You Ain't Smelt Nothin' Yet! Posted on 2010-06-01 22:26:50 A huge die-off of rainbow smelt along much of the Lake Erie shoreline is being investigated by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. **UPDATED BELOW** Andy Cook, an MNR biologist stationed in Wheatley, said samples have been sent to an unspecified university for testing. Cook said dead smelt have also washed up on the lake shoreline in both New York and Ohio. He said storms and strong winds during the weekend of May 8 may have contributed to the die-off. "We've seen it before in the 1960s and 1990s,'' he said. Cook said another possibility is stress associated with the spring spawning process. He said smelt are an abundant species in Lake Erie. Last year, Ontario commercial fishers harvested more than eight million pounds. "They are an important forage fish for top predators such as walleye,'' he said. Cook recommended people wear gloves when disposing of the fish along the beach and take the dead fish to a secure landfill site. "It's a lot of work, but it needs to be done,'' he said. Cook said large numbers of dead smelt were first reported May 13 east of Port Burwell. The following day there were reports of dead smelt from Point Pelee eastward along the lakeshore. "It appears to have been a lake-wide die-off,'' he said. Cook said there was a huge hatch of smelt in 2008 and many of the dead smelt appear to be in the two-year-old range. **UPDATE** June 2010: Despite a press release issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources recommending the dead smelt be raked & disposed-of for health reasons, Rondeau Provincial Park Superintendent Richard Post has stated that any leaseholder who rakes smelt on the beach in front of the cottages risks charges under the Provincial Parks & Conservation Reserves Act (2006). Originally printed in The Chatham Daily News (Wednesday June 2nd edition.) back to main