Mass Fish Die-Off Occurs at Kent Lake

There’s something fishy going on at Kensington Metropark’s Kent Lake and it's affecting the carp population in a bad way.

A roughly estimated 75 to 100 carp turned up dead over the weekend with no clues as to the cause of death, said Kensington Metropark Superintendent Kimberly Jarvis.

Jarvis said she was told by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that there have been other mass fish die-offs this year at other lakes. The DNR said a combination of spawning stress and rapidly rising water temperatures could have caused the die-off at Kent Lake.

The DNR is also considering that the fish may have been victim to a virus that mainly affects carp, Jarvis said.  As a result, the DNR may test the fish for the virus later this week.

Maintenance crews are currently hard at work cleaning the lake and shoreline, though the die-off hasn’t appeared to affect park attendance.  Jarvis said she anticipates a quick clean-up.

“If the die-off is over, it will be no later than the end of the week,” Jarvis said.

Many of the dead carp will be used in Kensington’s community service garden as fertilizer.

“When we can use no more they will be disposed of appropriately,” Jarvis said.