Why Beaver Lake's fish are dying off

There’s something fishy going on in Beaver Lake.

The scenic body of water’s aquatic residents have been dying and have been found rotting on the sidewalk, leaving passerbys disgusted.

While the lake has been home to fish for years, they were not placed there by the city, but rather by people who dumped unwanted goldfish. The artificial lake was never meant to house fish, said Pierre-Paul Savignac, head of the Montreal Parks Department.

While in years past the fish could survive by feeding off the sediment at the bottom, the lake was renovated last summer, with a bottom that has far less sediment.

“What’s different this year is that there are many more fish,” said Savignac.

The city will be erecting signs warning people not to put fish in the lake.

Savignac said the city is observing the situation and trying to clean up the dead fish multiple times per day. But some tourists in the area said they aren’t doing a good enough job.

“It’s a beautiful spot, but if you see dead fish in the water, you want to move away from it,” said one.

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  Last year's renovations to Beaver Lake has led to less sediment at its bottom, which in turn has made the lake less hospitable to goldfish people dump in the water.