some fresh water with us and as we scooping those that are alive we would put them in the fresh water,” Eugene explained.
Meantime, one male resident of the area who chose to remain anonymous, told DNO that some residents of Morne Rachette and Coulibistrie have raised concerns over the situation.
He said persons who often used the river are unable to do so.
“Some of the farmers also have issues,” he said.
He explained that the farmers use water from the river to take to their farms.
However, at present, this isn’t possible because the river has a stench.
Obviously there is oil in the water, one of the ships or machinery nearby could be causing that furthermore isn’t there a gas station nearby!!
With the mentality of the people and the recklessness of the government we will soon have to change the name from Nature Island of the world.
Large Oxygen Swing Fish Kills
The second summer fish kill type is called the large oxygen swing fish kill. This type of summer fish kill has little to do with forced mixing of the oxygenated water with anoxic water.
The large oxygen swing fish kill always occurs in lakes with large amounts of submerged aquatic vegetation, floating algae or planktonic algae “pea soup water”.
With large amounts of aquatic weeds and algae, a lot of CO2 is consumed during the day by photosynthesis. In turn, photosynthesis produces large amounts of oxygen, so much that the lake, or river oxygen concentration becomes supersaturated with oxygen.
Supersaturated oxygen concentrations means the water is holding more oxygen than it should at a given temperature. In general, the more supersaturated the oxygen concentration the more plant material present. Your fish don’t usually die from oxygen supersaturation, although they can. This condition is called gas bubble disease.
In the case of…
Weather, and other reasons, might be the cause; i.e. climate change!
A few dead fish floating on the surface of of water is not necessarily cause for alarm. Expect some fish to die of old age, injury, weather conditions, starvation, or even post-spawning stress in the springtime. However, when large numbers of fish of all sizes are found dead and dying over a long period of time, it is necessary to investigate and determine the cause.
Sudden, large fish kills in ponds are often the result of fish suffocation caused by nighttime oxygen depletion in the summer. Fish kills from oxygen depletion usually occur in the early morning hours at dawn in very rich green water such as ponds following: one the die-off of a large algae bloom; second: the decay of water weeds after treatment with a herbicide, third: the turnover of oxygen-poor bottom waters following a storm; usually a thunderstorm fourth; the runoff of livestock waste and other organics after a heavy rain.
Symptoms of…
Warm water, low oxygen and nutrient levels, brought on as a result of the low water level in that region of the river, are causing the fishes to become stressed and die. To resolve the problem, the volume and or discharge in that part of the river needs to increase.
I do recall an incident of a few years back when a similar incident happened in that same location? DNO admin… any correlation between the two incidents?
ADMIN: As far as we understand, this is a stand alone incident related to the recent construction there.
As usual DNO is full of information and research in its investigative reporting. I have two words for this death of fresh water fish, Pollution and Poison. Lab techs should be interviewed.
We have three more questions to think about….what cause this….can it harm us….can the water kill people?. Safety is sure an issue in Dominica.
Sic
There are sacrifices and sacrifices .
this could have been avoided .
Simple things you say ?
i suppose the lost of our crapaud is simple to you too
the infestation of the Cuban killer frog must also be simple to you too .
Dont talk about dem parrots that were stolen it’s also simple to you too.
But of course 20 years from now , when you may well be gone, and the rest of the world will be populated with Sisserou, when our grand chiren wouldn’t be able to claim ” native only to Dominica ” you wouldnt be there to say ”SIMPLES”
Good Luck .
What do know, these fish dont have resilience.
weh weh weh
forsight , planning ,
what is happening nah
only in Dominica ein .
anyfing goes
It seem those Chinese come to destroy the last “pwell” Dominica has. Lord save our land.
in other for developement to take place sacrifices must be made. Dominicans like to complain to much about simple things. the trenching of the river is only temporary
Truly an idiotic comment. This is an unenlightened opinion. Anywhere else in the world there would have been a study on the impact of this type of construction on the fragile environment. Only in poorly managed States these regrettable environmental incidents occur. In all other OECS member countries the environment is guarded as sacred. The degrading of the environment is considered a sin. Only in Dominica these things happen. Dominica is undeniably unique for all the wrong reasons. What else it’s going to take for Dominicans to arise from their sleep and slumber? Are they in a permanent comatose state?
In a well governed country, feasibility and environmental impact studies would have been done before any undertakings of such magnitude. Dominicans have to care about Dominica, I’m not too sure the Chinese are that keen about lasting damage to the surrounding environment – air, land, water, wildlife. This incident clearly shows how haphazardly things are done in the country. The current regime cares little about the protection of the environment. They care more about concrete and steel to bring them votes. Yes, bridges, roads, houses, berthing facilities, airport are all needed but a careful Environmental Impact Assessment study must be done before proceeding. This government give carte blanche authority to China, Russia and other rogue states to treat Dominica as they wish.