Burk Cornelius
Regular guy
For Immediate Release: WEEK OF JULY 7, 2011
[font="Arial] [/font]
[font="Arial][size="2"]Much to the dismay of anglers and wildlife enthusiasts, environmental conditions typical of late summertime can lead to fish kills, especially in the state’s many small farm ponds. And with the second hottest June on state record now in the books, officials with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation are advising conditions may be right for fish kills sooner than normal this year.[/size][/font]
[font="Arial][size="2"]“While it is not unusual for environmental conditions to cause fish kills with at least some regularity, those conditions don’t usually arrive until later in the summer,†said Gene Gilliland, assistant chief of fisheries for the Wildlife Department. “But we are already receiving reports of fish kills from farm ponds, and we want people to be prepared.â€[/size][/font]
[font="Arial][size="2"]Fish kills, or die-offs of what are sometimes significant numbers of fish from a body of water, result from hot, dry weather and environmental changes.[/size][/font]
[font="Arial][size="2"]“When it gets this hot and dry, water levels in ponds and lakes naturally get low while their temperatures rise, and that can lead to low dissolved oxygen levels,†Gilliland said. “Combine these low water levels and extreme temperatures with an overabundance of nutrients from farm and lawn fertilizers, and you’ve got a recipe for a fish kill.â€[/size][/font]
[font="Arial][size="2"]“Fish kills are nothing new, and they occur with some degree of regularity in the late summer,†Gilliland said. “They usually don’t threaten the stability of larger lake and reservoir fisheries, but they can negatively impact anglers who fish in ponds and small lakes.â€[/size][/font]
[font="Arial][size="2"]Measures that farm pond owners can take to prevent fish kills need to be started in the late spring, such as employing aeration, preventing livestock from accessing ponds and avoiding the overuse of fertilizers on lands where run-off to ponds can occur. However, there are things that can be done in an emergency if a pond owner sees fish “gulping for air†on the surface â€" the first tell-tale sign that water quality is deteriorating. These include the use of emergency aeration using pumps, blowers or even farm machinery or adding fresh water to the pond from a well.[/size][/font]
[font="Arial][color=#665012][size="2"]For more information about preventing fish kills in farm ponds, log on to[/size][/color][/font][font="Arial][size="2"]http://wildlifedepartment.com/landowner/prevention.pdf[/size][/font][font="Arial][color=#665012][size="2"]. Pond owners can also contact their local fishery biologist. The contact information can be found at [/size][/color][/font][font="Arial][size="2"]http://wildlifedepartment.com/fishing/contactus.htm[/size][/font][font="Arial][color=#665012][size="2"].[/size][/color][/font]
[font="Arial] [/font]
[font="Arial][size="2"]Much to the dismay of anglers and wildlife enthusiasts, environmental conditions typical of late summertime can lead to fish kills, especially in the state’s many small farm ponds. And with the second hottest June on state record now in the books, officials with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation are advising conditions may be right for fish kills sooner than normal this year.[/size][/font]
[font="Arial][size="2"]“While it is not unusual for environmental conditions to cause fish kills with at least some regularity, those conditions don’t usually arrive until later in the summer,†said Gene Gilliland, assistant chief of fisheries for the Wildlife Department. “But we are already receiving reports of fish kills from farm ponds, and we want people to be prepared.â€[/size][/font]
[font="Arial][size="2"]Fish kills, or die-offs of what are sometimes significant numbers of fish from a body of water, result from hot, dry weather and environmental changes.[/size][/font]
[font="Arial][size="2"]“When it gets this hot and dry, water levels in ponds and lakes naturally get low while their temperatures rise, and that can lead to low dissolved oxygen levels,†Gilliland said. “Combine these low water levels and extreme temperatures with an overabundance of nutrients from farm and lawn fertilizers, and you’ve got a recipe for a fish kill.â€[/size][/font]
[font="Arial][size="2"]“Fish kills are nothing new, and they occur with some degree of regularity in the late summer,†Gilliland said. “They usually don’t threaten the stability of larger lake and reservoir fisheries, but they can negatively impact anglers who fish in ponds and small lakes.â€[/size][/font]
[font="Arial][size="2"]Measures that farm pond owners can take to prevent fish kills need to be started in the late spring, such as employing aeration, preventing livestock from accessing ponds and avoiding the overuse of fertilizers on lands where run-off to ponds can occur. However, there are things that can be done in an emergency if a pond owner sees fish “gulping for air†on the surface â€" the first tell-tale sign that water quality is deteriorating. These include the use of emergency aeration using pumps, blowers or even farm machinery or adding fresh water to the pond from a well.[/size][/font]
[font="Arial][color=#665012][size="2"]For more information about preventing fish kills in farm ponds, log on to[/size][/color][/font][font="Arial][size="2"]http://wildlifedepartment.com/landowner/prevention.pdf[/size][/font][font="Arial][color=#665012][size="2"]. Pond owners can also contact their local fishery biologist. The contact information can be found at [/size][/color][/font][font="Arial][size="2"]http://wildlifedepartment.com/fishing/contactus.htm[/size][/font][font="Arial][color=#665012][size="2"].[/size][/color][/font]
