Dead Fish At Cary Lake Probably A Result From Heat, Water Official Says

Hundreds of dead shad fish floated to the surface of

Lochmere Lake

.

While they were barely noticeable from the road, Deb Shackelford says she was surprised when she took a closer look.

"I think it's very unusual to have that many dead fish at one time," she said.

Shannon Langley, with the State Division of Water Quality, said Wednesday that the cause of the fishes' death was probably the heat, which depletes the oxygen in water.

Langley said shad fish are especially sensitive to hot weather; the water temperature was 88 degrees.

The sight was enough to create some curiosity, but fisherman Thomas Austin says he has seen this happen before at Lochmere Lake.

"Last year, it was worse than this," Austin said.

He was interested to find out the problem might be heat-related. In the past, Austin says there was never an explanation.

Now that the state has figured out the problem, the problem becomes a cleanup issue for the local homeowners association.

The HRW Home Owners Association says it is aware of the mess and expects to have it cleaned up in the next few days.