The Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Environment is investigating three separate incidents of fish mortalities discovered Wednesday.
The department received reports of dead fish in Indian River and French River Wednesday afternoon and a third report of dead fish in Mount Herbert that evening.
Spokesperson Bruce Raymond, head of the Department's Rivers and Estuaries Section, said reports of the incidents in Indian River and French River came in at approximately 2 pm. Raymond said a watershed crew discovered the dead fish in Indian River, while a member of the public reported the incident in French River.
The report of fish mortalities in Mount Herbert came in the form of an anonymous call to the toll-free Environmental Emergency Response number (1-800-565-1633).
In all three incidents, Raymond said investigators have collected water samples as well as dead fish to be taken to the Atlantic Veterinary College for analysis. The first samples were collected in Indian River at approximately 2:30 pm.
"At this point, it appears water temperature and dissolved oxygen were not factors in the fish mortalities in either Indian River or French River. It is still too early to make that determination in Mount Herbert," Raymond said.
"Beyond that, until we receive the results of the fish autopsies and water sample analysis by the Atlantic Veterinary College we cannot determine what was the cause of death in any of the incidents," he added.
The provincial Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Environment is continuing the investigations in cooperation with Environment Canada.