Pigeon Lake Die Off ??

[Springer]

We were planning on going Fishing to Pigeon Lake in a couple weeks but i hear through rumour that there was the Algae Bloom again and a big Die off ??
Anyone else hear the same news and are people still catching fish??

Thanks.
Springer

[ice]

Iv heard that there was the blue algae bloom,
And Iv heard rumors of dead fish but no one has confirmed that for me

[ice]

Photo 1/5
AHS issued an alert for toxic blue-green algae on Pigeon Lake on July 27, 2012. Algae blooms have plagued this lake in the past. This aerial photo is...more

Photo 2/5
AHS issued an alert for toxic blue-green algae on Pigeon Lake on July 27, 2012. Algae blooms have plagued this lake in the past. This aerial photo is...more

Photo 3/5
AHS issued an alert for toxic blue-green algae on Pigeon Lake on July 27, 2012. Algae blooms have plagued this lake in the past. This aerial photo is...more

Photo 4/5
AHS issued an alert for toxic blue-green algae on Pigeon Lake on July 27, 2012. Algae blooms have plagued this lake in the past. This aerial photo is...more

Photo 5/5
Whitefish wash up on shore at Pigeon Lake on July 22, 2012 as the warm weather has caused the oxygen levels in the lake to drop killing larger...more
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BY CAILYNN KLINGBEIL, EDMONTONJOURNAL.COM JULY 28, 2012
PIGEON LAKE, AB — Residents and visitors at Pigeon Lake southwest of Edmonton are being warned not to drink water or swim following the discovery of blue-green algae.
That’s threatening to ruin holiday plans and business, but a planned Ma-Me-O days sandcastle building contest Sunday is scheduled to go ahead.
Pam Elgert, a waitress at Daisy McBeans, worries another blue-green algae advisory, which was issued for the popular spot for much of last summer, will keep customers away again.
Daisy McBeans is a coffee and ice cream shop near Ma-Me-O beach on Pigeon Lake. “It’s not hurting us now, but when people can’t come and swim it has an impact,” Elgert said.
Her own plans to spend next weekend at the beach with her 10-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son will likely change, too. “We were planning on going swimming for the long weekend but if we can’t go in the water, we won’t be going.”
Alberta Health Services issued the advisory late Friday for Pigeon Lake, located about 100 kilometres southwest of Edmonton. Dr. Marcia Johnson, a medical officer of health for the Edmonton Zone, said signs warning of the algae’s presence were being posted around Pigeon Lake’s shore on Saturday morning.
Johnson said people and pets should not swim or wade in the lake, and recommended people may wish to limit their consumption of fish from the lake, because of the toxins produced by blue-green algae.
People or pets who drink or swim in the contaminated water could get sick. Symptoms range depending on the amount of blue-green algae a person or animal has been exposed to. Symptoms include skin irritation, rash, sore throat, sore red eyes, swollen lips, fever, nausea and vomiting or diarrhea.
“Unfortunately blue-green algae is developing a pattern of occurring in many lakes in Alberta,” Johnson said. “It’s related to water temperatures and the level of nutrients in the water.”
Pigeon Lake will be monitored regularly and the advisory will be lifted when there is no remaining sign of blue-green algae.
The advisory comes a week after hundreds of whitefish washed ashore at Ma-Me-O beach at Pigeon Lake.
Dave Ealey, spokesman for Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, said at the time hot weather was to blame, rather than toxic blue-green algae.
“We’re still convinced that the temperature was the concern for those fish,” Ealey said Saturday.
Glenn Isaac, executive director of the North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper Program, said in an email a blue-green algae advisory was issued on the same day last year.
The advisory and dead whitefish made for “a tough week for those of us who love Pigeon Lake,” he said.
For 17-year-old Hayley Buskas, who lives in Edmonton and spends time at her parent’s cabin at Pigeon Lake, algae advisories are becoming a normal part of summertime.
Buskas helped organize events for this weekend’s Ma-Me-O Days, including a pancake breakfast and parade. She said a sandcastle building contest scheduled for Sunday would go ahead as planned, as the dead fish from the beach had been removed by a volunteer cleanup crew.
“We seem to have an algae advisory every year. It doesn’t affect me, I’m still boating and swimming,” she said.
Two other blue-green algae advisories remain in effect for lakes in the Edmonton area.
A blue-green algae warning was issued on July 24 for Lac Ste. Anne, a lake about 75 kilometres northwest of Edmonton where, days earlier, people had waded into the water to offer their prayers at an annual religious pilgrimage.
An advisory was issued for Lake Isle, located northwest of Edmonton, on July 10.

cklingbeil@edmontonjournal.com

© Copyright (c) edmontonjournal.com

[Kim473]

Alge should be almost gone in a few weeks if the weather cools a little and we get some wind to mix it up.

[fluxcore]

Lots of dead fish not the best smelling place right now. If anyone is putting a boat in pigeon please practice scrubing your boat down after and before putting into another water body

[seahawkfisher]

algae has very little to do with the fish dying; some of the best fishing can be found where the water looks the grossest. warm water / low o2 levels = trouble for fish who like the cool deeper water that "dissappears" in many alberta lakes most summers.
cheers

[Springer]

Thats for the info Fellas. We were there last year when the bloom was on. Caught some Walleye and the stay at the Provincial campground was pretty nice as well.
Just was a pain trying to keep the dog out of the water and other dogs out of our campsite for those that chose not to keep them on a leash.

[Pixel Shooter]

Not sure I agree with your hypothesis

blue-green algae depletes oxygen, to clarify, blue-green algae is actually a type of bacteria, they are classed in the phylum “Cyanobacteria.” Cyanobacteria (that is, blue-green algae) obtain their energy from photosynthesis, which does create oxygen. But, when blue-green algae die, they decompose by a process that uses cellular respiration, which uses up oxygen. Respiration disassembles carbon molecules and releases chemical energy. It is the decomposition of the cyanobacteria that causes oxygen depletion. Green algae also uses up oxygen in the same way when it decomposes.

This happens every year it seems on this lake, but by far the whitefish really took a kicking this year compared to years past. What do you expect with water temps at 70 degrees. Its a shame

Originally Posted by seahawkfisher

algae has very little to do with the fish dying; some of the best fishing can be found where the water looks the grossest. warm water / low o2 levels = trouble for fish who like the cool deeper water that "dissappears" in many alberta lakes most summers.
cheers

[Bear Ballz]

Was out last Sunday and there were hundreds of dead whites floating around.

[YeeHaw]

Blue green alge now at Devil's lake by Edmonton.

[wilcorp1]

This is becoming a serious issue in that lake and other lakes like Lac St Anne...

"Alberta must slow lakeside development and stop sewage run-off if it wants to prevent more toxic algae blooms and fish kills, says one water activist responding to new warnings for Pigeon Lake.
“It doesn’t take much for them to go from a high level of algae to becoming blue-green algae blooms,” said Glenn Isaac, executive director of the North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper Program.
“This is starting to become a bit of a pattern,” Isaac said. “Blue-green algae as a water quality issue is one of the most impactful issues for Albertans, because it’s the one that affects the most during the summer.”
Isaac’s words come as hundreds of fish washed up on the shore of Ma-Me-O Beach Sunday."

"it is possible “human disturbance has, in many cases, worsened the situation by increasing the delivery of excess nutrients to the lake.”

Thunder Lake
Pigeon Lake
Wabamun
Carson Pegasus

.......