Thousands of dead fish
In Sint Maarten, the Ministry of Public Health has issued a warning to the public following the discovery of a large number of dead fish in the canal linking Fresh Pond to Great Salt Pond, near Illidge Road. Representatives from the Nature Foundation Sint Maarten have visited the site to carry out tests and determine the cause of this mass die-off.
A sea of lifeless fish floating on the water’s surface – a surreal yet very real sight. This incident is thought to be caused by severe hypoxia, that is, a critical drop in the level of dissolved oxygen in the water. Prolonged high temperatures, a lack of rainfall and falling water levels create conditions that are unfavourable for the survival of fish in ponds. In this case, the victims are tilapia, an invasive species found in large numbers in the ponds, where they reproduce rapidly. When their numbers become too high in a confined space, they quickly consume the remaining oxygen, leading to mass suffocation.
A recurring phenomenon
According to the Nature Foundation Sint Maarten, although striking, these mass deaths are common in the canal during the hottest and driest months, from May to October. “When oxygen levels are low, the fish instinctively head for areas where the water is moving in order to find more oxygen. It is possible that thousands of tilapia from both ponds moved simultaneously towards this channel, thereby creating a bottleneck. They would then have rapidly consumed, in a very short space of time, the little oxygen still available,” the experts stated in a press release. Clean-up operations are still under way to remove the dead fish. Whilst the heat and direct exposure to the sun are accelerating the decomposition process and causing a very unpleasant odour, the government states that it is “doing everything possible to remove the dead fish as quickly as possible and dispose of them appropriately”. Furthermore, the authorities are reminding the public not to consume these fish under any circumstances. Water quality analyses carried out by the Nature Foundation Sint Maarten regularly reveal high levels of pollution and poor water quality at Fresh Pond and Great Salt Pond. The authorities also recommend buying fish only from authorised outlets. For further information, visit www.sintmaartengov.org and to report any environmental issues, contact the Nature Foundation via WhatsApp on +1 721-581-6365. 
