"Diminishing Ice Cover On Maine’s Lakes Could Impact Fish Populations"

"AUBURN, Me. — In September 2012, local and state officials noticed something odd at Lake Auburn. Fish were dying for no discernible reason.

First, they saw just five. On the fifth day, a total of 50 dead fish, many of them lake trout, had been found.

Officials eventually recovered more than 200 dead or dying fish in all, making it the first fish kill ever recorded in Lake Auburn.

Scientists and officials said the event was related to an unseasonably warm year which resulted in an early ice-out on Lake Auburn and, later, the growth of a large, harmful algal bloom."

Vanessa Paolella reports for the Portland Press Herald April 25, 2021.