Watsonville's Pinto Lake electrocuted
Watsonville city crews electrified Pinto Lake and killed dozens of fish in an attempt to rid the toxic lake of cyanobacteria algae.
Crews launched two fishing boats Thursday morning and their goal was to kill as many carp as possible.
The boats were equipped with two booms that created an electric field to shock the carp. Other fish weren't harmed, and were able to swim away once the electric field was removed.
Two garbage cans were filled with dead, zapped carp, and the fish were dumped in a landfill.
Nitrogen and phosphorus, which provide the nutrients for toxic algae blooms, are found in sediments that were deposited at the bottom of Pinto Lake 100 years ago. Bottom-feeding carp stir up the nitrogen and phosphorus.
"Carp are like farrell pigs. They get down on the bottom, grub up the water, and release a lot of nutrients into the water that feed bacteria blooms. So if we remove the carp, we reduce the toxins and make it a better lake," city water specialist Robert Ketley said.
Last year, Watsonville sponsored a fishing contest called "Carpageddon" in an attempt to reduce the carp population. But it barely dented the population, which could be in the thousands.
Next year, the city plants to seal up the bottom of the lake so that phosphorous can not be released.
Warning signs dot the lake notifying visitors about toxic algae that cause rashes, nausea, diarrhea, as well as liver and kidney damage.
Friends of Pinto Lake member Patricia McQuade said she hopes the lake will be clean enough someday for children to swim in it.