Liberal Leader Dr. Jon Gerrard has called for a full investigation into the cause of an unusual fish ‘die-off’ along Lake Winnipeg after visiting the lake’s shoreline near Riverton Wednesday night.

Presently, beaches near Riverton as well as beaches north and south of the causeway to Hecla Island are littered with carcasses of carp – a fish known for its ability to survive under stressed conditions. Major algal blooms have been reported along this section of Lake Winnipeg this year, raising the possibility that low oxygen or toxins from the algal blooms may have contributed to the die-off. The appearance of dead carp along the beaches means the situation in the lake has deteriorated from stressful to uninhabitable for carp in this area.

Dr. Gerrard has also heard additional reports of dead fish from Black Island and surrounding areas.

Dr.Gerrard, a long time advocate for saving Lake Winnipeg, continues to put pressure on the Doer NDP to take action on a lake that is slowly dying under the NDP’s watch.

“Lake Winnipeg has been crying out for help for years but the NDP continues to turn a deaf ear.” Dr.Gerrard said.  “We need to get to the bottom of the reason for this latest fish die-off in order to know exactly what has caused it and to be in a position to prevent major occurrences like this from happening in the future. We need to better protect Lake Winnipeg which is suffering from high phosphorous levels and major algal blooms.”

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