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Arizona Game and Fish
Thousands of dead carp are washing up along the shores of Lake Mohave.
By Cara McCoy 
Published Thursday, May 21, 2009 | 7:53 p.m.
Updated Friday, May 22, 2009 | 4:37 p.m.
Thousands of dead carp are washing up along the shores of Lake Mohave.
Lake Mohave
Beyond the Sun
There's something fishy at Lake Mohave.
Park Service officials are warning Memorial Day travelers that thousands of dead carp are washing up on the shores of the lake and a funky odor will be afoot along the beaches as the fish decompose.
Lake Mohave is part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The Colorado River runs through Lake Mead and Lake Mohave, which is south of the Hoover Dam.
The Park Service said no concentrations of the dead fish have appeared at Lake Mead.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area spokesman Andrew Munoz said the there aren't health concerns for humans from the dead fish. Specimens have been sent away for testing, but results won't be available until next week, he said.
Wildlife officials suspect a carp-specific virus or disease is to blame because no other species of dead fish have washed up on shore, he said.
He advised visitors avoid high concentrations of dead fish and not to handle the carcasses because rotting flesh could pose a health threat.
As for the smell, there's not much that can be done, he said.
"In areas of high concentration of the dead fish, there will be an ... unwelcoming smell," he said. "The smell is uncontrollable and it's not feasible for us to start removing fish from the beach."
The National Parks system's policy is to "keep wild things wild" and to allow the natural process to take effect, so no cleanup is planned unless the fish are found to present a danger, Munoz said.
Boaters and those participating in recreation away from the shoreline shouldn't be affected by the odorous carp, he said.
Last year, Lake Mead saw a carp die-off in the Overton Beach area likely because of low oxygen levels, he said.
The National Park Service says the die-off has had a minimal effect on marinas and tours, and that the water is safe for swimming.
By Friday, the odor was no longer detectable in some areas, the Park Service said.
LET ME GUESS THEY THREW THEM ALL OUT?
IF THERE IS NOTHING wrong with the fish then feed them to the needy and homeless God knows Vegas has a few of them
Keep "wild things wild", a carp specific virus? Are Carp naturally occurring in the Colorado River system?
...advised visitors to "avoid high concentrations of dead fish and not to handle carcasses...", LOL.
But it is just fine to drink and swim in the water that the dead carp called home!
GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!!!!!
GEORGE BUSH!!!!!!!!!!
If the carp had national health care and belonged to a union (like teamsters) they would be swimming happily ever after.
"OBAMA" is going to have to fix this, just like everything else that he's had to straighten out.
If we only drove electric cars this never would have happened in the first place!!!!
The previous white house administration must have known this was going to happen, I will bet the C.I.A. lied to PELOSI about the fishes waterboarding facilitys.
A $20 BILLION dollar study for lets say (10) years and HARRY REID will have us an answer on what has happened here, with him being a bottom feeder (like a carp) that is being deprived of oxygen at the bottom of the lake as the weather warms up to fast!!!!!!!!!
2UALL...maybe you should switch to bottled water to down those meds.....Rush did!
HEY!!!!!! I THINK I GOT A BITE!!!!! It might be a carp that has not floated to the surface yet!!
"Nah" it was just a 2zero, another bottom feeder that's not worthy to take home and feed to the family.
I love this part:
"Lake Mead National Recreation Area spokesman Andrew Munoz said the there aren't health concerns for humans from the dead fish. Specimens have been sent away for testing, but results won't be available until next week, he said."
So they don't know what's causing the carp to die but they say there are no health concerns for humans?
SORRY!!! (2zero) I must have gotten carried away with the beer and medications, I mean you no harm and respect everyones opinon.
Now that ive had time to sober up!!!
I just wanted to point out that warmer weather at times causes algae to grow and carp like shallow water where it tends to deplete the oxygen content, hence the reason your not seeing the cat fish floating to the surface, as they like the deeper cold water.
Just having fun!!!!!!!!
2UAll, It takes a lot to apologize. I appreciated the apology to 2Zero, it was kind of mean.
I don't care what they say, they need to clean that UP!!! That's totally gross not to mention unsanitary!
BTW great post, Thumper!
It's a lack of oxygen in the water....rather common issue. Why does it bother people so much? It just makes the place smell like Mexico
(which most visitors are quite used to the smell of)
I think there is a serious biological health hazard and people shouldn't be swimming there till it is cleared up. They should close the lake till they resolve the problem. Last year I went down there and huge carp lay dead out at Mohave. Carp can live up to 20 years and all the carp in Mead look really healthy. One cove on Mohave every weekend and every day during the summer months is a huge health hazard as people trash up the beach. Trash left everywhere and blowing all through the desert. Restrooms just a mess and people defecate on the floors or drop their filty toilet paper on the ground. Outside the restrooms at 6mile is gross as they defacte by the toilet, outside on the ground, etc. Broken glass in the sand, sharp knives left poking up, trash up the hilt. Beach is packed in with people like a parking lot leaving their trash, food, poop and pee smelling everywhere, dirty diapers on the ground just littered every place you walk. This all gets in our water system and E coli will run rampent. The national parks have a $2,000 litter fine and it is not enforced down at Lake Mohave and it should be. It's like a 3rd world country going into the lowest poverty mode ever. What is happening to our country. We need to train newcomers from other countries to help keep America beautiful so their children and grand children can enjoy the beautiful places that we have. Our lands are being trashed instead of being taken care of. Fish are dying due to our non caring habits unhealthful habits. Go down one weekend and take pictures of all the unhealty gross things down there. It looks like a big garbage dump on the weekends or you feel like you just went to the garbage dump to dump trash. Our lakes are being trashed up as these non caring people trash our lands.
O/T(kinda)
NOAA studied Lake Mead in 2004, and their reports were disturbing.
Synthetic and natural hormones near STP sites were causing male fish to develop female sexual organs resulting in hermaphrodite fish!!!
LINK:
http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/documents...
Sewage Treatment Plants
"Some of the most dramatic
examples of endocrine disruption in fish have been observed near the outfalls of STPs. All of the effects appear to be estrogenic.
vIDEO:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2bc_12061...
Hmmmm, maybe it's from the sewage Las Vegas has been pumping into the lake for who knows how long. Their eco-solution was to pipe "treated effluent" DEEPER into the lake, which in reality only covered up the stench and delayed the sewage from "coming to the surface."
Im sorry, but a major watershed/watersource is a BAD place to dump OR pump our human waste ESPECIALLY when the source from a major city... but hey, thats Vegas, baby!
Forget about foreign terrorist threats because WE as proud Americans are a major contributor to the contamination of our natural resources.
E-Coli has caused beach closures at Lake Havasu almost YEARLY in July and August.
Boaters who dump their holding tanks into the lake rather than using sanitation stations at the ramps or marinas are a major source of the bacteria, then add warm water temps along with low lake levels we have a perfect breeding ground for this nasty bug.
It infects our skin, eyes, noses, lungs, and digestive tracts and can be fatal for young children, immuno-suppressed and elderly people.
Now we have the "Carp Flu" in Lake Mohave.
Looks like its gonna be a long stinky summer round here.
Welcome to the Lake Mead Recreation area!
HazMat suits recomended.
I have been a visitor of Cottonwood Cove since I was in mothers womb. I am 35 years of age now. Religiously I and my family have visited Mojave on a yearly basis. Many years lapsed and it was no longer a yearly family adventure. When I recently finally got a chance to make it, the old timer campground ceased to exist. It had been years since my family came together, and finally I had a chance to take my mother and father to the upper camp ground. Wow!...were we in for a surprise! Where did the retiree laid back crowd go? This place has become victim of dirty,loud mexicans! More importantly, where did the park rangers go to enforce the 10 p.m. rule? Once a peaceful quiet laid back campground has now become mariachi music until 2 a.m. It gets better.. How is it that we paid for a campground for 2 nights and the beach is full of overnight freeloading mexicans that dont pick up one bit of their trash? My most recent trip was of the most disgust. Do any of these pigs clean up their trash? As I am cruising out of the harbor, I see trash and trash bags one after another on the beaches. I remember these same beaches and coves as a youngster with my grandfather catching big trout! Now I get to catch a diaper?
We used to love going to Cottonwood cove, just a few years ago it started to get bad there, but it was bareable. Then it got really bad and we bought a small boat so we could find our own private beach. Now dead fish everywhere? It's going to be a looong hot summer.
I know there is a Ranger station just up the street, why can't they do something? or is it a losing cause? I left CA, because of these types of situations and now is it time to leave Nevada? Sad :(
Adam357, mexicans don't go out of their way to be dirty, it's just part of their culture. Look at where they come from, Mexico is a third world country. Drive through predominantly hispanic neighborhoods here and look at how they live. Being dirty is just a way of life in Mexico.