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Mass Death of Fish in the North of Lake Baikal was Caused by Parasites

The reason for mass death of fish in the north of Lake Baikal was parasitic exposure. This was reported on Wednesday at the website of the Irkutsk Interregional Veterinary Laboratory (IIVL).

On June 12, about 500 dead bodies of slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) and gammarus have been discovered on the shore of Lake Baikal in the bay of Guba Senogda. On the same day, specialists performed sampling of water, bottom sediments and fish and transferred 35 samples of pathological material to the IIVL for examination.

“Laboratory tests detected signs of associative invasion in all samples (the fish was infected by parasites – note by TASS). According to experts, the discovered multi-species associative invasion could weaken the body of fish and reduce their resistance to various adverse environmental factors, thus playing a significant role in mass death,” the report said.

Alexei Barsukov, Prosecutor of the Severobaikalsk Interdistrict Environmental Prosecutor’s Office, assured TASS that the investigation of the issue will continue. “To ensure end-to-end check, the study materials, including water samples taken, will be sent to agencies under the Rosprirodnadzor. After the analysis, the experts will generate a report on the possible presence of harmful substances, oil products and suspended solids," Prosecutor said.


Source: TASS

Опубликовано: 26 June 2019