Wis. Agency to Boost Hunt for Deadly Fish Virus
Pastor Dale Morgan
May 15, 4:59 PM EDT
*Wis. Agency to Boost Hunt for Deadly Fish Virus*
MADSION, Wis. (AP) -- The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
intends to step up the hunt for a deadly fish virus discovered in the
Lake Winnebago system, particularly looking in lakes and rivers that
attract anglers from long distances, an agency official says.
Mike Staggs, director of the DNR's Bureau of Fisheries Management and
Habitat Protection, said Monday lakes in the Madison and Lake Geneva
areas are likely targets, in addition to heightened surveillance already
begun on Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. Bodies of water with
unexplained fish kills will also be examined, Staggs said.
Crews will also be sent to selected lakes and rivers with electric
shocking apparatus to test seemingly healthy fish, he said. The
equipment temporarily stuns fish so they can be gathered for study.
Two freshwater drum fish, or sheepshead, from the Little Lake Butte des
Morts have preliminarily tested positive for viral hemorrhagic
septicemia, or VHS, which causes anemia and hemorrhaging in fish.
The department is also expected to use its emergency rulemaking powers
to broaden restrictions on anglers, boaters and the commercial bait
industry in the hope the disease can be slowed down, Staggs said. A
special Natural Resources Board meeting has been tentatively set for
Thursday.
George Meyer, a former DNR secretary who is now executive director of
the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, said the discovery of viral
hemorrhagic septicemia could be more devastating than chronic wasting
disease, which was discovered in deer in 2002.
"This is a gravely serious situation," Meyer said, noting that the virus
is transmitted by water rather than through blood or saliva as with
chronic wasting disease.
The federal government classifies 37 species as in danger of dying from
the virus, and that includes such popular sport fish as chinook and coho
salmon, rainbow trout, largemouth bass, walleye and yellow perch.
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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com