© UAPBDr. Andrew Goodwin of UAPB examines fish samples
Researchers at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff don't know what killed more than 83,000 fresh water drum fish on December 29.
They've tested the water for bacteria, viral infection, parasites, and toxins but they tests have eliminated each as a possibility. Consequently, UAPB researchers say that fish in the Arkansas River are safe to eat and that they have no concerns about eating fish.
Arkansas Game and Fish Commision Supervisor Bob Limbard said that fish kills are not that uncommon, "but kills of this magnitude in Arkansas are rare," he told the Arkansas News Bureau.
Fish and water samples were also tested for pesticides and other toxins, but the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality said the results were within normal Arkansas River values.
Stress, starvation, water pollution, disease, parasites, toxic algae, and severe or extreme weather are some of the many explanations for fish kills, AGFC Fish Pathologist Kelly Winningham told Arkansas News Bureau.
"We can say conclusively that the drum were not killed from a bacterial or viral infection or from parasites," Winningham said. Winningham referred to UAPB's full set of fish health tests performed on the river and the fish and noted the negative results.
In Beebe, on Dec 31, thousands of blackbirds died. The results of those tests say that blunt force trauma killed the birds. The Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commision, the US Geological Survery's National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, WI and the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study all conducted tests on the bird deaths and reached the same conclusion: the birds in Beebe died as a result of blunt force trauma.
The report states that in most instances, "such traumatic injuries in wild birds are due to flying into stationary objects such as trees, houses, windows, power lines, towers, etc."
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission went to work to determine the reasons for the fish kill that occurred near the Ozark Lock and Dam early in January.
They submitted five dying drum fish to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff for testing.
Anglers and residents along the Arkansas River in the Ozark community witnessed 83,000 dead and dying fish on the surface of the river.
Dr. Andrew E. Goodwin, professor and associate director of the UAPB Aquaculture/Fisheries Center examined tissue from the five drum fish sent to UAPB. The results were released Friday.
For all they can say that didnt kill the fish, they cant say what did - some say that this is what being an expert is - can never find whats right and always extoll whats wrong.