Post by jimh on Jul 3, 2008 7:39:01 GMT -5
www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/sciencemedicine/story/D20DA1DCEC100E028625747B00143947?OpenDocument
Ebola-like virus threatens fish in Illinois
JULY 2, 2008 - Savon Mitchell, 12, helps Dharmarius Moore, 7, cast their lines. The boys, fishing with their uncle, did not have much luck at Horseshoe State Park.
(Teresa Prince /P-D)ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
07/03/2008
Illinois fishermen are being asked to help stop the spread of a highly contagious Ebola-like fish virus that was discovered recently in southern Lake Michigan.
On Wednesday, officials with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced they had adopted emergency rules aimed at preventing viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) from fanning farther into state waterways. The disease kills fish by causing them to bleed to death through the eyes, skin and gills. It does not affect humans.
The virus was first detected in the Great Lakes region in 2003 and is now found in eight states, including Illinois, where it was confirmed a few days ago. There are no reports of VHS in Missouri.
The emergency rules went into effect Monday, and place restrictions on 29 species of fish that are susceptible to VHS. Fishermen can catch and keep those species, but the fish cannot be alive when transported out of the waters where caught.
Some of those species include popular game fish such as largemouth bass, walleye, rainbow trout and smallmouth bass. It also includes several species of fish often used as bait.
"The new regulations we are implementing are immediate and appropriate steps in trying to slow the spread of this dangerous aquatic virus in Illinois," said Sam Flood, acting chief of the state department of natural resources. "The cooperation of anglers and boaters is essential in combatting the spread of VHS."
Illinois fisheries biologists were contacted by counterparts in Wisconsin in early June after a fish kill occurred near Milwaukee. That incident prompted the Illinois biologists to take a fish sample from Winthrop Harbor on Lake Michigan a few days later.
Tests then confirmed two species of fish — round goby and rock bass — had VHS.
"With the discovery of VHS in the Illinois waters of Lake Michigan, we need to act immediately to try to protect our inland waters," said Steve Pallo, the chief of fisheries for the department of natural resources. "The urgency is amplified by the fact that a significant amount of Lake Michigan water enters the Illinois River system through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal."
In addition to restricting the transport of live species, the emergency rule also calls for boaters and anglers to dump water from bait buckets, live wells and bilges before leaving a water body.
Also, all fish imported from the states where VHS is found must be certified disease-free. The same rule applies to wild-trapped minnows.
In other states where VHS has been found, more restrictive measures have been adopted.
For example, in Michigan, bait dealers are required to provide customers with receipts showing the origins of their bait fish. That state also imposed a one-year freeze on hatcheries that stock walleye, northern pike and muskellunge.
In May, the Minnesota and Wisconsin chapters of Trout Unlimited and other conservation groups sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Coast Guard for not doing enough to stop the spread of VHS throughout the Great Lakes.
Pallo said officials with the department of natural resources met with several angler groups before issuing the emergency rules and most members seemed to support them.
He said the new rules would not affect bass tournaments as those fish are typically weighed and then put back in the waters where caught.
"The angler groups we've talked to have been very positive," Pallo said. "Basically, they've said they're glad we're protecting the species from VHS and still letting them have their tournaments."
Ebola-like virus threatens fish in Illinois
JULY 2, 2008 - Savon Mitchell, 12, helps Dharmarius Moore, 7, cast their lines. The boys, fishing with their uncle, did not have much luck at Horseshoe State Park.
(Teresa Prince /P-D)ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
07/03/2008
Illinois fishermen are being asked to help stop the spread of a highly contagious Ebola-like fish virus that was discovered recently in southern Lake Michigan.
On Wednesday, officials with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced they had adopted emergency rules aimed at preventing viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) from fanning farther into state waterways. The disease kills fish by causing them to bleed to death through the eyes, skin and gills. It does not affect humans.
The virus was first detected in the Great Lakes region in 2003 and is now found in eight states, including Illinois, where it was confirmed a few days ago. There are no reports of VHS in Missouri.
The emergency rules went into effect Monday, and place restrictions on 29 species of fish that are susceptible to VHS. Fishermen can catch and keep those species, but the fish cannot be alive when transported out of the waters where caught.
Some of those species include popular game fish such as largemouth bass, walleye, rainbow trout and smallmouth bass. It also includes several species of fish often used as bait.
"The new regulations we are implementing are immediate and appropriate steps in trying to slow the spread of this dangerous aquatic virus in Illinois," said Sam Flood, acting chief of the state department of natural resources. "The cooperation of anglers and boaters is essential in combatting the spread of VHS."
Illinois fisheries biologists were contacted by counterparts in Wisconsin in early June after a fish kill occurred near Milwaukee. That incident prompted the Illinois biologists to take a fish sample from Winthrop Harbor on Lake Michigan a few days later.
Tests then confirmed two species of fish — round goby and rock bass — had VHS.
"With the discovery of VHS in the Illinois waters of Lake Michigan, we need to act immediately to try to protect our inland waters," said Steve Pallo, the chief of fisheries for the department of natural resources. "The urgency is amplified by the fact that a significant amount of Lake Michigan water enters the Illinois River system through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal."
In addition to restricting the transport of live species, the emergency rule also calls for boaters and anglers to dump water from bait buckets, live wells and bilges before leaving a water body.
Also, all fish imported from the states where VHS is found must be certified disease-free. The same rule applies to wild-trapped minnows.
In other states where VHS has been found, more restrictive measures have been adopted.
For example, in Michigan, bait dealers are required to provide customers with receipts showing the origins of their bait fish. That state also imposed a one-year freeze on hatcheries that stock walleye, northern pike and muskellunge.
In May, the Minnesota and Wisconsin chapters of Trout Unlimited and other conservation groups sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Coast Guard for not doing enough to stop the spread of VHS throughout the Great Lakes.
Pallo said officials with the department of natural resources met with several angler groups before issuing the emergency rules and most members seemed to support them.
He said the new rules would not affect bass tournaments as those fish are typically weighed and then put back in the waters where caught.
"The angler groups we've talked to have been very positive," Pallo said. "Basically, they've said they're glad we're protecting the species from VHS and still letting them have their tournaments."
