Up to 500 dead carp in Camco lake

A New Jersey Fish and Wildlife biologist is on scene investigating a large fish kill at a small lake in Runnemede, Camden County.

Larry Hajna, a spokesman with the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the kill was reported yesterday. The biologist arrived this morning to find anywhere from 300 to 500 dead carp floating in the water. The lake off Singley Avenue is separated from Big Timber Creek by a damn.

The biologist is gathering specimens for a necropsy to determine the cause. However, Hajna said a large number of sunfish bass were detected still living and thriving in the lake, indicating a pathogen, or disease, might have struck that's specific to carp.

"He (the biologist) said it appears that it has probably been going on for a few days," Hajna said. "The fish were bloated and in advanced stage of decay."

The kill was large in relation to the size of the lake, Hajna said.