Panfish Die-Off? - UPDATE

Billy Dee · **Posted:** Sat Apr 16, 2016 12:24 pm

I was working around a dock on the Napanee River this AM. There were hundreds if not more dead sunfish or bluegill littering the bottom along the shore. We went out a few meters into the river and while not as many near shore, there were quite a few fish corpses out there as well. Is anyone else noticing this around the Quinte area? VHS outbreak maybe? Or, some schools caught in a quick freeze???

The dead appeared to be at various stages of decay. Along with the dead were quite a few that were alive but just barely.

I am considering reporting this to Quinte Conservation or the NMRF but would like to know if it may be just a localized event.

Thanks,

pickerel killer · **Joined:** Wed Oct 24, 2012 6:28 pm **Posts:** 648

I've seen this situation with Gizzard Shad maybe this is the case??

DanElliot · **Joined:** Mon Apr 08, 2002 8:59 am **Posts:** 4329

I suggest you report it. Even if it is a localized event still wouldn't hurt to keep the mnr in the loop.

toddyfish · **Posted:** Mon Apr 25, 2016 12:38 pm

I noticed this on Saturday when I was crappie fishing. I see it every year and haven't put much thought into.

Billy Dee · **Posted:** Thu May 05, 2016 2:30 pm

So I thought I would provide a quick update on this event.

As suggested by a poster here, a call was made to the MNRF to report the die-off. The young lady who took the info seemed concerned and asked for permission for ministry access to the water front. I didn't say anything, but yeah, like any CO needs permission to access a property. I digress. To my knowledge, no follow-up visit, calls or e-mails for info have occurred.

We went to the dock site to prep for the opener. It appears that the dead fish have all reached the point of decay to make them float. That, the wind direction and the Napanee river tides (that is a thing. Look it up, interesting!) conspired to wash the dead up into the shallows around the dock and up onto the shore. The dead fish have mixed in with the grass, leaves and weeds on the shore to make a disgusting slime slurry. Today was corpse removal day.

The stink was unbelievable. There were well over 1000 dead fish in the 10 foot by 40 foot slip area beside the dock. 6 five gallon pails of dead were removed before the stench ended the job. The job is only about 1/3 of the way to complete. The static portion of the dock has collected an unknown number of dead underneath it which will have to be removed. For at least 100 yards in each direction of shoreline there are corpses in the weeds rocks and sand. I don't think we will be swimming there this year.

I haven't been out on the water yet this year so I haven't had a chance to check out any nearby shoreline for evidence that this is anything more than a local event. I'll be taking a look over the weekend.

Good luck out there.

DanElliot · **Joined:** Mon Apr 08, 2002 8:59 am **Posts:** 4329

Thanks for the report back. Sounds like it smells pretty brutal. We're all the fish same species? Your original report said sunfish or bluegill. I agree with your vhs assessment

RayRay89 · **Joined:** Mon Feb 23, 2015 4:01 pm **Posts:** 20

I was fishing the river today and saw 2 4-5 inch dead walleye and a 4-5 inch perch . Along with about a dozen bluegill/sunfish.
The gulls dont seem to mind tho

Comit · **Posted:** Fri May 13, 2016 9:09 am

What are you suppose to do with a fish that you catch that has VHS? fishing the shore last week and saw a walleye suspended out a bit but not moving. I pointed it out to others and the lines started flying at it. It did not follow anything until a guy went by it with a lipless rattle crank which it turned and hit. Dont think it could see so must have felt the vibrations. Pretty glad I did not catch it as even though I know VHS is harmless to humans I would not want to touch this thing. Complete Frankenstien fish. One eye clearly blind and dead and the other bulged out close to the size of a timbit. Body was all red blotched but could partially be from spawning. Guy let it go in the shallows and it swam away.

Comit · **Posted:** Fri May 13, 2016 9:23 am

https://www.ontario.ca/page/viral-hemor ... icemia-vhs

I guess you just let it go or... eat it? um, no thanks, ew.

I suppose you could save it and feed it to the in-laws.
lol, Just kidding.

Billy Dee · **Posted:** Fri May 13, 2016 5:04 pm

DanElliot wrote:

Thanks for the report back. Sounds like it smells pretty brutal. We're all the fish same species? Your original report said sunfish or bluegill. I agree with your vhs assessment

Hey there,

Sorry, I missed your question the first time I read through.

Almost all of the dead were the same species. Exactly what species, I'm not sure. It is a type of sunfish so they may be a bluegill but I'm not savvy enough to tell them apart. We did pick up 2 dead bowfin, 2 dead bass and one dead drum mixed in with the sunfish. That, though, is not unusual for a spring cleanup around this particular property. The number may be a little high but not out of the norm. The amount if sunfish is well over what we have experienced in the past. That would include the vhs attack on drum from a few years ago. I thought that was bad but it is nowhere as bad as this year.

I have to believe that this was a local event. I haven't been all over the bay but in my water travels over the last week I haven't seen the dead in other areas like we did around the dock. I've asked a few locals we know and no one is reporting the same event. Just the luck of the landowner that it happened around their dock. lol.

Have a great weekend.

playinhooky · **Joined:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:24 am **Posts:** 104

I live on the bay directly across from deseronto on south side of mohawk bay and have had quite a lot of dead sunfish on my shore this spring. My kids counted 65 dead sunfish one day last week. There has also been a few sheepshead and walleye as well. The walleyes are bigger ones 7-10 lbs.

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Panfish Die-Off? - UPDATE

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