Drought keeps killing off fish by the thousands

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Thousands of dead fish are littering an expanse in northwest Chihuahua state once frequented by fishermen from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Water levels at both Fierro Lake and the nearby Laguna Grande are down drastically this summer. But it is the latter – smaller and standing on higher ground – that has practically dried up.

“Thousands of fish have died from lack of water. The city and the region are going through a great drought. We’re missing the rain that supplies the lake,” said Christian Ontiveros Durame, head of civil protection and fire services in Nuevo Casas Grandes, Mexico.

Both lakes feed from runoff from the Casas Grandes River, which is also running low on water.

The lack of rain has been evident for the past two years but 2024 has hit farmers, fishermen and even cities harder. Laguna Grande “provides some water for irrigation and for green spaces. So, this is a serious problem because we must use drinking water for parks in the city,” Ontiveros said.

Laguna Grande is down to a greenish puddle of water surrounded by fish carcasses feasted on by flies.

Guillermo Salazar, regional director of Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture, said he has not seen such an ecological disaster since the 1990s. The lake at its peak holds up to 13 million cubic meters of water.

“We asked the state for help when we saw the situation a few days ago, when fish were still alive. They came to do some studies and concluded the oxygen saturation in the water failed and that’s what killed off the fish,” he said.

The officials said there is nothing left to do but wait for rain – and an end to near triple-digit temperatures.

Laguna Grande is the second major lake in Chihuahua to experience an ecological disaster brought about by drought.

Last June, Border Report documented the struggles of farmers and government officials in Anahuac, just north of Cuauhtemoc, due to dropping water levels at Bustillos Lake. One local official said up to a million fish were dead and a farmer complained of swarms of flies threatening to bring disease on communities.

ProVideo contributed to this report.

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