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KY Dept. of Fish and Wildlife: 6000 Fish Found Dead In Lake Barkley, Not Uncommon

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Facebook

A fish kill of roughly 6,000 near on Lake Barkley late last week isn’t necessarily an uncommon occurrence according to the KY Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

The kill started near a bridge located near the Moon River Resort in Cadiz, extended for about 300 yards and the fish then made their way to the lake according to Adam Martin, Fisheries Program Coordinator for the Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.

“Fish have a lot of spawning stress and we’ve had a rapid increase in water temperatures, Martin said.”

Martin said that there should be no cause for concern and that the kill has subsided.

“We haven’t noticed any more new fish popping up,” Martin said. “If it’s something that happens again in the same general area, we’ll try to get out there a little more quickly and investigate a little bit further. At this point, we’re considering it kind of a closed investigation.”

Martin said that kills like these could be considered seasonal and sporadic given the location.

“For them to occur at this time of year isn’t all that unusual,” Martin said. “You also see them usually in the middle of summertime when those oxygen levels can get low if there isn’t very much rainfall and flow through the system.”

Out of the 6,000 fish, most of the species involved included gizzard shad, yellow bass and freshwater drum, which Martin said are a less desirable species for the anglers out on the lake.

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