CDFW Reports No Salmon Found Dead Yet In SF Bay Fish Kill Crisis

The rash of fish fatalities around San Francisco Bay and other bodies of water nearby such as Oakland’s Lake Merritt – believed to be caused by a toxic algae bloom – hasn’t included any reported salmon deaths so far. California Department of Fish and Wildlife tweeted the following today:

Here’s an update from the Associated Press, which suggested an expected heatwave in the Bay Area this weekend could create even more issues with foul odors:

Most algae blooms end after a week or so. But a triple-digit heat wave forecast for the holiday weekend may help the Bay Area’s grow even more, White said. She said that reports of dead fish started coming in last week.

“This was a natural occurrence of Mother Nature and so, we don’t know when it’s going to end,” she said

A microorganism called Heterosigma akashiwo formed a bloom first spotted in the Alameda Estuary, White said. It is present in the bay all the time, but scientists are trying to determine what caused it to spread so far and wide and for so many weeks. 

They say a years-long drought has prevented stagnant water from flowing into the ocean and unseasonably warm and sunny weather may be helping the algae spread.

Here are a couple more Twitter reactions: