Categories
News News Blog

Why Are There So Many Dead Fish at Shelby Farms?

Facebook/Zeina Alwafai

Hundreds of dead shad on the shore of Shelby Farms’ Hyde Lake

Anyone who has been near Hyde Lake at Shelby Farms Park recently, has likely noticed the large number of dead fish in and around the lake — and the smell that comes with it.

What happened to all this fish? Well, it’s not COVID-19, or algae, or chemicals, but the changing temperatures.

Dead fish at Shelby Farms Park from r/memphis

Why Are There So Many Dead Fish at Shelby Farms?


The fish people are seeing are Threadfin shad, Angie Whitfield, marketing and communications manager for Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, said. The fluctuating temperatures are causing a natural die-off of the species, she said.

Park staff are working to remove the fish from the shore, she adds. Meanwhile, the other species of fish in the lake have not been affected and fishing is still open at Hyde Lake and other lakes throughout the park.