U.S. Fish & Wildlife is studying ways to combat the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS, a virus responsible for multiple fish kills in the Great Lakes this year and in particular in Lake Erie. "The full effect of this viral disease remains to be seen. But what is known is the economic impact from large die-offs of important game fishes like trophy muskellunge, smallmouth bass, and yellow perch in the Great Lakes region could be profound." Robert Backal, DVM, Aquatic Animal Health Coordinator for the Division of the National Fish Hatchery System writes about what scientists know now and what they hope to do to prevent VHS from creating even more problems. On FishingWorld.com.
By the way, if you care about what you and your friends can do to help prevent the spread of various aquatic nuisance species, be sure to visit the Protect Your Waters Web site (www.protectyourwaters.com). There's a ton of info here on simple procedures that can help control the spread of invasive and nuisance species.
(Thanks to reader Craig Springer for these links.)
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