Fish kill

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  • fish kill
definition
  • Fish diseases observed in the past three decades and which have been attributed to pollution include: haemorrhages; tumours; fin rot; deformed fins; and missing scales and tails. In industrialized countries, increasing numbers of fish are deemed inedible. Many small kills are not noticed or are not reported, and large kills are often not included because of insufficient information to determine whether the kills were caused by pollution or by natural factors. Low dissolved oxygen levels resulting from excessive sewage is one of the leading causes. The second most common cause is pesticides.
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Abstract from DBPedia
    The term fish kill, known also as fish die-off, refers to a localized die-off of fish populations which may also be associated with more generalized mortality of aquatic life. The most common cause is reduced oxygen in the water, which in turn may be due to factors such as drought, algae bloom, overpopulation, or a sustained increase in water temperature. Infectious diseases and parasites can also lead to fish kill. Toxicity is a real but far less common cause of fish kill. Fish kills are often the first visible signs of environmental stress and are usually investigated as a matter of urgency by environmental agencies to determine the cause of the kill. Many fish species have a relatively low tolerance of variations in environmental conditions and their death is often a potent indicator of problems in their environment that may be affecting other animals and plants and may have a direct impact on other uses of the water such as for drinking water production. Pollution events may affect fish species and fish age classes in different ways. If it is a cold-related fish kill, juvenile fish or species that are not cold-tolerant may be selectively affected. If toxicity is the cause, species are more generally affected and the event may include amphibians and shellfish as well. A reduction in dissolved oxygen may affect larger specimens more than smaller fish as these may be able to access oxygen richer water at the surface, at least for a short time.

    (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Fish_kill)