Dozens of dead fish have been found floating on a stretch of water.
Andrea Tsumba came across the “sad sight” near Sittingbourne Speedway on Old Ferry Road, Iwade.
The 39-year-old noticed it whilst walking her two dogs with her partner, Rick, just after midday on Saturday (June 28).
“We’d never seen anything like it before,” she explained.
“I just said ‘oh my god, something is not right here’ and told him to take some pictures as we walked closer to the edge of the water.
“You see online that a couple of fish might wash up every now and then after a rough storm, but not like that. It was very localised.”
The lake is in an off-road area that stretches from The Swale and across to the Sittingbourne Speedway.
Andrea, from Sheerness, heads out there once a month with pooches Winnie, a Weimaraner and Hero, a Shih Tzu, for some enrichment time.
She said: “Just in that little area there must have been around 50 to 60 fish. There were loads.
“The entire water’s edge as far as your eyes could see was just dead fish and they certainly weren’t small.”
After reporting the incident to the Environment Agency, she shared her concerns on a local Facebook group.
It said: “Anyone know what is going on with this stretch of water? Took the dogs for a walk and could see it full of dead fish. A sad sight.”
Whilst some speculated that it was caused by the depletion of oxygen in the water, others thought it could have been from chemtrails, a long-standing conspiracy theory.
One person commented: “Oh no, that’s not good. There are very big carp in there.”
Last October, several dead fish were found in the Thames and Medway Canal, near Mark Lane in Gravesend.
It is understood that warm weather can increase the temperature of the water and encourage algal blooms. This causes a significant drop in oxygen levels.
Hundreds of the aquatic animals were spotted floating on Singleton Lake in Ashford last month.
Despite residents’ concerns over possible pollution, the Environment Agency again claimed the cause was a decrease in oxygen.
Andrea added: “There are newly-fitted cameras in the area as I understand there has been illegal lamping. There’s also a new sign that says no fishing.
“I am hoping someone will go out to test the water just in case something untoward has happened.”
Lamping involves the use of a high-powered spotlight to transfix wild animals in a powerful beam and then either shoot or use dogs to kill them.
An Environment Agency spokesman said: “We received the report of dead fish yesterday (July 3).
“Unfortunately, as this was for an event that happened on Saturday, there was very little that we could do. There have been no other reports.
“The photos we received show no sign of pollution. It is possible that these are freshwater fish that swam too far upstream and died in the salt water.
“We ask that if members of the public see fish in distress to please report it to our free 24-hour Incident Hotline on 0800 60 70 80.”
