Hundreds of dead fish line Iowa cove’s banks

Why are there hundreds of dead fish lining the banks of a cove along the Des Moines River near Eddyville? Local residents don’t have that answer, but they did report the finned casualties to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

David Dobson of Eddyville said he likes to fish the area that’s south of Hardfish Landing and west of the railroad trestle, both on the eastern side of the river. Dobson said he went fishing after the storm on Sunday. Carp, channel catfish and gars were just a few of the species. The fish kill appeared to be limited to a relatively small area, with no obvious carcasses on the opposite bank.

There was evidence that other critters were sampling the free food along the bank. (OttumwaCourier)

The dead fish along the Des Moines River near Eddyville may have been victims of a low oxygen condition in a small backwater area. Experts believed the fish had been dead for some time. The fish are primarily Asian Carp (silver and bighead carp), gar and some buffalo. These are fish we generally refer to as ‘rough fish.’