Three Dead Fish (warning: not pretty)

[VidThreeNorth]

This is not a "pretty" topic. Some people will find it a bit gross. After a rain I noticed a dead fish at the edge of a riverbank. A bit further away (about 10 m) was another. At that point I got curious and looked around further, and yes, I found another. I went home and got my camera (next day or a day after that?) and came back to record what I found. The fish were still there, and their conditions had not changed much. One fish had a lot of small fish around it (scavenging?), but not the other two. I don't know why. It might be because of the type of fish. The one that attracted the attention looked like some kind of trout. Anyway, here's the vid:

"231017 3 DeadFish"
Recorded Oct 19, 2023, [length 3:46]
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[Ramigrafx]

Pretty obvious isn't it? The same thing that is killing all humans as well. POLLUTION. It's everywhere. In the air. In the soil. In the water and so obviously in all our food

 

[VidThreeNorth]

"Pollution" is often a "relative" matter. For example, Lake Ontario fish is generally edible in small, infrequent quantities. That is to say, don't eat much and don't eat it often. The most particular concern is mercury levels. But mercury was always there to some degree. Human activity just made it worse. It was interesting to see these fish. There were no lamprey marks. Lampreys have become a problem in Lake Ontario in recent years. Does that mean these were fish that stayed out of the big lake? Maybe.

I see anglers just a bit downstream of where I found these fish. They do catch fish in the area. I don't pay attention to whether they return the fish. I assume they keep a few, but subject to that mercury warning.

10:35 Actually, on further thought, the salmon were probably spawning upstream. It is not unusual for salmon to die after spawning.

 

[VidThreeNorth]

I returned to the area on the 22nd and I could only find the head of the fish that I started the earlier video with. The body was gone, and probably eaten. I recorded round the head to see if there were "scraps" of the body left behind, and there might have been (I'm not sure). I did see a large dark fish swimming nearby. I think it might have been a trout. I was a similar size to the fish I showed which had the attention of the smaller fish in the earlier video.

"231022 Dead Fish after Time", posted Oct 23, 2023, [Length 1:22]
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[Grandpa Ron]

Nothing goes to waste in nature. Those fish provided food for the next generation of fish, turtles, Opossums, Racoons and even the majestic Eagles.

How or why fish die is complicated. From the size of the fish, they may well have died from old age.

 

[Rickbb]

They kind of look like salmon, could be the last of the spawn.

 

[VidThreeNorth]

I agree that the silvery ones look like salmon. I checked the area again and I found yet another head nearby and slightly upstream. It seems to have been a busy area around that period.

Further downstream I have seen fish jumping in the past, at a waterfall. I did not have my camera, but then again, with typical luck, if I had my camera, then the fish probably wouldn't have jumped.