The Karuk Tribe announced Thursday that a new report issued by the tribe shows the flesh of a popular game fish in PacifiCorp’s Klamath River reservoirs is contaminated by the algal toxin microcystin.

The algae Microcystis aeruginosa produces the toxin microcystin which is known to cause liver damage and promote tumor growth, according to a news release from the tribe.

The tribe’s report, based on toxicological analyses performed by state agencies and paid for by the federal government, concludes that health officials should warn the public not to eat fish from the reservoirs during the summer months when algae blooms are most pervasive.

The California Department of Fish and Game’s report “Microcystin Bioaccumulation in Klamath River Fish and Freshwater Mussel Tissue: Preliminary 2007 Results” shows that during summer months when the algae blooms are present, the toxin was found in the tissue of yellow perch from Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs and freshwater mussels in the Klamath River, according to the news release.

Since the discovery in 2001 of the toxic blue-green algae Microcystis aeruginosa in Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs behind dams owned by PacifiCorp’s, the reservoirs have seen record levels of the toxic algae and health warnings to swimmers and boaters from state water regulators.

Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency listed the Klamath River as impaired by toxic algae.

Fishing for the non-native yellow perch in the reservoirs is popular among anglers while and the river mussels are an important traditional food for the Karuk and other Tribes.

Tribal officials indicated they want PacifiCorp’s parent company’s billionaire owner Warren Buffett to know that they won’t take the toxin problem any longer.

“PacifiCorp’s dams kill our salmon and poison our people,” stated Karuk Vice-chairman Leaf Hillman. “We will do everything in our power to remove these dams and fix our river.”