The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources will host a virtual public meeting on December 9 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. to discuss ongoing research into skin lesions and tumors found on brown bullhead in Lake Memphremagog.
Rick Levey of the Department of Environmental Conservation and Pete Emerson of the Fish and Wildlife Department will present results from surveys conducted in the lake's South Bay, Hospital Cove, and Derby Bay between 2014 and 2018. Those surveys found that 20 to 30 percent of brown bullhead had skin lesions or tumors.
Such lesions in wild fish have long been used as an indicator of environmental quality. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey National Fish Health Laboratory have joined the investigation to determine the cause.
“When new or novel problems surface, like the discovery of a high incidence of brown bullhead lesions in the South Bay of Lake Memphremagog, the Agency turns to its team of scientists to investigate possible causes and ultimately, identify solutions,” said ANR Secretary Julie Moore.
The meeting can be accessed by phone at 802-828-7667, conference ID 730 614 326#.
NEK will be looking into whether similar fish lesions have been reported in other Northeast Kingdom water bodies and what known environmental factors may be at play.
Originally reported by Newport Dispatch.
Photo: Enikő Tóth via Pexels. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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