Millions of fish dead in California's annual Salton Sea die-off
By: Associated Press - | ∞
SALTON CITY, Calif. -- Millions of tilapia died over the weekend in the annual summertime Salton Sea fish kill in what was described as one of the largest die-offs ever at the giant desert lake.
A second mass die-off was narrowly averted Tuesday when high winds provided enough oxygen to revive thousands of air-starved fish, said Salton Sea Authority Project Manager Dan Cain.
The weekend die-off was one of the largest he's seen, Cain said.
It was too early to estimate how many tilapia died, but the number appears to have surpassed the 3 million that died in August 2006, Cain said.
On Tuesday, another round of fish were crowded at the shore, gasping for air, he said.
"The top of the water looked like alka seltzer because they were all gasping for air. They were all shoulder to shoulder, there were thousands of fish," he said. "Then, the wind came up."
Fish die-offs occur at the lake every summer because of natural biological and chemical reactions that sap oxygen from the water during July heat waves when temperatures soar near 120 degrees.
There are an estimated 200 million tilapia in the Salton Sea.
The salty desert lake was created in 1905 when floodwaters broke through a Colorado River irrigation canal. It is fed mostly by agricultural runoff.
The Salton Sea authority, which has about $45,000 in its budget to remove the fish, was trying to clean up the fish before they sink. Ideally, winds would blow the fish together toward the shore.
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JS wrote on Jul 25, 2007 2:17 AM:They might consider pumping air into the south end of the lake where this problem occurs via windmills. The costs should be negligible or at least competitive with cleaning the dead fish up. This resource is so mismanaged and under utilized. It should be a recreational and wild life mecca. Considering the crowding of the Southern California beaches it would take the pressure off of that resource and open up more shoreline for others to enjoy.
Sandy K wrote on Jul 25, 2007 8:54 AM:Hey kids, "Wanna go to the beach or Salton Sea?" Or, how about "Wanna build a house in Carlsbad or Salton Sea?" Sorry JS, even with windmills and anything else you can think of, I don't see it happening!
Theotis wrote on Jul 25, 2007 9:53 AM:Cool! Time for a fish fry!!
JS wrote on Jul 25, 2007 11:59 AM:Don't know how long you have been here Sandy but my parents took me swimming and boating at the Salton Sea many times in the 1960's. There were small, growing, thriving recreational and retirement communities there then. The water was safe. Perhaps you should do some research before commenting?
Fred H wrote on Jul 25, 2007 12:50 PM:I too remember the Salton Sea from 1965 or so. Clean, quiet and lots of fun. Sonny Bono was committed to cleaning it up until he tragically died. Today, it is a sewer. Sad
SaltonCityJim wrote on Aug 1, 2007 6:35 AM:Lets see... Salton City on the Salton Sea = quite, peaceful, wide open roads, friendly neighbors (200-300 feet away) low cost of living......Carlsbad = noisy, fast paced, congested, trafic traffic and more traffic, sky high cost of living, inconsiderate self centered neighbors (on your back porch)......What Choice Sandy?
WallFly wrote on Aug 24, 2007 12:06 PM:Dear JS: Can't we all get along? Agree to disagree...truth be told the SaltonSea was an IDEAL place back in the day, TODAY however it is evident that folks used and abused this now devested area...The new generation can not appreciate the wastelands of the SaltonSea, because they have no first hand insight to the beautiful ideal oasis it once was and was intended to be. If you wanna be nastalgic...get mad enough to get involved and rebuild/rehabilitate what you once enjoyed swimming in. Hypocracy!
btown wrote on Sep 9, 2007 4:41 PM:I am confused how the water in the Salton Sea could have been "clean" in the 1950's or 1960's, given its altitude (everything flows downhill into the Sea) and main source of water (farm run-off - full of pesticides and manure - and the New river - full of raw sewage since at least the 1940's)
Shock wrote on Sep 12, 2007 7:01 PM:I was at the Sea back in March. I'm no tree hugger, but even I can see when something requires attention. Why don't the environmentalists go to SoCal where they can do something constructive? Oh wait.... Working on a real problem like the Salton Sea might require effort, rather than simply fulfilling some sort of deep seated, ill found psychological drive to protest. People complain all day about he place, even the residents, but be darned if they'll try to do something about it.
jason wrote on May 2, 2008 11:11 AM:The salton sea was and could be a beautiful place again. I fell in love with the area when I visited for the first time in 2005. I think the time may be coming that there are people who see the potential there and may start to work together to possibly start to restore the Salton Sea to it's previous lustor.
Daver wrote on Jun 19, 2008 8:42 AM:The Salton Sea flourished in the 50s and 60s when it was stocked with real gamefish: orangemouth corvina and sargo. Now they're gone largely due to neglect. The only fish left are the pesky tilapia, and no fisherman worth his salt is going to go after this ratfish. The only way to rid the lake of this nasty species is to let the place dry up and start over. Restoration dikes would be easier to construct as well.
Someone or some group with a lot of pull needs to put our "green" governor's feet to the fire regarding the Sea.
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