50,000 fish dead on stretch of U.S. river, investigation underway

Digital WritersThe Weather Network
Digital Writers

Conservation officers are investigating the cause of the mass die off.

Conservationists in Missouri are investigating after tens of thousands of dead fish were found drifting in Kansas City's Brush Creek.

The Missouri Department of Conservation said in a release that the fish kill included an estimated 1,900 common carp, 240 silver carp, and 50,000 sunfish, over a course of more than 6 kilometres.

The department does offer a tentative explanation for at least some of the deaths: all the carp, it says, were found in a pool between two concrete weirs, and may have swum there after a heavy rain event raised water levels, then been unable to swim back out once the levels returned to normal.

"Biologists say concrete structures in the creek sometimes create stagnant water conditions with high water temperatures and low oxygen levels than can trigger fish die offs, especially in summer," the department says.

Watch the video above for a more full explanation.