Dunkard Algae Found Elsewhere

Officials: Discovery doesn’t mean fish kill

Morgantown Dominion Post
22 November 2009
By Alex Lang

The golden algae responsible for the fish kill in Dunkard Creek could be in other streams across the state.

“It looks like a possibility,” said Kathy Cosco, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The department took 39 samples from 20 streams across the state to see if the golden algae have spread. Preliminary results indicate that might be the case.

However, Cosco said, final results won’t be known until the end of the month.

Pennsylvania DEP spokeswoman Helen Humphreys did not return a phone call in time for this report.

The West Virginia DEP has said the golden algae were responsible for the fish kill in Dunkard Creek.

In early September, dead fish began lining the banks of the creek. The algae are traditionally found in coastal streams with higher salt contents.

It releases a toxin that can affect gill-breathing organisms.

There is little reason to believe that a massive fish kill will occur across the state even if the algae are found in other streams, said Frank Jernejcic, District 1 fisheries biologist for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. “Finding the algae does not indicate a fish kill,” Jernejcic said. Algae has been found in a pond at the head of Buffalo Creek, Jernejcic said.

But there have been no indications of a fish kill in that waterway.

The conditions of the stream must be similar to Dunkard Creek in order to have an algae bloom, Jernejcic said.

In order to have a fish kill caused by the algae, Jernejcic said, the stream must reach a certain density of algae before the water becomes toxic.

On Dec. 3, different agencies involved with the investigation at Dunkard’s Creek will meet to discuss their findings.

Jernejcic said that meeting will be an opportunity to share information and further discover what is occurring.

Jernejcic said he visited Dunkard Creek three weeks ago. He said the stream appeared to be clearer. Earlier the creek had a reddish-brown hue.