Thousands of dead fish are washed up on Lake Chihuahua

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Thousands of dead fish are washing into a lake in the border state of Chihuahua, and residents of surrounding towns fear the region is on the brink of a major health disaster.

A few weeks ago, dead carp and catfish were found for the first time in Laguna Bustillos in the town of Anahuac, north of Cuauhtemoc, Mexico, a disappointment to government officials who had been monitoring the growth of fish populations to encourage recreational fishing.

But as temperatures began to rise and the lake’s water level, already low due to irrigation runoff and lack of rain, continued to drop, the number of dead fish rose to hundreds of thousands, Anahuac Mayor Saul Sausameda Montes said.

“The water level of the lakes has dropped due to the two-year drought. As the fish population had increased, they were stranded in the shallow water and dying due to lack of oxygen. This has nothing to do with pollution of the lake or fish diseases – it is due to the drought,” Sausameda told Border Report.

The mayor and local farmers are asking state and federal authorities to help remove the fish before they rot, attract mosquitoes and spread airborne diseases.

“We have hundreds of thousands of dead fish. Our priority is to contain a health emergency,” Sausameda said, adding that he had organized a meeting with state officials and the army this week to ask for help.

Farmer Rafael Murillo Arana said the last time he saw a large fish kill at the lake was 20 years ago, but he had never seen so many dead fish washed up on the shore.

“The smell (of dead fish) reaches our farms and we see large numbers of very small mosquitoes. We have to keep our houses closed,” he said.

Murillo said timely rain could have prevented the problem, but rainfall now would only worsen the health risks.

“If we don’t collect the fish, when there is a little rain, the rain brings the dead fish to our communities. And on the farms there are schools with 500 or more children. When diseases break out, the children are very vulnerable,” he said.

Bustillos Lake has an area of ​​54 square miles. According to Sausameda, the lake is 50 percent full and the level is decreasing.

In addition to dead fish, the drought that is affecting large parts of northern Mexico is also affecting harvests and leading to a shortage of feed for livestock. “If it doesn’t rain this year, it’s all over. Many people will stop planting,” said Murillo. “For two or three years, crops have been lost. We need help, both us and the animals.”

(ProVideo in Chihuahua, Mexico, contributed to this report.)