Water Temperature, Poor Water Quality Kills Fish

JEROME - High water temperatures and poor water quality killed several thousand whitefish and a few suckers and carp above Milner Dam this week. "Over 90 percent of the fish killed have been whitefish," said Chuck Warren, Fish and Game Regional Fisheries Biologist. "They are more sensitive to elevated temperature and the associated low dissolved oxygen levels that accompany them." Fish and Game biologists expect the fish to continue dying as long as temperatures remain high. "The field information we have gathered indicates that the fish kill is not due to a specific toxin," Warren said. "Any fish that anglers catch should be safe to eat." "Anglers surveys and our monitoring indicate that other fish in the system, like smallmouth bass and catfish, remain unaffected by the current conditions", he said. "Water conditions would really have to deteriorate for other fish to start dying in large numbers."