EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — Visitors to Ascarate Park were met with a troubling sight when large numbers of dead fish surfaced in a lake at the park in South-Central El Paso.
People who came to the lake Friday morning said they were shocked to see hundreds of dead fish floating in the water behind the pond area.
“All the fish coming up dead out of nowhere, it’s not a good sign. Honestly, it makes me sad only because I am an animal lover,” said Abigail Trajeda, a frequent visitor at Ascarate Park.
The dead fish were visible above the waterline, and people who frequent the lake for fishing and leisure said it is not something they see often.
“That is nothing that I’ve ever seen in the 10 years I’ve lived in El Paso, what shocked me was the amount of dead fish,” said Isaac Arenas.
KFOX14/CBS4 asked Arenas if all the dead fish impacted other fish people are trying to catch today.
He said, “There is a big shift; they are not biting. Usually, we can catch 3-4 in an hour; we always catch something. I’ve been fishing here this morning since 9 a.m.; I haven’t caught one Bass. I see them, but they’re not feeding yet.”
El Paso city crews cleaned up most of the dead fish after they were found on Friday, with few still visible around the lake near the golf course adjacent to the park.
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Felipe Perez said he believed the cleanup should have happened sooner. “The guys around here, mainly crews, should have already cleaned them up instead of us seeing that. They have plenty of workers; if there’s nobody there right now, what are the other guys doing,” Perez said.
County officials were contacted about the dead fish, and they said they were working on a request for information.
Even after the initial discovery, a few fish could still be seen trapped near weedy areas along the edge of the lake near the golf course.
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