YARMOUTH – Environmental specialists and fisheries biologists from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) were on the scene of another fish kill Wednesday in Des Moines County in southeastern Iowa.
Dead fish were observed near the headwaters of Big Creek about a mile west of Yarmouth. The several species of dead and stressed fish included catfish, bullheads, bass, suckers and creek chubs, according to the DNR.
DNR investigators saw dead fish about one half-mile downstream late Wednesday morning. They said it is expected that the fish kill will extend further downstream.
The latest Des Moines County fish kill in Big Creek follows an earlier kill this week on Cedar Fork Creek approximately five miles east near Mediapolis. The presumed poisoning affected about 7.3 miles of Cedar Fork Creek and resulted in more than 53,500 fish being killed at a value of about $8,300, according to investigators.
Minnows, darters, madtoms, green sunfish, gizzard shad, suckers, and bullheads were the species most affected, and smallmouth bass was the dead game fish species observed most frequently, the DNR said.
The DNR said it believed both fish kills were caused by aerial spraying of nearby crop fields. The investigation is continuing to determine the responsible parties, they said.
