August
28, 2018 by Ariel Tu
California
officials were trying Monday to solve a stinky mystery: A die-off has left
hundreds of fish floating in a recently restored lagoon on the tony Malibu
coast.
Scientists
believe the Malibu Lagoon die-off, which began last Wednesday, is likely caused
by unusually warm water temperatures,
said Craig Sap, superintendent of California State Parks' Angeles District.
"We
had many days in a row of warmer-than-usual temperatures. We hadn't had much of
a breeze down there to keep the temperatures down," Sap said.
Other
possibilities include elevated nutrient levels, dropping levels of
dissolved oxygen or having
too many fish in the lagoon.
Officials are taking water samples and fish for testing.
Malibu
Lagoon underwent a controversial restoration project in
2013.
Major
conservation groups, including Sierra Club and Audubon Society chapters, backed
the restoration, but others sued to stop the project, contending it would
destroy sensitive wildlife habitat. The battle lasted for years but the project
finally broke ground in 2012.
The die-off
has raised locals' concerns about what some call failures in the project.
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