Quinte Fishing

Everyone will remember the dead sheepshead in 2005 in Quinte. Now the virus has surfaced in Lake Erie.

Here's a brief note about it from an Ohio Newspaper, the main thrust of the article was the bill in Ohio to buy out the commercial licenses in Lake Erie.

I picked this up from the Fishing News News Wire


Here's what was said about the virus:

"Virus now killing perch

The same virus that killed tens of thousands of sheepshead, or freshwater drum, in western Lake Erie this spring also is responsible for some of the dieoff of up to several thousand yellow perch in central Lake Erie in the last two weeks, the Ohio Division of Wildlife says.

The virus is known as viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS. It is the same virus known to have killed sheepshead in Lake Ontario's Bay of Quinte in 2005.

"It appears this virus is not specific to drum," stated Jeff Tyson, Lake Erie fish management and research supervisor for the division. He added that at least one muskellunge from Lake St. Clair succumbed to VHS last year.

Presence of VHS in the dead perch was confirmed by both the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Laboratory at LaCrosse, Wis., and an independent lab in Seattle, Tyson said.

As a result state fish biologists netted samples of a variety of fish species last week and have sent them for testing to determine how far the disease may extend.

"The central basin [perch] dieoff hasn't been on a par with the sheepshead dieoff in the western basin in May," Tyson said. He stressed again, as authorities have previously, that VHS poses no harm to human health and any fish caught that acts healthy is healthy.

In its late stages a VHS-infected fish will have sides that appear sore or bloody and could be bleeding from the gills.

Tyson also noted that with a system as large as Lake Erie, there is little that can be done about the virus in any case. "There is no treatment or anything."

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David Delcloo aka Superdad
(Retired)

Kingston

I did wonder if it was harmful to humans, was going to fish for drum last year but was afraid to handle them because of the bug going around. I've seen one dead drum this year so far. last year there must of been one for every 10' of shoreline

One must be cautiously optimistic that this will not be transferred to other species. This needs more "public" attention from what I have read, after seeing the lack of information being presented in Canada in the primary local area to note thus far.
Regards
Don Stokes

I have rec'd info from people in Ohio and have been advised that this virus is not tranmitted to humans.

The MNR sure hasn't been forthcoming with an advisory as to the existence of this virus in our waters.

_________________
David Delcloo aka Superdad
(Retired)

Kingston