LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – People living on Lake Eustis are asking questions after fish started dying and washing up along their shorelines.
After receiving a tip about the dead fish from a viewer, News 6 decided to head up to Eustis and talk to people who live on the lake. The people we spoke to said they had never seen anything like this.
Amber lives on Lake Eustis, and even though she has seen the dead fish floating around her family’s dock for the last couple of days, it’s still shocking to her.
“They’re just piling up,” Amber said.
Amber said she first noticed something was off when she went fishing on Friday.
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“As I was fishing, there was a lot of fish floating, and I was like, ‘Oh, maybe they just dropped their bait off into the water.’ No bites, so I’m like, ‘OK, no bites,’” Amber said. “The next day I come out here to fish, and they’re all dead.”
Amber said that over the last couple of days, the number of fish washing up has increased.
“I started noticing the fish washing up on the shoreline on Saturday,” Amber said. “Saturday morning when I came out here, I could smell that smell. And I was like, ‘Huh, what’s that smell?’ So I came out here, and I was like, ‘Wow, look at all these fish. They’re all washed up, there’s flies around them and everything. It smells really bad.’”
Amber as well as other neighbors said they’ve spoken with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission about the fish kill. But for now, they wait for answers.
“FWC answered my phone call, and then they told me that they collected some samples of the water and then some samples of the fish and to get them tested, and they didn’t have a word yet on what’s going on,” Amber said.
On Thursday, the St. Johns River Water Management said it is aware of the reported fish kill
“We expect to have more information once FWC completes its analysis of the samples,” the agency said.
News 6 also reached out to the Florida Department of Health, but they were closed for the New Year’s holiday.
In addition, News 6 has reached out to the FWC, the city of Eustis, and Lake County for any additional details, and will report them as soon as they become available.
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