Judging by the number of dead carp washing ashore daily, the Koi Herpes Virus has come to Lake Havasu.

Tony Waggoner/News-Herald Photo. Severe gill necrosis and white rotting patches are gross signs of a fish infected with the Koi Herpes Virus. Many of the fish are being picked apart by local wildlife after washing ashore in rural areas of the lake, like this one just south of the Nautical Inn.

Cleanup Efforts

In response, various government agencies, federal, state, local, tribal and local organizations are working in an effort to get heavily populated areas of the lake clean by the Fourth of July weekend.

KHV likely made its way down to Lake Havasu from Lake Mohave, where the virus has killed off thousands of carp. Fishery experts are saying too many carp are washing ashore to clear all of them, but rotting fish are a naturally occurring phenomenon.

“It’s something we are all concerned with, not just from a fisheries aspect, but also from the community aspect,” said Kirk Koch, program manager of the Bureau of Land Management Lake Havasu Fisheries Improvement. “I think it is just going to take the community banding together to take care of the problem.”

Koch said visitors shouldn’t really be concerned with mass quantities of dead fish in popular areas of the lake during the Fourth of July weekend because cleanup efforts are already under way.

The BLM is handling cleanup of boating campsites on Lake Havasu, and other agencies and organizations like the Lake Havasu Marine Association, Lake Havasu City Parks and Recreation Department and Arizona State Parks are organizing efforts elsewhere, including the Channel and Thompson Bay.

To address the number of dead carp increasing daily, Allied Waste Service crews are removing trash from the Island six days a week. Brian Conway, general manager of Allied Waste Service in Lake Havasu City, said crews are removing bags of dead fish every morning. They typically service the area three days a week but have doubled their services to address the issue.

On the other side of the lake, the Chemehuevi Tribe is handling their fair share of dead carp. Tribe Conservation Officer Fredrick Rivera said the problem is mainly on the rural beaches.

Rivera drives along the shoreline every morning loading bags of dead fish into the bed of this truck. But Rivera said the tribe has banded together, going above and beyond to make sure their public beaches are clean of fish to ensure public safety.

“Everybody is going beyond their duties, and as a conservation officer, I would like to personally thank them, he said.”

Almost 150 fish are washing ashore nightly, and the only way Rivera said he sees to solve the problem on both sides of the lake is to come together. The Chemehuevi tribe and Lake Havasu Marine Association Executive Director Jim Salscheider met Wednesday to discuss clean-up efforts on the lake.

A group of local city officials, including Mayor Mark Nexsen, Councilmember Dean Barlow and Parks & Recreation Department Interim Director Bart Wagner, will also take to the lake Friday morning to clean the lake and shorelines of dead carp.

If individuals would like to get involved in the clean-up process, Koch said he would not recommend throwing the fish in a trashcan. He said he would recommend burying the fish nearby.

Lake Mohave

According to National Park Service Public Affairs Officer Andrew Munoz, the virus’ impact on Memorial Day in Lake Mohave was not greatly felt. One hundred eighty thousand people made their way to Lake Mohave over the holiday weekend at a time when the virus was at its peak. Munoz said that number is comparable to the 240,000 that visited in 2007.

Casinos in the area reported only a few cancellations to Munoz.

National Park rangers are responsible for clearing the fish from the areas of Cottonwood Cove and Katherine Landing, two of Lake Mohave’s premiere tourist destinations. While rangers removed a considerable amount of fish from both areas, Munoz said it would be impossible to remove all of them.

“We have hundreds of thousands of fish affected,” he said. “We don’t have a very good estimate as to how many, but less fish are washing ashore daily.”

“There is no way we’re ever going to get all the fish out of the lake,” he said.

Fisheries biologists have tested the water quality in Lake Mohave and found it to be safe, Munoz said.

Visitors were encouraged to stay away from massive quantities of dead fish for obvious reasons, but Munoz said the virus did not as greatly affect certain areas of the lake.

Public Health

Andy Clark, regional fisheries program manager with Arizona Game & Fish in Kingman, said his department received an initial number of inquiries about the impact rotting fish could have on the public health, but no sicknesses have yet to be reported.

As with any body of water, though, Clark said there is a host of bacteria and algae that can cause flu-like symptoms in fish, bringing to the forefront many other parasites and bacterial diseases or viruses. But he said no human infections were reported.

“People don’t need to be messing with or eating or letting their dogs eat rotting fish,” Clark said. “If you are going to handle them, put gloves on and clean them up just like any other dead fish.”

Environmental Impact

Arizona Game & Fish spokesman Zen Mocarski said a number of myths have been floating around in relation to the carp deaths. He said one was different species washing up in quantities. In fact, only a few (other species of fish) have washed ashore so far in Lake Havasu, but nothing beyond normal. It is a carp-driven disease. My understanding is they are going to run additional tests in Lake Havasu.

“There is a normal percentage of (other) dead fish you’re going to see,” Zen Mocarski said.

Mocarski said it is his understanding is they are going to run additional tests in Lake Havasu.

He said the other myth was associated with the fake blood being used for the filming of “Piranha 3-D” on Lake Havasu. The blood is called studio paste, or “shark’s blood,” and is regularly used for filming on water because it quickly degenerates into the water.

The impact of KHV on the rest of the environment could actually be beneficial, according to Koch. He said there could be issues with any decomposing fish or animal, but there is typically very little that could be done other than properly disposing of the remaining tissue.

“(The carp) belong to nature, and there are a lot of elements of our ecosystem that will benefit from this,” Koch said.

You may contact the reporter at twaggoner@havasunews.com.