A massive fish die-off at Laguna Niguel Regional Park has prompted officials to investigate the cause.
Orange County Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley said the die-off was mainly bass and was first brought to her attention by local residents who sent images of the large number of dead fish to her office.
The fish were spotted on the south end of Laguna Niguel Lake, the only year-round freshwater fishing lake in South Orange County.
(FILE PHOTO ANA VENEGAS/SCNG)
“I was deeply concerned and committed to finding the root cause,” said Foley.
Fishererman Aidan Woodward told CBS News that there were at least 1,000 dead fish in the lake on Monday.
“We are seeing live fish that are swimming around that are pretty much halfway dead, almost floating,” fisherman Jakle Bray said to CBS. “It’s such a shame for having such a good fishery here for so many years and just die almost overnight.”
OC Parks informed Foley that the preliminary cause is most likely due to warm waters from recent heat waves, resulting in a drop in the level of oxygen dissolved in the water and causing some of the fish to asphyxiate.
“The majority of fish at Laguna Niguel Regional Park are alive, including the catfish OC Parks stocks for recreational fishing,” Foley said.
“The lake remains open at the north end for fishing, and I’ve directed OC Parks to provide a full report for the community on the root cause of the die-off and steps to prevent similar incidents in the future,” she said. “While we investigate whether there were external factors that could have led to this die-off, such as water quality anomalies, we encourage the community to keep our office informed of potential changes in the area.”
OC Parks continues to work closely with lake management contractor, AquaTechnex, to investigate the cause, according to Foley’s announcement.
“Their investigation will result in recommendations for swiftly resolving this situation and prevention methods for the future.”