Fish-killing virus nears

[pk]

OK, I will be the first to say that I'm treading in unseen waters when I venture onto this forum. Even though I did catch ONE fish, once in my life! lol

But I read this article of which may be old news to some but I never read anything about this before so wondered what this is all about now...it's like nothing is safe anymore.. from deer issues, mosquitoes, birds, now FISH?

Anyone can tell us anymore about this? Will it affect our eating habits of fish as we know it?

FISH-KILLING VIRUS NEARS:
Ugly disease seeping inexorably toward Lake Michigan
A nasty fish-killing virus recently discovered in the eastern Great Lakes is now poised to spill into Lake Michigan.

State of Michigan officials announced last week that viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS, has been confirmed in northern Lake Huron, only about 20 miles east of where it merges with Lake Michigan - an approximately 200-mile advance in its known range from just last fall. State fishery officials say it's probably only a matter of time before the virus that bleeds its victims to death spills into our waters.

VHS poses no threat to humans, but fishery experts fret that it could wreak havoc on the entire Great Lakes fishery, and the $4.5 billion commercial and recreational industry that it supports.

Nobody knows how the disease made its way into the Great Lakes. It was first detected in Lake Ontario in 2005 and has subsequently been found in the St. Lawrence River, as well as Lakes Erie and St. Clair. Researchers now believe it has been in the Great Lakes at least since 2003.

Scientists confirmed its presence in Lake Huron only after re-analyzing samples from fish collected during a 2005 survey.

"It is the most serious fish disease problem that we've seen," said Wisconsin fish health veterinarian Myron Kebus.

FULL STORY HERE:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index....7&format=print

[rudedog]

this is the first I've heard of this disease. it sounds bad. real bad.
i really don't know how much more lake Michigan can take before its a dead lake again. as it is most of the fish in my area are planted, and if they ever stopped we would be out of luck except for a few perch and some bullheads.
oops i forgot the carp. whats even worse is the this looks like its going to hit the northern part of the lake first, which is the part that still has the last of many native species.
this isn't good news, hopefully nature has a way to deal with this before it gets too bad.

[keith]

First I'd heard of this, too!

Sounds nasty. Thanks for the posts.

Regards,
Keith

[pk]

First I'd heard of this, too!

Sounds nasty. Thanks for the posts.

Regards,
Keith

Well Keith and Rudedog it looks as if this is getting worse. Check out the following:

Fish Virus Found in Inland Waterways

The DNR is calling the recent outbreak of the VHS viral disease a fish crisis.

Though it doesn't affect humans, it causes fish to bleed to death, and is easily spread to some 25 species of fish.

It was first found in the Great Lakes. But Friday, the DNR confirmed fish in Menasha's Little Lake Butte des Morts are infected. Preliminary tests show the virus could also be in Lake Winnebago.


FULL STORY HERE: http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=6506942



When I first put this article on it was the first I read about anything like this before. Really strange sounding. Everyone I said something about this to did not know anything about it. I looked over the weeks for additional info being reported and never found an update until now. I was hoping it was gone.

Doesn't sound good.

pk

[tjsharky]

With them finding dead shepshead over the dam in Menasha, that puts the entire Fox/Wolf river system in danger. Partridge, Poygan, every stream and lake along the way. From what I've heard, it can spread to any and all fish. This is just the start. It could take up to three years before we see the worst effects. Lake Erie had a dieoff so bad, that the fish washed up and looked like a carpet.

We are talking about a multi-billion Dollar industry here. I'm originally from Appleton and I know what the sturgeon season means to some of the smaller communities on the east shore of Winnebago. Don't forget the annual white bass run that brings in a ton of dollars to the Fremont area every year. We could be looking at a partial collapse of the summer economy along the Wolf River and I don't think anyone can guess what this thing will do to Winnebago.

Has anyone seen a report that gives any guesses where this thing came from? I just appeared in 2005. Scary times if you make part of your living from the fishing industry.

BTW- Sunday's Journal-Sentinel (5-13) had a pretty good article on the front page.

[pk]

How quickly something like this can spread.

Last Feb. I came across a short news clipping concerning the fish killing virus nears.

Only two responded, (rudedog, and keith) and including myself we had never heard of this before.

Now just a few months later it has traveled into a Wisconsin lake with everyone fearing how much it is going to spread.

Now it's in the papers, and news everywhere. I wonder how much worse it's going to get by the end of the summer and how long it will last.

It certainly did alot of damage in just the last weeks since it was a burp in the news.

[pk]

Fish Virus Found in Upper Mississippi River


Another fish virus has been discovered in Wisconsin, this time in the Mississippi River near La Crosse.

FULL STORY HERE: http://wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=6729408

[pk]

Deadly fish virus spreads further

A highly contagious fish disease once limited in North America to the Great Lakes has now jumped to several inland lakes. It is killing thousands of fish from an increasing number of species.
Known as viral haemorrhagic septicaemia (VHS), the gruesome disease can cause internal bleeding and haemorrhaging from open sores.
VHS first appeared in the Great Lakes in 2003, most likely as a stowaway in the ballast water of ocean-going ships. The particular strain of virus found in the Great Lakes is believed to be a mutation of a strain found in the Atlantic Ocean.
Although the virus poses no threat to human health, it could devastate the multibillion dollar sport and commercial fishing industries in northeast North America.
In early May 2007, VHS was spotted in an inland lake in the state of Wisconsin, suggesting the virus had spread through Lake Michigan and was closing in on the Mississippi river just to the west.
Crossing land
Since then, two additional die-offs have been confirmed in inland lakes in Michigan and New York states. In each case, the dead fish were found in lakes about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the nearest of the five interconnected Great Lakes.
"It’s very concerning," says Geoffrey Groocock, a veterinarian at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, US. "It shows that the virus is moving quickly and jumping across large areas of land to enter these new water bodies."

FULL STORY HERE: http://www.newscientist.com/article/...s-further.html

[AJE]

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