KOSCIUSKO — The Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams is currently researching the cause of fish kills which have been reported on several Kosciusko County lakes including Lake Wawasee, Syracuse Lake and Winona Lake. Most of the fish notably affected have been white bass, an invasive fish not native to northern Indiana lakes.

Fish kills which include other species of fish have also been sighted at Wawasee and Syracuse lakes, but these kills are likely as a result of a variety of sources which concentrated in certain areas of water due to wind direction.

One reason for the die-off of white bass on local lakes could be the species’ spawning behavior. White bass typically spawn in the springtime. The fish try to swim up streams to lay their eggs and, upon their return to the lake, are exhausted and susceptible to changes in water condition. This exhaustion also makes the fish vulnerable to bacteria which can cause disease. White bass may have become susceptible to contracting a disease causing this year’s large die-off.

The Lilly Center sent a research team last week and this week to assist the DNR in shocking local lakes for the purpose of gathering information about these local fish kills. While the Lilly Center continues to pursue better understanding these events and the possibility of predicting events based on lake conditions, the exact cause of the fish kills is not yet known.