06/25/2007

   
 www.michigan.gov
 
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 Release Date: June 25, 2007 
Last Update: June 25, 2007 
Contact: James Dexter 269-685-6851
Agency: Natural Resources
DNR Announces Implementation Strategy for Fish Disease Control Order
June 25, 2007

A series of regulations designed to help slow the spread of fish diseases in Michigan, in particular Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS), will begin to be implemented on Thursday, June 28, according to Department of Natural Resources fisheries officials. The regulations provide a set of best management practices for anglers, boaters and the bait industry, and will be phased in over time.

"The DNR recognizes that these regulations are complex and will take time for our anglers, boaters and the supporting bait industry to fully understand them," said DNR Director Rebecca Humphries. "To fully involve our angling community, we intend to implement this order in a set of steps over the next few months."

The DNR will focus on educating the angling and boating communities and bait industry over the next two to three months - focusing on prevention and education efforts, not enforcement. The following steps that directly affect anglers and boaters will be initiated on June 28:
 

  • Anglers and boaters should empty live wells and bilge water upon removing a boat from the water.
  • Anglers are asked to start using bait only on a hook and to dispose of all bait when leaving a body of water. Anglers should keep in mind that the regulations only apply to the fish species listed in the Fish Disease Control Order, which is posted on the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnrfishing.
  • Anglers should be sure to release fish that are from catch and release angling either in that water or in connected waters where fish could directly swim.
  • Anglers are asked to start learning the Fish Disease Management Areas and where baitfish can be used. If the bait shop receipt indicates the management area where the bait is from, anglers are asked to start using the bait in the appropriate area.
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The following steps will be initiated on June 28 with the wholesale and retail bait industry to start informing anglers where they can use bait and to start getting certified bait:
 

  • Wholesale bait dealers are asked to start informing purchasers of whether their bait is certified disease-free or if it is not yet certified, and what Fish Disease Management Area it came from so the retail bait shops can start informing anglers.
  • For bait species on the Prohibited Species List, retail bait shops are asked to start informing anglers whether the bait is certified or uncertified. If the bait is known to be uncertified and the Fish Disease Management Area where it was collected is known, bait shops are asked to inform anglers on where it can be used. Initially, it just needs to be noted on the receipt or attached to the receipt from the store. The full receipt will not be required initially.
  • Licensed bait businesses that wish to certify their bait can start the certification process according to the instructions that will be posted on the DNR Web site (www.michigan.gov/dnrfishing) and sent in the U.S. Mail to all licensed bait businesses on June 25.
  • Licensed bait businesses that have previously certified bait in stock can move ahead to have those supplies certified by sending the appropriate fish disease inspection information along with a request for certification to the Michigan DNR Fisheries Division, P.O. Box 30446, Lansing, MI 48909, Attention: Bait Certification.
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"The DNR is not requesting that wholesalers or retail bait shops to dispose of the bait they currently have in their inventories. If they know where it came from, we ask them to simply start informing anglers of what Fish Disease Management Area it came from so anglers can start making informed decisions," said DNR Fisheries Division Chief Kelley Smith.

During the weeks of July 16 and 23, the DNR will be reviewing all applications for certifying facilities to hold baitfish listed in the order. After receiving needed information from wholesale and retail bait shops that wish to have baitfish certified in their facilities, the DNR will conduct necessary facility inspections or conduct telephone interviews to complete the certification review process. Once the application reviews are complete, the DNR will send out facility certification letters and will provide recommended fish disease certification strategies for each facility. As fish disease inspections results are submitted, the DNR will be issuing baitfish certifications for those lots that are tested and shown to be disease-free.

By Aug. 17, licensed wholesale bait businesses and retail bait shops are requested to start providing customers complete receipts that show all the needed information to inform anglers on where they can use their bait and to allow for the tracking of any fish disease problems in their bait supply. By this time, it is expected that certified disease-free bait should start being widely available for retail bait shops.

The DNR expects to fully implement the Fish Disease Control Order by Sept.15 and will be placing information on the DNR Fisheries Division Web site (www.michigan.gov/dnrfishing) to assist the public in understanding these regulations.

"These regulations will make a large difference as we work to slow the spread of fish disease and make our anglers, boaters and the bait industry full partners in protecting our valuable resources," Smith said. "This is a real opportunity to show how our users can help us in this task."

The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural resources
for current and future generations.
 

Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Outdoors

  
Copyright © 2007 State of Michigan

 

 

Wisconsin

Confirmed VHSv Reports

Word has come to us at the Great Lakes Fish Health web site - about a positive VHSv sample being identified from Lake Winnebago system with two Drum.

Latest Update  6/07/07

Lake Winnebago, freshwater drum fish kill, 7 individual samples, all positive
Sturgeon Bay, smallmouth bass, surveillance, 9, 5 fish pools, 1 pool positive so far
Lake Michigan, Algoma/Kewaunee, brown trout, 1 dead fish on the beach, positive
Lake Michigan, Door County, Lake Whitefish - positive  Ben Jones Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers

 

Michigan   

NEW  Fish Order: FO-245  signed 6/07/2007  Effective 6/28/2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2007

CONTACT: Tammy Newcomb 517-373-3960, Gary Whelan 517-373-6948 or Richard Morscheck 517-373-9265

Fish Disease Discovered in Budd Lake, Clare County

Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials today confirmed the presence of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) in an inland lake in Michigan.

Budd Lake, a 175-acre lake in central Clare County, experienced a very large die-off of fish beginning April 30 that included black crappie, bluegill and muskellunge. DNR biologists responded quickly to the lake to determine the cause of the die-off. Potential natural and human-induced causes for the die-off were evaluated.

Fish collected from Budd Lake were taken to Michigan State University for testing. Because of the nature of the testing process for VHS, several weeks are required to obtain results. The DNR learned this week that the fish from Budd Lake were positive for VHS. Although the exact cause of the fish die-off is yet to be determined, this is the first time that the virus has been found in inland waters in Michigan.

“We are disappointed that the disease has spread to Budd Lake, and clearly we are very concerned about protecting our inland waters from further spread of this virus,” said DNR Fisheries Division Chief Kelley Smith.

Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia is known to cause large-scale mortalities in fish populations over short periods of time. Infected fish may exhibit hemorrhaging in the skin including large red patches, small pin-point spots of minor external hemorrhaging or no external signs at all. Sick fish often will appear listless, swim in circles or hang just below the surface.
  
VHS likely was introduced into the Great Lakes around 2002 via ships that entered the Great Lakes and discharged ballast water that contained the virus. The virus is now known to be distributed in Michigan’s waters of the Great Lakes from northern Lake Huron to Lake Erie.

Widespread mortalities in muskellunge and gizzard shad in Michigan waters of Lake St. Clair were observed in 2006 along with significant mortalities of yellow perch, white bass, freshwater drum and round gobies in lakes Erie and Ontario.
  
Internationally, VHS is a fish disease of concern and is a required reportable disease to the International Organization of Animal Health. In October 2006, the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service imposed interstate and international restrictions on the movement of fish to prevent the spread of VHS in the U.S.
   
As a result of this finding in Budd Lake, the DNR is modifying regulations proposed in the Fish Disease Control Order that was presented for information to the Natural Resources Commission May 10.

The Fish Disease Control Order identifies restrictions on the use of baitfish and fish eggs for different disease management areas. These regulations are necessary to protect the aquatic resources of the state, minimize the spread of disease to uninfected waters and protect the DNR’s hatchery system.

“It is unfortunate that we have to take the steps required under the order, but those steps are similar to what other Great Lakes States and the Province of Ontario are enacting in an attempt to slow the spread of VHS in the Great Lakes Basin,” Smith said. “The order, however, will not prevent anglers from fishing as usual anywhere in the state this summer.”
  
Major changes to the order include an expanded certification process for facilities that maintain baitfish or other live fish that are known to be susceptible to VHS, as well as additional restrictions on the use of baitfish or eggs by anglers when fishing.

DNR Director Rebecca Humphries is expected to take action on the order at the June 7 meeting of the Natural Resources Commission. The order can be reviewed online at www.michigan.gov/dnrfishing.

The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural resources for current and future generations.

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09/07/2007