A bacteria called columnaris is being blamed for dead Carp washing up on the shores of Lake Scugog in Ontario, Canada. Lake Scugog is a man made lake with an approximate average depth of about 3.5ft.
The bacterium thrives in warm water and is triggered around the 13 to 18 degree Celsius mark. With the warm dry weather Southern Ontario has had and the shallow depth of the lake the water will be well above 18 degrees and has created an ideal environment for the bacteria to grow.
Many lakes are attached to Lake Scugog via the Trent Severn Waterway and dead Carp are starting to show up in Cameron Lake, Sturgeon Lake, and Pigeon Lake. So far only Carp have been affected by this bacteria and authorities are telling us that the lakes are still safe for recreational use.
To give you an idea of the severity of the problem on Lake Scugog one cottage owner helped fill 30 garbage bags with fish bones after burning all the dead Carp that washed onto their shore.
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