{"id":293,"date":"2021-08-25T12:07:01","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T12:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outdoorsniagara.com\/?p=293"},"modified":"2021-09-02T18:54:15","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T18:54:15","slug":"vhs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outdoorsniagara.com\/vhs\/","title":{"rendered":"VHS"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0VHS Disease\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/b>
\nViral Hemorrhagic Septicemia
\n(VHS)<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>So Smart Sez, “An Outdoors
\nNiagara Exclusive!”<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>THIS IS THE OFFICIAL
\nNEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION PRESS RELEASE REGARDING
\nTHE VHS DISEASE DATED 9\/31\/06\u00a0 AFFECTING\u00a0 GREAT LAKES FISH POPULATIONS
\nINCLUDING BAITFISH. IT WILL CERTAINLY AFFECT YOU, BAIT DEALERS AND THE CHARTER
\nINDUSTRY.\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

New Federal Order Issued
\nThat Restricts Interstate Transport of Live Fish
\nBack to Bill Hilts Fish Locator<\/a><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\n


\nIMPORTANT TO ALL
\nFISHERMEN!
\n<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NEW
\nDEC PRESS RELEASE!
\n<\/span>This was
\nposted on November 3 2006\u00a0<\/span><\/b>The DEC
\nnow has a web page posted that has VHS information. The link to that
\npage is http:\/\/www.dec.state.ny.us\/website\/dfwmr\/fish\/vhsv.html<\/a>
\nPlease pass on this link to any person who would like more information
\non VHS. At the bottom of the page, there are links to the June 2006 DEC
\nPress Release and several links to USDA-APHIS (Animal Plant Health
\nInspection Service) pages that will provide additional information and a
\nlink to the Federal Order that was issued.<\/span><\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Continue…………………..Scroll
\nDown<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\nSee
\nwhat the American Sportfishing Association has to say about this<\/span><\/b>Click on any Logo<\/span><\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Release: IMMEDIATE
\nContact: Maureen Wren\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Tuesday, October 31, 2006<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

DEC UPDATE ON STATUS OF VHS IN NEW
\nYORK STATE WATERS New Federal Order Issued That Restricts Interstate
\nTransport of Live Fish<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The New York State Department of
\nEnvironmental Conservation (DEC) is issuing this update on the presence
\nof Viral Hemorrhagic Septecemia (VHS) Virus in New York State waters and
\na new federal order that restricts the interstate transport of certain
\nlive fish. The virus is a pathogen of fish and does not pose any threat
\nto public health. It was first confirmed in Lake Ontario and the St.
\nLawrence River, and has now also been confirmed in Lake Erie and Conesus
\nLake.<\/p>\n

VHS is a fish disease that causes the
\nhemorrhaging of the fish’s tissues, including internal organs. Often,
\nfish do not exhibit any external signs of having the disease. The
\ndisease affects all sizes of fish and not all infected fish develop the
\ndisease, but can continue to carry it and spread it to others. There is
\nno known cure for VHS. The impact of this particular strain of VHS on
\nfish populations is uncertain. It has caused fish mortalities ranging
\nfrom a few fish impacted to thousands of fish impacted.<\/p>\n

While VHS is relatively common in
\ncontinental Europe and Japan, where it affects both freshwater and
\nmarine fish, prior to 2003 the disease was limited in North America to
\nmarine species in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In 2005, a die-off of
\nfreshwater drum and round goby in Lake Ontario’s Bay of Quinte (Ontario,
\nCanada) and muskellunge in the Michigan waters of Lake St. Clair was
\nattributed to a new strain of VHS. This is the same strain found in the
\ninfected fish in New York waters.<\/p>\n

VHS was first confirmed in New York
\nwaters in May 2006 when it was linked to the death of round gobies and
\nmuskellunge in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. More recently,
\nVHS caused the death of walleye in Conesus Lake. The virus has now been
\nconfirmed in round goby, burbot, smallmouth bass, muskellunge,
\npumpkinseed, rock bass, bluntnose minnow, emerald shiner and walleye in
\ninfected waters in New York State. To date, the virus has not been
\nconfirmed in trout and salmon from these waters and it is unknown
\nwhether this strain of VHS will impact these species.<\/p>\n

DEC, in cooperation with the College of
\nVeterinary Medicine at Cornell University, is sampling a number of
\nwaters across the State including all waters used as sources of brood
\nstock for DEC hatchery activities to help determine how far the disease
\nhas spread in New York. DEC is also exploring options for actions that
\ncould be taken to prevent the further spread of the disease in the
\nState.<\/p>\n

Due to the potential adverse effects of this
\ndisease on fish populations and the desire to prevent or delay its
\nspread to other states, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection
\nService (APHIS) issued a Federal Order on October 24, 2006, that
\nprohibits the importation of certain species of live fish from Ontario
\nand Quebec and interstate movement of the same species from eight states
\nbordering the Great Lakes, effective immediately. The states included
\nare Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania
\nand Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

Fish species included in the federal
\nprohibition are: Atlantic cod, black crappie, bluegill, bluntnose
\nminnow, brown bullhead, brown trout, burbot, channel catfish, chinook
\nsalmon, coho salmon, chum salmon, emerald shiner, freshwater drum,
\ngizzard shad, grayling, haddock, herring, Japanese flounder, largemouth
\nbass, muskellunge, Pacific cod, northern pike, pink salmon, pumpkinseed,
\nrainbow trout, redhorse sucker, rock bass, rockling, round goby,
\nsmallmouth bass, sprat, turbot, walleye, white bass, white perch,
\nwhitefish and yellow perch. Additional fish will be added to the order
\nas they are confirmed to be carriers of this disease. Additional
\ninformation on the Federal Order can be found on the APHIS website www.aphis.usda.gov\/vs\/aqua\/<\/a><\/p>\n

VHS can be spread from waterbody to
\nwaterbody through a variety of means, not all of them known at this
\npoint. One known mechanism is through the movement of fish, including
\nbait fish. To reduce the likelihood of spreading VHS in New York State,
\nDEC encourages anglers and boaters to abide by the following guidelines:<\/p>\n