NEW ORLEANS -- State wildlife officials are getting help from University of New Orleans researchers in monitoring how the opening of a major spillway may have affected Lake Pontchartrain fisheries.

WWL-TV

Some green growth has been seen in Lake Pontchartrain near the shorelines on the north and south shores.

The researchers were asked to do weekly sampling on the lake's west side until the threat of algae blooms and fish kills is over. State Wildlife and Fisheries researchers are doing similar work on the lake's eastern side.

Martin O'Connell, with UNO's Nekton Research Laboratory, says the lab has taken monthly samples of lake fisheries since 2000 as part of team tracking the health of redfish, speckled trout and other species.

This spring's opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway to ease pressure on New Orleans-area levees from the swollen Mississippi River has focused attention on the possible effects the nutrient-rich river water had on the lake.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)