Fish Kill Event - Chariton River
immediate below Rathbun Dam
- Event ID
- 952
- Date of Kill
- 3/4/2018
- Waterbody Type
- River/Stream
- Cause Origin
- Anthropogenic
- Cause
- Gas Bubble Disease
- Mode
- N/A
- Magnitude
- 3 (1001 - 5000 fish killed)
- Estimated Fish Killed
- 4,274
- Kill Length
- not enumerated
- Valuation
- $39,007.20
- Investigation Expenses
- $395.55
- County
- Appanoose
- ESD Field Office
- FO 5
- Fisheries Office
- Rathbun Hatchery
- LongDD
- -92.89325
- LatDD
- 40.82249
- Created Date
- 3/13/2019 10:45:19 AM
- Last Update
- 3/13/2019 10:45:19 AM
Highlighted river segments indicate those impacted in part or whole by this fish kill event. It is not meant to represent the actual extent of the kill.
The cause appears to be the result of depth-related pressure changes associated with passage from the Rathbun Lake outlet. Commonly, large schools of fish orient in front of the Rathbun Lake outlet in the late fall through late winter period. When these fish are discharged as a result of lake releases there is an immediate change in water pressure which results in blood and swimbladder issues within the affected fish. This type of kill has periodically been an issue since the construction of the reservoir. Previous kills have impacted fish, ranging from dozens to up to 80,000 dead fish. In almost all cases the predominate species is Crappie. Upon initial investigation on March 4, we observed several thousand freshly dead or moribund Crappies and Freshwater Drum in and immediately below the Rathbun Lake stilling basin, indicating the kill was ongoing. No counts were made on Sunday; however complete counts were completed on the 5, 6, and 7th, at which point the kill appeared to end.