MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Dave Arnold, newsnet5.com – “STRONGSVILLE, OHIO – The Bonnie Park Picnic Area of the Cleveland Metroparks’ Mill Stream Run Reservation in Strongsville was filled with new green leaves sprouting Tuesday and birds singing. Canadian geese pairs quietly sat awaiting their first gosling to hatch of the spring.

The park had every sign that fresh life was abundant along the East Branch Rocky River. Unfortunately, the very river that usually breeds fresh life in many forms was filled with dead fish; 28,000 to be exact.

Contacted by a tip call to the 1-800-POACHER hotline for the Wildlife Division of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources over the weekend, crews were on scene quickly to assess the depth of the fish kill.

Bonnie Park seemed to be ground zero for the spill at first, but crews found dead fish as far south as a mile from the Bonnie Park Picnic Area and as far north as the Cedar Point Road Picnic Area. The river runs south to north, eventually to Lake Erie. A total of five miles of river were discovered to have dead fish.

Director of Watershed Programs for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District Frank Greenland, was in the park with his crew on Tuesday. They were part of several local and federal departments looking into just what killed so many fish.” Read more.

By Neo Maditla, IOL News – “Muizenberg residents say they are still in the dark about what is killing the fish in the Zandvlei estuary, after yet another weekend removing thousands of fish from the vlei.

When the Cape Argus reported on the problem last month Belinda Walker, the mayoral committee member for economic, environmental and spatial planning, said oxygen depletion in the water was probably the cause.

But on Monday, estuary management staff, law enforcement officers and residents were still removing dead fish from the vlei while thousands more appeared to be dying.

Muizenberg resident Pierre Niehaus said they had removed thousands of dead fish, big and small, from the water.

He said he used to let his dogs swim in the water but has stopped because the dogs developed a skin irritation.

Bob Craske, a Marina da Gama resident for the past 10 years, said other residents who had lived in the area longer than he said they last had a problem like this in the 1970s and 1980s.

Craske said the problem would have been worse had it not been for the small Zandvlei estuary staff who had been working with residents to remove the dead fish and take survivors to the sea: ‘Without them this would have been 10 times worse. It would have been disgusting.’

Garnet Prince, a member of the Cape Piscatorial Society, said some members fished in the vlei but had stopped when the fish started dying.

Poachers had used pitchforks and dived into the water to catch the fish, some of which were endangered, which was not allowed.

Prince said the incident was unfortunate because the vlei was one of the healthiest. ‘Two months ago we saw steenbras in the vlei – they have not been seen here for the past 10 years.'” Read more.

By Mohammad Ashraf, Gulf News – “Some unknown poisonous element Wednesday killed thousands of fish and other species at the Kenjhar Lake, one of the largest freshwater sources that supplies 70 per cent of drinking water to Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan.

The onslaught of fish, cows, and dogs which drank the water, was seen early yesterday morning. Even the seashells, which are found in the bed of the lake died and lifelessly floated on the lake surface and the shore, wildlife official and witnesses said.

‘What I can see is that in the area of more than three kilometres all the living things in water have died including fish, other species and water plants,’ said Ghulam Rasool Khatri, the World Wildlife Fund representative in the Thatta district some 125 kilometres east of Karachi.

The lake, also known as Kalri Lake, is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Pakistan with extensive reedbeds and flowering plants of lotus. The lake breeds a diverse range of flora and fauna and a wide variety of waterfowl, thus it is a wildlife sanctuary.

‘Even the plants and water has turned blackish,’ Khatri said as the lake offers a scenic look of blue water and a very famous among the picnickers from Karachi and nearby cities.” Read more.

IOL News – “Fish experts have been unable to shed light on why scores of dead fish were seen in the sea near uShaka beach in Durban earlier this week.

Divers Selwyn Rautenbach and Carl Stow said they came across 20 to 30 dead fish, mainly shad, lying on the ocean floor, about 50m offshore, on Wednesday.

‘We were going to dive at the wreck of the Ovington Court, but we didn’t stay in very long because the sea was dirty and smelly.

‘The dead fish were lying in more or less a straight line, with their mouths and gills open. There were probably many more further along the backline, maybe a couple of hundred, but we cancelled our swim,’ said Rautenbach.

Stow said he did not think the dead fish had been dumped by fishermen as there were no visible hook marks or other wounds.

Sean Fennessy, a fish scientist at the Oceanographic Research Institute in Durban, said he had not received similar reports from other residents and it was difficult to speculate on what might have killed the fish.” Read more.

By Yagnesh Mehta, TNN – “SURAT: More than 70 dead jellyfish were spotted on Tithal beach of Valsad on Wednesday. This has created a lot of curiosity among locals. The cause of their death is still not known.

Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) officials believe that it is first of its kind incident at Tithal. The fish were spread across 1 km square area on the beach. Locals said dead fish were being washed ashore for the past 15 days.

‘When I first saw it, the fish looked like a huge plastic bag. I discovered later that it was a jellyfish. At a distance of every five to 10 feet, we have been finding the fish every day for the last 15 days. It is an alarming development,’ said Pratik Tandel, a local resident.

‘I was surprised when I saw the creature on beach for the first time. It is first incident of dead fish being washed ashore. We were shocked to see dead jellyfish,’ said Harish Patel, another local resident.” Read more.

AP – “COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Conservation officials are trying to determine what killed an estimated 14,000 fish in a central Missouri creek.

The Missouri Department of Conservation says the die-off occurred in Flat Branch creek near its confluence with Hinkson Creek in Columbia. The agency says the cause won’t be pinpointed until the Department of Natural Resources tests the stream.

Speculation had focused on runoff from an April 1 fire that destroyed an auto parts store in a Columbia strip mall. But The Columbia Daily Tribune reported Wednesday that the Fire Department tested the water and found it negative for petroleum pollution.” Source – KY3.com.

“Veterinarians say they are baffled as to what caused the death of four horses on a property in WA’s south-west.

The horses died unexpectedly over a six-day period in Margaret River last week.

Samples of hay, mineral mixers and other food sources which the horses had access to are being tested.

Vet surgeon, Rupert Mothersole, says two of the horses were found dead and another had to be euthanised hours after becoming ill.

‘We’re looking for horses which are either found dead or horses which are showing profound depression, sweating, respiratory distress, muscles tremors, things like that,’ Dr Mothersole said.

‘Some of those signs are quite consistent with a snake bite so they’re the type of signs that a horse owner would be making contact with their vet very rapidly anyway.'” Source – ABC News.

Flashback: Australia: Mass Deaths of Racehorses Continue to Defy Scientific Explanation Despite Exhaustive Testing – “… But less than a fortnight after the healthy young horses were released to roam their picturesque new 81-hectare home – with three dams and a running stream – they began dying at an unprecedented rate. By Wednesday, six days after the first mysterious deaths on the unoccupied property were reported to the RSPCA by passers-by, all but four of the quarter horses, uninsured, were dead. And despite exhaustive testing by Biosecurity Queensland, the mass deaths continue to defy scientific explanation.” Read more.

“Large numbers of dead fish have been washing ashore on resorts and inhabited islands in the upper north of the Maldives in Noonu and Haa Atolls, reports the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture. The dead fish are overwhelmingly red-tooth trigger fish (odonus niger, locally known as vaalan rondu), but include several other species of reef fishes including Acanthurids (surgeon fish) and Serranids. The Marine Research Centre (MRC) is currently investigating the incident. MRC Director General Shiham Adam said a series of similar incidents were reported from June-December in 2007. Tests showed the increased presence of the bacteria Staphylococcus in the spleen of fish samples, but the investigation was inconclusive. ‘We sent samples sent to the US and it seemed be related to a bacterial infection in the gills that causes them to suffocate,’ Shiham explained. ‘A lot of people say it is global warming and environmental change. [Fish kill incidents] are not something that normally happens, so we are worried about it,’ he said.

Minute changes in the environment during critical periods of a species’ life-cycle could trigger such events, Shiham explained.” Read more.

By Mary Landers, Savannah Now – “An unusually high number of sea turtle strandings along the Georgia coast is being blamed in part on unseasonably warm ocean water temperatures.

In the first 12 weeks of this year, 25 dead sea turtles have been reported to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. A typical year sees fewer than 10 in the same period, said Mark Dodd a DNR biologist and sea turtle coordinator for the state.

Three species of turtles are represented in the strandings: Kemp’s Ridley, loggerhead and green turtles. Each is endangered or threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

‘To some extent the elevated rate is due in part to the warm water temperatures,’ said Dodd, a longtime turtle researcher.

Warm water draws the turtles inshore and into estuaries to feed. It’s here that they’re more likely to be struck by a boat.

It may be that the peak of strandings, usually in April, came early this year.

‘I hope so,’ Dodd said.” Read more.