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WATER TEMPERATURE AND THE 1987 FISH KILL AT LAKE ST LUCIA ON THE SOUTH EASTERN COAST OF AFRICA

Published in: Southern African Journal of Aquatic Sciences
Volume 22 , issue 1-2 , 1996 , pages: 105–110

DOI: 10.1080/10183469.1996.9631377

Author(s): D.P. Cyrus Coastal Research Unit of Zululand, Department of Zoology, South Africa , S. McLean Coastal Research Unit of Zululand, Department of Zoology, South Africa

Keywords: Mass mortality , estuarine fish , Lake St Lucia , temperature , salinity

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Abstract

An unusually cold spell during the winter of 1987 caused a drop in water temperature at Lake St Lucia. This coupled with typical estuarine salinities in the lake resulted in a fish kill. The kill was one of the largest recorded in a South African estuarine environment and involved an estimated 250,000 fish comprising at least 21 species. Most fish that died belonged to small species. Densities of dead fish recorded along the lake's shoreline ranged from 0.1 to 16.6 fish per metre. It is concluded that the combination of low water temperature and near marine salinities was the major cause of the 1987 fish kill at Lake St Lucia.

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