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Posts: 198
| I was told today that APHIS has put a stop to all interstate transportation of all species of live fish. If your suppose to be getting muskies fingerlings from another state you might want to check into this. |
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Posts: 199
Location: Sandusky, OH | Silver Scale,
Not all species are included in the transport ban, but most species of sport or commercial importance are on the list (including muskies). Also of interest for some, redhorse suckers are on the list too, meaning starting immediately you'll have to find local sources for bait if you cross state lines for your fall fishing (unless you use a different species for bait). The list compiled is made of all species that have tested positive for VHS in the Great Lakes, and will be added to as more species test positive. For us in Ohio this is a large concern, since we have fewer chances to musky fish and have to get our fish fix where we can. This rule will eliminate our steelhead program as is (we get our steelhead fry from Michigan), and will create serious shortages of emerald shiners during the summer for perching (we get most shiners from Pennsylvania and New York). Here is a link to Ohio's Sea Grant page and the full list of affected species.
http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/discuss/index.php?topic=562.0
As unpleasant as it is to see large numbers of dead fish or any kind, I'm afraid that this will be a continueing reality for those around the Great Lakes.
Eric |
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Posts: 1529
| thanks for the info. here on st clair we have seen firsthand. man ita a death sentence for a lotta fish.. sad part is theres no real controls available. i just hope the fish can become immune in some biological way. |
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Posts: 199
Location: Sandusky, OH | Guys,
The interesting part of this virus is that it is only active at low water temperatures (I can't remember the exact temperature, but I believe its under 55 F; don't quote me). This past spring, we saw tremendous numbers of freshwater drum expiring and washing on shore until the water warmed, then it was back to normal. I can attest that the number killed was only a small percentage of the drum population; plenty left in Lake Erie! I saw a couple pike and muskies laying on the bottom of the St. Clair River this spring during walleye season, and MiDNR believes it to be a small percentage of the total population that were effected (it sticks in my head that they estimated about 2000 fish from an estimated total population of 40,000 to 50,000). Plus, there have been lots of perfectly healthy fish sent to labs that have tested positive for VHS. I'm trying to look at this virus as nature's way of correcting an unbalanced fish population; time will tell whether its more serious than that.
Eric |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Correct, the interstate commerce of Muskies between Great Lakes connected states has been suspended. We have purchased roughly 750 muskies from the Mississippi strain for stocking into Petenwell flowage, and will patiently wait until this virus can be effectively widespread tested for, so all fish can be health certified and shown to not be carriers of VHS. As far as suckers go, i don't think alot of fisherman use redhorse suckers for Musky bait, but please don't quote me on this. For the most part(in WI and MN anyhow) white and black suckers(of several spp.) are the primary bait of choice. Any word on whether any other sucker species will be quarantined Eric? |
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Posts: 199
Location: Sandusky, OH | RH,
APHIS has stated that additional species will be added to the list as they test positive to VHS. Unfortunately, this means that agencies will be testing a wider range of species, so its very likely that more will be added. With white suckers being so widespread throughout the Great Lakes, I wouldn't be suprised to see it added.
Since the first announcement from APHIS, they have amended the directive to allow some fish transportation if they can be certified as VHS-free, as you pointed out. I don't have any idea how quickly that can be done, or how many labs can conduct the testing, but the US-FWS lab in LaCrosse has been doing most of the testing, and that can take 2-4 weeks. Probably plenty of time for arrainging musky deliveries. Also, I'm not sure whether each separate load or batch of fish has to be certified, or whether the fascility will be certified annually (which would be the best-case scenario, but don't count on it). I guess it boils down to just another cost of doing business. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | thanks for the update, will call our hatchery connection in MN to see if there is still a possibility of delivery this winter/spring if proper testing has been conducted. |
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Posts: 147
Location: WI - Land of small muskies and big jawbones | Reef Hawg
Please post what you find out. Would like to know if you will be able to go ahead with the stocking of LL fish from Mn or not. |
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