We Don't Need This

[Surface Tension]

So I'm watching the news last night and here of this Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia.

APHIS Industry Alert

Veterinary Services August 2006

Viral Hemorrhagic

Septicemia in the

Great Lakes Region

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) virus is an

extremely serious pathogen of fresh and saltwater

fish, and is causing an emerging disease in the Great

Lakes region of the United States and Canada. VHS

has been found specifically in the waters of Lake

Huron, Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and

the St. Lawrence River. Due to its high mortality and

severe economic consequences, VHS is classified as

a reportable disease by the World Organization for

Animal Health (OIE).

In the past, VHS was thought to be a concern

only for trout and a few other freshwater fish raised

for commercial aquaculture in Europe. However, the

recent outbreak in the Great Lakes region appears to

be a new strain of the virus. This new strain is responsible

for die-offs in the following species: muskellunge,

smallmouth bass, northern pike, freshwater

drum, gizzard shad, yellow perch, black crappie, bluegill,

rock bass, white bass, redhorse sucker, bluntnose

sucker, round goby, and walleye.

How VHS was transferred to the Great Lakes or

how long it has been in the ecosystem is not known.

The disease transmits easily between fish of all

ages. Mortality is highest at low water temperatures

between 37 and 54 degrees Fahrenheit. Some fish

will show no external signs while others show signs

that include bulging eyes, bloated abdomens, inactive

or overactive behavior, and hemorrhaging in the eyes,

skin, gills, and at the base of the fins. Infected fish

may also have lesions that look like those caused by

other fish diseases. Therefore, testing is necessary to

determine whether the fish is infected.

Sport fishermen and recreational boaters are

asked to adhere to good biosecurity practices while

fishing or boating in waters where VHS has been

found. Thoroughly clean fishing equipment, boats,

and trailers before using them in a new body of water

and do not transfer fish from one body of water

to another.

How You Can Protect Your Facility From VHS

Although VHS has yet to be detected in aquaculture

facilities, individuals responsible for the movement of

VHS-susceptible species, regardless of origin, should

take these steps to protect their facilities:

1. Request a health certificate stating that those fish

have been tested and are free of VHS prior

to movement.

2. Enact appropriate biosecurity measures within

your facility to prevent the spread of this, and

other, infectious pathogens. Some elements of a

biosecurity plan include:

• Cleaning and disinfection

• Controlling the movements of people, animals,

vehicles, and equipment

• Isolating new and returning (e.g., brood

stock) fish

• Controlling effluent discharges

• Conducting audits to evaluate implementation

and effectiveness of the biosecurity plan.

3. Stay alert for more information about the disease,

particularly the names of species newly found to

be susceptible.

[Surface Tension]

Heres the Story on WDIO's site

Deadly virus in Great Lakes

They are calling it the Ebola of fish viruses. A deadly new virus is sweeping through fish populations in the eastern end of the Great Lakes. It is called Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia, or VHS. Wildlife experts say it has already affected 30 to 40 species and may be moving into Lake Superior. "It's virulent, it is highly contagious, it is lethal and it kills its victims by causing internal bleeding," said Curt Leitz, Izaak Walton League of America. Leitz said hundreds of tons of fish have washed up on the beaches of Lakes Erie and Ontario. The virus is spreading fast with its first detection just four years ago in Lake St. Clair. "If we allow it to get to the Twin Ports we will be a hot zone and the disease will spread," said Leitz. Experts expect the disease to hit the Twin Ports by the 2007 shipping season. It does not affect humans health-wise. But even so, conservationists worry about its environmental outcomes and economic impacts for the Twin Ports. "Who's going to walk on Park Point if we've hundreds of dead fish on the beach. No one is going to come fishing there, said Leitz." Scientists and conservationists say prevention is possible if the shipping industry regulated the treatment of ballast water. "The cost of doing it is about a third of a cent per gallon added to the cost of fuel for these ships," said Dr. Gary Glass, adjunct professor, UMD. There is no federal law that requires treatment of ballast water in vessels. Critics argue it would take years and a lot of money for sterilization to require capabilities in ships.

There will be an informational meeting on VHS:

Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.

MPCA Conference Room, Suite 400

Paulucci Building, Canal Park, Duluth

Kim Johnson

[email protected]

[Northlander]

GREAT! Just 1 more thing to worry about coming out of the big boats ballast waters! When are they really going to start regulating the discharge these boats put in our waters? Someone has to start being punished for bringing us the ruffies, zebra muscles, spiney water fleas etc.!!!!!

[UMDSportsman]

I just read in the UMD statesman about michigan's new law regulating ballast water. It would be nice if minnesota and the federal gov't would follow suit.

[Nate McVey]

I saw the news report on this the other night.....the pictures of the 1000's and 1000's of fish that wash up on shore because of this is unbelievable. Just think what this will do to the economy of Canal Park and anything boardering the lake if this disease spreads. It might be worth a shot to start some sort of petition to get the ball rolling on regulating the ballast water. I'm sure the companys in Canal Park would join in the fight.

[lancer]

It doesn't get much worse than this disease. I would think that by implementing regualtions on water discharge from these ships we could at least stand a fighting chance. It cannot be that hard to design a filtration system for these ships, screening the discharge water would at least be a start. Lets keep our fingers crossed!

[Tom Linderholm]

Im with ya Nate, how bout the fresh fish brought in and sold in some of the area restaurants. Might be tough to get good whitefish or even sell it. Probably will do the same to the market as CWD did to the deer/venison sales at the restaurants. Or mad cow did to beef prices. Uff dah...this might really suck all around!

[sachem longrifle]

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Im with ya Nate, how bout the fresh fish brought in and sold in some of the area restaurants. Might be tough to get good whitefish or even sell it. Probably will do the same to the market as CWD did to the deer/venison sales at the restaurants. Or mad cow did to beef prices. Uff dah...this might really suck all around!

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I am personally getting tired of the Great Lakes being used as an experimental soup for every country to dump it's exotics in and let's see what happens. It seems like there is always some news about the latest exotic to be dumped in the Great Lakes. Now I read something were the Spiny Water Flea has been found in Lake of the Woods

[Mark Melius]

get this out to tv news and to the state capital it must come from sombody with clout [i whent to testifi a number of years ago they did not even pretend to pay any mind to what i was saying thy were talking to one another and shufulling with paper the hole time]

[Hecker]

Google Hemorrhagic Septicemia on the "web" and "Image". This has been around a long time and is common in goldfish and even cows. looks bad but not the end of the world. Media dose it again.

[Northlander]

Hecker if it aint the end of the world we will send them all down to you and you can put it in your lakes around Chaska. Im sure everyone down there would agree with you.

We dont need any more exotic anything in the great lakes. Not even dancers. Heck panfish around the river are already feeling the effects of the exotics we have now. Add one more thing it wont be the "end of the world". With thinking like that nothing will ever get done to stop this trend of poluting our waters!

[ripstick]

I dont know steve. With all the abuse the pond is taking we may want some dancers.

[thistlekicker]

unfortunately bilge water is only the most obvious of many potential vectors for invasives to come in via shipping.

Treating bilge water is without a doubt be a step in the right direction. But as long as we have shipping we will have invasives.

This is a tough issue because Great Lakes shipping is a huge aspect of this region's economy. This method of shipping is cheap & efficient compared to other (land-based) methods.

It's a really tough set of choices and trade-offs. It's good to see this issue being talked about - hopefully an issue like this fish virus will catch the attention of more people.

[DEADhead]

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looks bad but not the end of the world. Media dose it again.

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I have to disagree. The media hasn't even really caught on to what VHS is potentially capable of in North American waters. Unlike most fish pathogens, VHS kills healthy fish. VHS has evolved from the european strain, which affected cold water fish like salmon, and now has been documented to affect all types of fish in North America (cold, cool, and warm water)

This is going to be a HUGE issue, and it will affect almost everything a fisherman/boater does. The Feds have already shut down the transport of fish across state lines in much of the northeast and great lakes region. This affects not only fish stocking and management by govt. and tribal agencies, but also aquaculture and the bait industry. Shiners especially will be hit hard by this ban. Trout, Salmon and Sturgeon management will be affected as well. I think issues like the debate about whether or not to stock Leech Lake strain Muskies in WI will fall by the wayside as a result.

I'm not sure how they are going to enforce this issue, maybe they will have to install showers at boat launches to decontaminate watercraft?

This is a very disturbing issue that DNR Fisheries is working on. It appears VHS will not go away on its own. The only real way we can minimize the impacts of spreading VHS and other invasives, is to take the matter in to our own hands, and not spread the stuff via our watercraft, waters, etc.

Anglers and boaters can help prevent the spread of VHS and other viruses or bacteria that cause disease in fish by not transferring fish between water bodies, and by thoroughly cleaning boats, trailers, nets, and other equipment when traveling between different lakes and streams. The use of a light disinfectant such as a solution of one part chlorine bleach to 10 parts water (i.e., 1 gallon of bleach to 10 gallons of water) to clean vessels and live wells is very effective against VHS and other viruses and bacteria that cause disease in fish. Soaking exposed items such as live wells, nets, anchors, and bait buckets in a light disinfectant for 30 minutes is also an effective method to prevent the spread of a wide range of aquatic nuisance species.

This issue will unfortunately take more dollars away from actual fish management.

[SKIPPERS KID]

MR. Deadhead I see you now allot but can you change things here well?? I would like to add one thing we can say what we would like to see but do we get any where well?? Just my point NO we do NOT well it is to many politics involved to understand the main view well who can help here. I think you should run for president this might help the little guy. You will have my vote I will fish for what bites my line when I am out I hope you good luck on the running .

[Surface Tension]

The idea is to stop this before it gets here. Once here it'll be a battle to stop it from being transfered into inland lakes.

The sky isn't falling but we can't stop ignoring the problem. Lets see, Lamprey, Zebra mussels, Gobies, Ruffies, Spiny water flees, now this on our doorstep.

We all know the importance of the shipping industry in Duluth. Because of that economic importance a blind eye has been given to it as far as ballast water being dumped.

Its time we say enough is enough. That industry isn't going to to perish if strict demands were put in place to either treat that ballast water or use on land holding tanks. It hasn't been done because of, guess what, MONEY!

The shipping industry isn't going to voluntarily address this problem, they need to be forced into it.

If the Mayors of Duluth and Superior are looking for a legacy, look out your window and onto the Lake, there it is.

Its time folks get off their hinney and at least send a letter, email, or phone call and let it be know we don't want anymore ballast water dumped into the Great Lakes.

Instead of coming up with ideas of what WE will have to do to stop its spread into inland lakes lets get the ball rolling to stop it from getting here.

Lets make it easy, who'd like to type out a letter we can copy, sign and send off? That someone should be knowledgeable of the situation and good writing skills. If theres no volunteers I'll hack something out. We'll need the addresses of Reps and Senators to send those letters to as well.

So who's in?

[upnorth]

I agree that we need to show them we are a little disatisfied with the lack of protection afforded our watersheds here.

How about some sort of online petition? There has been polls for things on this site in the past. Could start a poll/petition and send it off to our lawmakers. Or even send them a link to it so they can see it as it grows.

[Nate McVey]

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Lets make it easy, who'd like to type out a letter we can copy, sign and send off? That someone should be knowledgeable of the situation and good writing skills. If theres no volunteers I'll hack something out. We'll need the addresses of Reps and Senators to send those letters to as well.

So who's in?

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I'll take a stab at it and email it to you later for your approval. We can add it to it's own thread and be able to print it off from there. I will try and gather up some addresses as well. If anyone else wants to do this just let me know.

[Surface Tension]

shiner2367, I will never critique anyone for trying. Give it your best shot Young Master. Thank You!

[DEADhead]

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can you change things here well?? I would like to add one thing we can say what we would like to see but do we get any where well?? Just my point NO we do NOT well it is to many politics involved

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I believe the only way we will be able to fight this thing (and other invasives) is to begin with our own actions. Having the attitude that you are defeated before the battle even begins is not going to solve this problem. Yeah it will be difficult; yeah it may be hard to get industry folks to listen and some politicians. But we, as citizens need to make it known that we will not stand for industry dictating how they will treat ballast water, i.e. not treating it. We need to tell them stop. Write/call your legislators and the mayors of the twin ports. Then, do your part and support your actions by decontaminating your boats/livewells/gears, and preventing the spread of invasives.

The attitude and belief that we are helpless, without even trying, is frustrating to me as a fisheries supervisor and as a citizen and outdoorsman. Let's overcome this apathy and do something about it. Let our actions speak for themselves. If it all fails in the end, at least we can't say we didn't try; we didn't just sit back and watch it steamroll right over us.

as a wise man once said, if you aren't willing to fight for something, it ain't worth having.

[opsirc]

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It does not affect humans health-wise.

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so they are saying it is still safe to eat any fish effected by this? Or it is like most things that the gov gets involved with and they are guessing it will not hurt anyone . It seems that the more salties that come into the twin ports the more problems we have here. But then it all boils down to one thing MONEY.

O

[Hecker]

Northlander.

I know it's not my place to comment as I live in Chaska but seeing as I grew up in superior and my family earned it's living on the fishing of lake superior for over a decade I had to chime in. I was just remembering the stress and anxiety of the Lamp-ray and orange ruffy and how all the lake trout were ALL going to die and not to mention the pcb's, that's all.

I'm glad to have fished the lake during the boom years.

sorry about offending anyone.

later

Hecker

[Surface Tension]

Hecker, doesn't matter where you live to care about what happens to the lake or at least have an opinion.

The lamprey did a lot of damage to the Lake Trout. We're finally recovering from that. The lamprey will never be gone and it'll be a constant battle just to keep them somewhat manageable.

[Northlander]

Hecker like ST said anyone can comment or have a opinion on this and any topic. I just thought that you didnt really see this as a big deal. To me it is. I have seen 1st hand what all these exotics are doing to the river and big lake. As a guy who fishes both almost daily I dont want to see any more damage done to our fishery. I know you dont either so dont worry about getting me upset. Its all good.

I would like to be the 1st to sign whatever type of letter we get set up to send to the appropriate people. Its the least I can do for all the wonderful hours of relaxation I get fishing these awesome bodies of water.

[RodNGun]

Tell me where to sign.

[Surface Tension]

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Tell me where to sign.

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Its coming soon.

[Nate McVey]

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Its coming soon.

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ST, just wanted to make sure you received the latest draft..

[Surface Tension]

Heres a pdf link. It covers two alternatives to treating and dealing with ballast water. shiner2367 beens working hard on gathering info and putting together a letter to be sent out by you.

Use that letter, edit it, or write your own. Print and send or email it, do as you choose. It'll be up soon.

[Green&Gold]

I'll be waiting to read, edit, sign, and send it to all the appropriate people. Thanks guys, for those of you who are taking an active role in this.

[upnorth]

I took the liberty of posting a link to this in the political forum, hopefully this will get a few more folks interested and maybe willing to send off the the state lawmakers.