The cause of a large-scale fish die-off in the Fox River and lower Green Bay waters in June remains unknown. Reports of the die-off came in on June 18, and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) were monitoring the situation by June 20.
Andrea Seldacek, public information officer for the DNR, told Wisconsin Examiner that due to the area’s large size, an estimate of the number of dead fish remains elusive. “As of yet, we have not determined a final cause,” said Seldacek. “All water quality data we collected during our investigation was normal. Thanks to help from the public, we were able to collect four sick or freshly dead catfish that were taken to our health veterinarians for pathogen testing.”
The DNR is still waiting for the results. “We did not get any reports of new areas where large numbers of catfish were dying. The die-off was mostly on the Fox River and lower sections of Green Bay,” Seldacek said.
In June, the possibility was raised that the fish were washed into the river by strong currents and winds. The same week the die-off was reported, parts of Wisconsin experienced severe weather which resulted in the loss of life.
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