PULASKI COUNTY, Va. – The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources discovered more than 100 dead striped bass between Pulaski County’s Claytor Dam and the Claytor Dam State Park over the span of just a few days.
The agency reports that its Aquatics staff found 43 dead striped bass, ranging from about 18 inches to more than 30 inches long, on July 21. Then during the weekend of July 23 to 24, an additional 60 or more were reported dead.
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Officials believe the intense summer heat may have caused their deaths.
According to DWR, striped bass need water temperatures to be less than 75-77 degrees Fahrenheit with dissolved oxygen levels greater than 2 to 3 milligrams per liter. But recent water quality sampling shows that below about 23 feet, the dissolved oxygen concentration is now less than 2 milligrams per liter, authorities explained.
The Department of Environmental Quality also found that water temperatures as deep as about 50 feet were above the preferred range mentioned above.
We’re told striped bass deaths are not a rarity on Claytor Lake, especially when temperatures are high and there’s a low inflow from the New River.
DWR says, unfortunately, it isn’t much that can be done to remedy the situation but says they will continue to monitor it.
For additional information, please contact fisheries@dwr.virginia.gov.