Researchers discovered Aug. 9 that 21,000 fish had died in their enclosures at UC Davis’ Center For Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture — a mass die-off that appears to have been caused by chlorine exposure. About 100 fish — mostly tilapia — survived.
The Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture, or CABA, focuses on species conservation; the thousands of fish were research subjects. Endangered or threatened native California species, including Chinook salmon and green sturgeon, were among the fish that died.
Officials use data generated by CABA to decide how to manage fish populations and their habitats, said UC Davis’ director of news and media relations, Melissa Lutz Blouin. In 2011, a study in the journal “Biological Conservation” found that of 129 native California freshwater fish species, 66 species were either teetering on the brink of extinction or destined for extinction in the near future if people did not change their behavior. Another 34 species were in decline.
