There have been no widespread issues this spring of fish kills in the Shenandoah River. Around April and May is when the kills are found.

Shenandoah Riverkeeper Jeff Kelble says there were a few small events on the radar at the end of March, but since then none have been reported. The investigation into the cause of the fish kills continues. One theory is that a certain fish bacteria is to blame. The other theory is that contaminants found in the river are causing an immune system problem.

Kelble says not all of the fish develop skin lesions before dying. "Being one of the few people that have been on the river during the kills and observed thousands of fish sick and dead, or healthy, I've seen enough variation between those to be very skeptical of the one bacteria theory and nobody has yet been able to explain to me why those differences would occur if it was just one bacteria," says Kelble.

The kills are most severe among smallmouth bass and sunfish.