THE deaths of small bait fish at Barmera’s Lake Bonney is due to stretches of cold weather, according to an experienced local fisherman.
Barmera resident and Riverland Carp Frenzy organiser Kym Manning said he believed low temperatures in late May, when the overnight minimum in the Riverland reached as low as -5C, had caused the fish kill.
“It’s a natural occurrence from when there is a cold snap,” he said.
“It doesn’t happen every year but if we have a bitterly cold winter we might get a few, and if there is an extended snap of cold there will probably be quite a few.”
A major fish kill event in July 2008, which resulted in up to 1500 dead bony bream washing up on the shores of Lake Bonney, was also attributed to cold weather.
Mr Manning said other extreme weather events had caused fish deaths in the lake.
“The other event I can remember where we had a big fish kill was when we had a really heavy downpour of rain and the creeks at the eastern side of Lake Bonney washed in a cloud of silt,” he said.
“We had tens of thousands of bait fish that died.
“It’s not a good look, but it’s not pollution and it’s not because of water quality – it’s just a natural thing that happens from time to time.”