MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“The first stage of a mysterious disease affecting Kinneret fish begins in one of its eyes, which starts to pop out, and gets destroyed leaving an empty hole in the socket. Then the second eye is affected. In the third stage, the blind fish blacken and starves. Red spots appear on its body and then it dies. So far, there is no official answer whether the disease is an unknown virus, or a mutation of a virus, a bacteria or a parasite.

Initial signs of the problem were discovered ten years ago in small numbers. The phenomenon was first noticed by Menachem Lev, a fisherman from Kibbutz Ein Gev, a local expert on everything that happens in the Kinneret. The plague first affected St. Peter’s Fish, which is considered sacred by Christians (from the story of the bread and the fishes). About a million Christian pilgrims visit Israel every year. Most of them visit the Kinneret and eat St. Peter’s fish; the Ein Gev restaurant alone serves more than 300,000 fish dinners to pilgrims every year.

The problem has worsened since then, and it is not only St. Peter’s Fish that are affected by the disease, but also the Jordan River tilapia raised in fish ponds in the Hula Valley, silver carp, carp, and mullet. 12-15% of the fish in the lake have already contracted the disease.

The Ministry of Agriculture denies the presence of this serious disease in the Kinneret. However, as a result of the numerous occurrences, a number of tests have been conducted in the last few weeks to identify the problem. The ministry’s Fish Division laboratory at Nir David has concluded that the cause is not bacteriological. Its preliminary report in September found the characteristic symptoms in fishes’ eyes. If the problem is a parasite, this will cause a major kashrut problem and the Rabbinate is liable to ban fish from the Kinneret. The Water Authority believes that the disease is genetic in origin.” Read more.

By Len Wells – “CARMI, Ill. — Officials with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois EPA are investigating the source of a major fish kill along the Little Wabash River in White County.

Local sportsman Jack Emery of rural Carmi said he first started hearing about dead fish appearing in the Little Wabash a few weeks ago. However, in the past few days, the number of dead fish has exploded into the thousands.

Witnesses are reporting dead fish floating in the Little Wabash from the Interstate 64 bridge downstream to the Possom Bridge south of Carmi. The stretch of river where the kill has been noticed is around 30 miles. Dead fish were also noted above and below the dam at Carmi.

Emery said that all species of fish are being found dead. The kill does not appear to affect just fish with scales. Catfish are also being found dead.

Maggie Carson, spokesman for the Illinois EPA said this morning she is consulting with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources about the incident. No cause has been established at this time.” Source.

By Charles McMahon – “RYE — The number of dead seals washed up on the New England coast is not the only thing expanding, a spokeswoman from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday. The area in which the seals are showing up is also increasing.

Maggie Mooney-Seus, a public affairs official for NOAA’s Northeast Region, said the number of dead seals found along the shoreline since Sept. 1 is now at 128. Last Friday, the figure was 94.

‘The distribution of where they’re showing up is expanding,’ she said.

Seals were first found on shores from northern Massachusetts to southern Maine. But Mooney-Seus said more seals are now being found in southern Massachusetts. All are considered to be ‘young of the year,’ she said.

Mooney-Seus continued to emphasize the importance of leaving the carcasses alone. She said people should not approach or touch any marine animals, dead or alive. Disturbing a seal, or the carcass of a seal, is a federal violation and can lead to a hefty fine or jail time, she said.

In addition, people should try to keep their pets, namely dogs, away from seals and seal carcasses. Mooney-Seus said there is potential for a domestic animal to contract a virus from a seal.

‘I encourage people to keep a safe distance,’ she said.

The cause of the surge in seal deaths has not yet been named. Mooney-Seus said results won’t be known until test results on blood, tissue samples and the contents of the seals’ stomachs come back.

At least one expert said the cause of the seal deaths has less to do with pathogens in the animals and more to do with contaminants in the water.” Read more.

By S. HEATHER DUNCAN – “Georgia wildlife and environmental officials are trying to determine the cause of a fish kill in Commissioner Creek in Wilkinson County.

In all, 4,000 to 5,000 dead fish were found in about a nine-mile stretch of the creek and its tributary, Little Commissioner Creek, on Sept. 28 and 29, said Steve Schleiger, regional supervisor for the west central Georgia fisheries section of the state Wildlife Resources Division.

He estimated that 30 to 40 percent of the fish in the creek between McIntyre and the Toomsboro area died, and the surviving fish appeared disoriented and listless.

‘There’s no real smoking gun,’ Schleiger said. ‘The problem is the whole watershed is degraded. … I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to say definitively who caused it.’

Schleiger said the acidity of the stream was high, but that alone did not seem to have killed the fish. Aluminum in the water may have been high, which is toxic to fish when combined with high acidity.

Ben Emmanuel, the Oconee projects coordinator for the environmental advocacy group Altamaha Riverkeeper, said he spent Sept. 30 observing Commissioner Creek, which ‘had an unusual ultramarine color to it and was really uncommonly clear,’ he said.

‘The visuals were pretty striking,’ he said.” Read more.

“A dead whale is decomposing at the mouth of the Bear River in St. Margaret’s on P.E.I.’s North Shore.

Local residents reported the whale to Charlottetown’s Atlantic Veterinary College.

Dr. Pierre Yves Daoust, a wildlife pathologist at the AVC, said it may be a pilot whale.

He said there has been more incidents than usual of dead pilot whales or sightings of the whales in unusual places in the region this year.

He said while he’s not concerned yet, he is keeping an eye on the situation

Daoust said the whale, which is five to six metres long, is too decomposed to take samples for a necropsy.

He encouraged people to continue sending reports about pilot whale sightings, which might provide important details about why some of them are beaching.” Source.

Here’s a few other examples just from this month alone …

• Australia: Humpback whale dies after being stranded on beach – Read more.
• South Africa: Two whales wash ashore in one week – Read more.
• Pakistan: Another dead dolphin found in less than 24 hrs – Read more.
• Alaska: Third killer whale found dead in Nushagak River – Read more.
• Florida: Whale found on Jupiter Island dies – Read more.
• Australia: Dead whale found on Moreton Island – Read more.
• New Zealand: Stranded whale on beach dies despite rescue attempts – Read more.
• Massachusetts: Second dead pilot whale washes ashore – Read more.
• South Africa: Dead humpback whale calf washes ashore – Read more.
• California: Dead whale washes up on Ventura county line – Read more.
• Canada: Dead minke whale found near Kouchibouguac Park – Read more.
• UK: 60ft stranded whale dies in Outer Hebrides – Read more.
• Indonesia: Dead Dolphins Again Found on Coast of Java – Read more.
• Australia: 14.5 metre-long humpback whale carcass washes ashore – Read more.

By Sean Maginnis – “MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) The apparent death of 30-40 birds has workers at one Myrtle Beach hotel wondering what’s to blame.

Ocean Forest Resort Hotel Security Guard Brandon Nelson said between 30 and 40 birds of various breeds fell from the sky around 2 Sunday morning while he was patrolling the building.

‘The birds were just landing with a plop, some of them chirped and squirmed for a few minutes before they died. I’ve never seen anything like it,’ Nelson said.

Nelson’s mother, Sarah Allen, stopped at the hotel to visit her son during his shift when she says one of the birds hit her in the shoulder as it fell from the sky.

‘I stepped out of my car and asked what was going on and no sooner had I asked when a bird hit my shoulder,’ Allen said.

Ocean Forest Maintenance Worker Jimmie Livingston said birds die almost yearly around the Hotel, though not in such large numbers.

‘Oh no, this isn’t the first time. And I think it’s going to keep happening too,’ Livingston said.

Livingston said he thinks the birds may be colliding with hotel late at night when the poor visibility makes the building difficult to see, especially in the moonlight.

‘They just confuse it for open air and they run into it,’ Livingston said.

Myrtle Beach Police confirmed they did respond and investigate the incident, but did not have any further details at the time.” Source.

“A fish kill in Brier Creek was under investigation Monday by Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division.

‘The complaint came in Saturday evening,’ said EPD spokesman Kevin Chambers. ‘Brier Creek in the Keysville area in Burke County is the most heavily impacted.’

Georgia’s Wildlife Resources Division is assisting in the investigation and trying to come up with a number of dead fish — and a possible cause, he said.

‘We are early in the investigation, so we have people walking the creek, taking water samples, etc.,’ Chambers said.

Authorities have ruled out an Oct. 9 truck accident in which some liquid nitrogen was spilled near Sandy Run Creek, which flows into Brier Creek.

‘We know about the truck wreck, but it is not related,’ Chambers said. ‘The spilled materials never reached the waterway and it’s too far away from the fish kill area.’

EPD recently completed an investigation into a May fish kill in which 38,634 fish died along the Ogeechee River.” Read more.

By Kristen Smith – “COLLINGWOOD – The Ministry of Natural Resources is trying to figure out why fish and birds have been dying in south Georgian Bay.

The ministry started receive sporadic reports beginning in late August, but cases have increased in frequency and distribution in recent weeks.

The fish die-off includes channel fish, freshwater drum, carp, lake whitefish, and one largemouth drum. Wasaga Beach Provincial Park staff have disposed of about 120 dead sturgeon.

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources spokesperson John Cooper says fresh samples have been sent to the University of Guelph to test for fish and bird diseases, including the Type E botulism toxin, which Cooper says is quite likely the cause.

‘It’s a naturally occurring event,’ said Cooper, adding little is known about the ecology of the bacteria which produces the botulism toxin.

‘Something is occurring at the bottom of the lake,’ said Cooper.

Georgian Triangle Anglers’ Association President Rick Baldry says its members have seen a number of fish, including sturgeon, floating on the water’s surface.

Baldry immediately suggested the cause could be Type E botulism, which is what the ministry says is typically the cause of these sort of die-offs.

He says even though there are plenty of fish and there is little concern it will affect anglers or the fishing industry, it matters: ‘Anything that upsets or disturbs the ecosystem matters.’

The bacterium naturally occurs as harmless spores in lake bottom sediment. Under certain conditions – rich nutrient source, lack of oxygen, and optimum temperature – the bacterium begins producing the toxin. It then enters the food chain, primarily affecting birds and fish.

More than 300 dead birds have also been reported to the ministry, including loons, mallards, grebes, gulls, and Canada geese.

Cooper says sturgeon, and other fish which swim and feed along the bottom, are most prone to contamination.

He also says dead sturgeon are most obvious because of their size and they float to the top when they are dead – other fish may be dying off unnoticed because some fish fall to the bottom.

Cooper says this many fish dying is not good, adding the numbers were much smaller last year.” Read more.

By Charles McMahon – “Why are harbor seals dying in droves along the New England shoreline?

A definitive answer is not yet known, but theories ranging from algae blooms to Armageddon have begun to surface since the young seals began washing ashore in early September.

Other theories floated from community members over the last few weeks include questions of whether toxins from jelly fish stings, radiation from an unreported release of cooling water from the Seabrook nuclear power plant, or last year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could be to blame.

So far investigators from the New England Aquarium and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association have ruled out only a handful of potential reasons for the spike in seal deaths.

The investigation, which began only weeks ago after numerous dead seals were found on various Seacoast beaches, has revealed approximately 94 seal carcasses have washed ashore since Sept. 1.

Mendy Garron, regional marine mammal stranding coordinator for NOAA, said the seals have been found on beaches from southern Maine to the North Shore of Massachusetts. Other animal species, such as whales and a bluefin tuna, have also washed ashore, said Garron, but not at the frequency of the young harbor seals.

Much like everyone else looking into the seal deaths, Garron said she’s not sure what the cause is just yet…

Inga Sidor, a senior veterinarian pathologist at the New Hampshire Veterinarian Diagnostic Lab and assistant clinical professor at UNH’s Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, said she has been following the event over the past few weeks. Sidor said the fact that not only seals, but whales, tuna and even birds, are being found dead along the shoreline is troublesome. ‘When you start to have more than one specific group that is affected, that is when the bell starts to go off,’ she said.

Sidor said she is primarily involved due to the massive amount of birds — namely seagulls — being found on beaches.

Having examined birds found this past week in Rye, Sidor said she is looking into the stomach contents of the dead birds and is conducting a toxin analysis similar to the tests being done on seals and whales. The birds examined had fish in their stomachs, which Sidor said means they were eating before they died.” Read more.