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Reports
The Jim Boyd Fishing Reports
Lake of Menteith
10th May 2009
The great news is that the Lake of Menteith is back in business. After being closed for over two weeks due to an unexplained major fish kill anglers will be delighted and relieved to learn that the Lake of Menteith re-opened for business yesterday.
Last Thursday, Professor Ronald Roberts president of the World Aquatic Vetinary Medical Association and Chair of Fish Health and Welfare at the European Food Safety Association, visited the fishery where he reviewed all of the reports and results from the various agencies who have been involved in the investigations. He also collected material from fish for his own tests which included cooking and eating a sample of fish from the affected area.
The meteorological history of the previous few weeks coupled with the nature of the Lake, which is somewhat eutrophic compared to traditional Scottish lochs and is generally shallow but with one particularly deep area, suggests that there has been a significant toxic event related to water quality. There is no evidence from the pathology of the fishes that there has been any infection.
The fish were, overall, in excellent condition. Prof. Roberts’s opinion is that the most likely cause would be an upwelling of toxic anaerobic organic matter, gases and bacterial toxins from the very cold benthic areas of the deepest part of the Lake which is adjacent to where the first and most serious moralities occurred.
In his report Prof. Roberts concluded “This was a very temporary situation and there is now no evidence of any such contaminants remaining. Such events are rare and I have not personally experienced them to recur. I am now confident that all of the factors leading to this unfortunate event will now be dissipated. I am therefore happy to recommend that the fishery is now likely to be safe to open and that there should be no problem with successful anglers consuming their catch.”
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