Buenos Aires, Feb 17 (Inditop.com/EFE) More than 200,000 silverside fish were found dead last week in a lake in northern Argentina, but the cause has not been determined, a media report said.
Environment officials are analysing the possible causes of the deaths, which occurred in Lake Ipizca, located in Catamarca province at some 1,000 km northeast of Buenos Aires.
Investigators are working on several theories, including the possibility that some poisonous substance was dumped into the lake, which supplies several nearby towns, the Critica newspaper said.
Faced with possible poisoning of the water supply for the surrounding municipalities, a group of scientists examined last Friday the quality of water in the reservoir.
Another possible cause is that the fish suffered some respiratory dysfunction because of lack of oxygen in the water of Lake Ipizca.
In the last few days, the 200,000 silverside fish were removed from the reservoir, which will remain closed until it is determined what it was that killed them.
Lake Ipizca, located at 1,000 meters above sea level, every week attracts some 400 fishermen and numerous nautical sports enthusiasts.
