Drop in water temperature likely cause of death of hundreds of fish: biology professor

Hundreds of dead fish found along N.S. shoreline A drop in water temperature late Sunday is the likely cause of death of hundreds of fish in northern Cape Breton, according to a local biology professor.

A drop in water temperature late Sunday is the likely cause of death of hundreds of fish in northern Cape Breton, according to a local biology professor.

“A super chill event, there's a number of names for it, but essentially the mixing of that water and all of a sudden the fish are in a very different environment and they just can't cope,” said Trevor Avery, a biology professor at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S.

A video posted to social media on Monday shows hundreds of dead Atlantic striped bass littering the shoreline along North Harbour in Dingwall, N.S.

A spokesperson for Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the department believes no projects or industrial activities caused the mortality. However, samples are being gathered and Environment and Climate Change Canada has been notified.