As the cleanup continued on the Dunk River Tuesday, provincial crews checked several other major river systems in Prince Edward Island for dead fish. Gerald MacDougall, Manager of Fish and Wildlife, says there are no signs of fish mortalities on the other rivers.
The department is continuing to investigate an incident on the upper east branch of the Tryon River and one on the Dunk River. The first incident, reported Sunday evening, affected approximately four kilometres of stream. Cleanup crews collected about 725 dead fish Sunday and Monday.
Most of the cleanup on the Dunk River is expected to be completed Wednesday. That incident affected more than 12 kilometres of stream from the Emerald area to Scales Pond. Crews walked the river Tuesday to identify the area affected, take additional samples, and collect dead fish. About 500 fish have been picked up so far, however, Mr. MacDougall said the incident affected thousands of fish including many large rainbow and speckled trout and salmon. The water is very cloudy so the cleanup effort has been difficult and slow, he said.
The Dunk River and east branch of the Tryon River are closed to angling. While the Department of Fisheries and Oceans initially planned to close just a portion of the Dunk River, it was decided Tuesday to close the entire river to angling as a precautionary measure until more is known about the impact on the river. At this point, the closures are in effect for the remainder of the year.
The provincial Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry is continuing to investigate the incidents in co-operation with Environment Canada. Water, soil and vegetation samples, as well as dead fish, have been sent to the laboratory for analysis. Mr. MacDougall said it will be at least two to three weeks before results are received.