MEXICO: Large numbers of small fish called alewives are washing up dead on the shores of Lake Champlain in northwest Vermont.
The Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife says the fish have died because the species isn’t native to the area.
Alewives, an exotic fish found in the Atlantic Ocean, were first documented in Lake Champlain in 2005. Since then, the fish have been seen throughout the lake.
State fisheries biologist Shawn Good said the winter die-off is a common occurrence. Dead alewives stay preserved in cold water, but float to the surface and wash up on shores when ice cover melts. They’ve primarily been found in Milton and Georgia.
Good says it’s a reminder of why it’s illegal to move fish from their natural environment to introduce new fishing opportunities.
