Alewife Die-Off

Large numbers of dead alewives, a small invasive exotic fish, washed ashore when ice melted this spring. The fish have been found from Crown Point in the south to the Inland Sea in the north. Vermont state fisheries biologist Shawn Good reported, "There was a flotsam line moving north from the (Crown Point) bridge where the current had caught and gathered alewives. Without exaggeration, the windrow of alewives was 20-30 feet thick floating on the surface, and extended well over a mile to the north. I have never seen anything like it."

The large winter die-off was anticipated. The fish's native environs are salt-water and they are not well adapted to the colder temperatures experienced in Lake Champlain. Dead fish tend to stay preserved for long periods of time in cold water. As spring temperatures melt the ice, dead alewives trapped under the ice float to the surface and wash up on shore.

No evidence of disease, like viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), a disease which has been killing fish in the Great Lakes, was found in the dead fish.

Alewives were first documented in Lake Champlain in 2005, probably after being released from a bait bucket. They have since been found throughout most of the lake. Large numbers of young alewives were first observed in the Inland Sea in 2007. The dead fish on shore provide a vivid reminder of why invasive species should be kept out of our lake. The Lake Champlain Committee has been working in conjunction with state and federal partners to keep other invasive species out.