Bait fish need ‘disease-free' certificate

[Spiel]

Bait fish need ‘disease-free' certificate

Regulation designed to stop spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia

 

 

 

Feb 12, 2008

By SCOTT BRAND

sooeveningnews.com

 

 

EASTERN UPPER PENINSULA - Minnow-toting anglers need more than just their rods, reels, hooks and augers when they head out onto the ice under relatively new regulations governing this activity. Fisherman will also need to show their receipts declaring their minnows “disease-free” or specifying the location where they were collected as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources works to contain the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) - a disease which can devastate fish populations.

 

“It's a bad disease,” said Lake Superior Coordinator Steve Scott of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “It does bad things when it gets in the water.”

 

Scott's assertion is backed by evidence compiled from outbreaks in the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and Clare County's Budd Lake - where large-scale mortality occurred.

 

 

“It shuts down their whole system,” said Scott, noting the fish frequently perish from internal hemorrhaging.

 

The Lake Superior Basin is believed to be unaffected by VHS, and officials hope the new regulations will keep the disease from gaining a foothold in our waterways. While there has been a grace period as bait dealers and anglers adjust to the receipt regulation, Scott indicated that could be drawing to a close.

 

“I think law enforcement will be stepping up their efforts pretty soon,” Scott predicted.

 

Under the new regulations, it is the angler responsibility to get a receipt - which either declares the bait disease-free or specifies where the minnows were collected - before leaving the bait shop.

 

“If you don't get a receipt, you need to ask for a receipt,” said Scott.

 

Receipts are good for up to seven days after they are issued.

 

Scott explained Michigan officials really had three options after VHS was discovered. The first was to outlaw minnows, but that would harm bait dealers and put a damper on fishing activity. The second possibility was to do nothing and allow the disease to spread unchecked. After dismissing both of those options, authorities went with the receipt-mechanism hoping to keep infected fish from being introduced into uninfected waters.

 

Additional regulations will also come into play during the warmer months, as fisheries biologists are instructing anglers to empty all of their livewells at the boat ramp before departing.

 

“VHS stays alive for a long time in water,” said Scott.

 

The use of receipts and livewell draining, Scott added, are good deterrents not only for VHS, but other diseases which may impact fish populations in the future.

 

“The precautions taken are a good practices for anglers to get into,” he concluded.

 

While VHS can have a devastating impact on fish populations, it does not appear to be harmful to humans.

 

For more information on the VHS regulations visit the DNR's Web site at www.michigan,gov/dnrfishing.