Carp killer ID'd

[Spiel]

Carp killer ID'd

Ministry of Natural Resources has positively identified three strains of bacteria

 

 

Sunday July 20, 2008

Bruce Hain / orilliatoday.com

 

 

The carp die-off that’s plagued Lake Simcoe and Cook’s Bay for the past few weeks may be showing some signs of abating.

 

Bloggers who have posted news on the Lake Simcoe & Area Message Board (www.lakesimcoemessageboard.com) in recent days have noted many fewer bodies floating in the water.

 

And the Ministry of Natural Resources has positively identified three strains of bacteria resulting from laboratory testing including the presence of the koi herpes virus.

 

Carp have been falling prey to pathogens, such as aeromonas hydrophila, a bacteria found in both fresh and brackish water that causes illness in fish.

 

It may be passed on to humans through open wounds or ingestion and create gastroenteritis or septicemia, enterococcus, which can lead to bladder, prostate or epididymal infections, acinetobacter, a ministry spokesperson said.

 

Swimmers are recommended to avoid areas where dead carp have been found.

Testing of the species is continuing.

 

Since late June, thousands of carp carcasses have washed ashore in different locations on the shoreline. The majority has been retrieved from the eastern shore of the lake in East Gwillimbury and in sections running north towards Lake Couchiching.

 

However, the western side of Lake Simcoe, bordering on several Simcoe County municipalities, has been affected, too.

 

Larry Allison, CAO for the Town of Innisfil, says although the issue of the dead carp hasn’t been particularly bad in the municipality, it has created a fair bit of work for area residents and town staff.

Allison’s thankful the prevailing winds have meant the majority of the carcasses have washed ashore on the east side of Cook’s Bay.

 

“We have picked up a number here, though,” Allison says.

As of last Friday, “our parks department has collected about 200 (dead fish),” Allison reports. “Our operations staff has also picked up 70 bags from calls to town hall from residents. There has also been some indiscriminate dumping our road staff have taken care of.”

 

“We’re keeping regular patrols out” this week to remove carp carcasses, he said.

 

In Ramara Township, Mayor Bill Duffy reports residents of Lagoon City have found many carp floating in the canals and in other areas across the township.

 

“It is suspected to be the same bacterium as caused the die-off in Lake Scugog last year,” Duffy says. “They say (the bacteria) has probably come down the Talbot River and come north. There have been reports of dead carp in Couchiching and the Black River.”

 

Residents whose homes border a canal in the Bayou Park area north of Orillia have also reported large numbers of the fish floating belly up.

 

“It’s disgusting,” said 12-year-old Ashley York.

“We usually fish in here,” said Ashley’s mother, Bonnie. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

The County of Simcoe has been collecting bagged fish on regularly scheduled garbage days.

“They have stepped up to the plate and I am thankful for that,” Duffy said.

 

Kimberley MacKenzie, executive director of the Lake Simcoe Conservation Foundation, an offshoot of the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA), says she was kept busy last Friday assisting in carp cleanup in East Gwillimbury.

 

The LSRCA has reported the situation occurring in Lake Simcoe “is similar to what occurred in Lake Scugog and the Kawartha lake system in the summer of 2007.”

 

Fish samples have been sent to labs to try and determine what is causing the deaths.

The organization is encouraging residents to contact their municipality by phone or to check local websites for carcass collection and disposal details.

 

Anyone removing a dead fish is urged to wear gloves and then wash their hands thoroughly afterwards with soap and water. Any tools or containers coming into contact with carp should be cleaned and disinfected, too, the LSRCA recommends.

 

The Ministry of Natural Resources has set up a hotline to report fish die-offs at 1-866-929-0994. In Barrie, call 739-4255 for removal.

 

Throughout the county, dead fish can be dropped off at landfill sites such as the Mara transfer station, 5200 County Rd. 169, Oro landfill site at 610 Old Barrie Rd W. and the West Gwillimbury transfer station, located at 2960 Line 12.

 

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