Mexico | Lake rescue operation in the land of dead fish schools

(Pátzcuaro) Cleaning up the springs and repopulating the waters with fish: the authorities seem on the verge of winning their bet to regenerate Lake Pátzcuaro, in western Mexico, a country where fish are dying by the thousands in other lakes.

In the state of Michoacán, Lake Pátzcuaro is the livelihood of fishermen in a region where many residents leave to seek adventure in the United States, for lack of prospects.

The lake is also a tourist hotspot, particularly during the Day of the Dead, at the beginning of November, in this state, a major producer of avocados, which has been hit by violence from organised crime.

The lake’s surface area has shrunk by half in 30 years, from 11,837 hectares to 6,833 hectares, according to the local government. The blame lies not only in drought, but also in avocado growers who illegally pump its water to irrigate their plantations, according to the local government and residents.

But this week, hope is being reborn with the release of 10,000 fry in the hope “that they will reproduce,” explained Miguel Alba, a 46-year-old fisherman who nevertheless laments the absence of trout. In total, 50,000 small white fish could be thrown into the lake’s waters by the end of the year.

Fish and work, which were both scarce, caused a slow rural exodus, he said: “People are leaving, some to the capital Mexico, others to California, to the United States. They don’t come back.”

“The white fish was born and developed in Lake Pátzcuaro,” explains biologist Julio César Bernal. “It is one of the fish that has long helped the local population” to live.

Before releasing the fry, local authorities began cleaning the springs that feed the lake, removing mud, solid waste and plants that were blocking them.

“We have exceeded our objectives,” says Julio César Bernal. “We are very advanced not only in cleaning, but also in discovering new sources.”

He is pleased about the existence of “fifteen new springs which produce large quantities of absolutely crystal clear, clean water, which flows directly into the lake.”

Dead fish

The rescue operations at Lake Pátzcuaro represent a sign of hope after yet another discovery this week of thousands of dead fish near the Rio Santiago in the neighboring state of Jalisco.

“Upstream, there are some companies that probably generated waste, that caused the pollution” responsible for the death of the fish, estimates Victor Lucio Alvarez, secretary general of the municipal government of Juanacatlan, the town where the mass death of fish was reported.

Local authorities will take legal action against those responsible after taking samples of water and dead fish, he added.

Some 250 businesses are located around the river, where fishing had been banned.