Town and county officials are trying to figure out what caused the death of about 200 fish this week in Davidson Pond at Roosevelt Wilson Park, off Griffith Street.

Davidson Public Works Manager Doug Wright said Thursday that a resident reported the dead fish on Tuesday morning. Town officials contacted the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Mr. Wright gave this report in an email:

After Public Works staff confirmed [the report of the dead fish], we reported the kill to NCDENR, and called Meck County water quality specialist Corey Priddy for assistance. Corey came Tuesday and took measurements of various parameters for the pond. He found nothing out of the ordinary that would indicate the presence of sewage, a contaminant, or low oxygen levels. The only species that was affected was Gizzard Shad, a bait fish that is highly susceptible to changes in oxygen or temperature. We lost approximately 200 of the shad.

Workers were out on the water Thursday morning removing dead fish. Mr. Wright said no additional dead shad were found.

David Buetow, a county fisheries expert, will be in Davidson Monday to investigate further. Mr. Buetow is a senior environmental specialist with Mecklenburg County, and works mainly on the three Catawba River lakes, according to Mr. Priddy.

Mr. Wright said he hopes to know more about the dead fish situation after Monday.