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LARGEMOUTH BASS VIRUS REPORTS DECLINING
by
Steve McCadams
www.stevemccadams.com
Southern bass fishermen
will find the following news from Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society
interesting.
Largemouth Bass Virus (LMBV) seems to have lessened its grip on bass
fisheries in the South.
That was one of several positive revelations from B.A.S.S.' Largemouth
Bass Virus Workshop held in late February. Nearly 100 fisheries biologists
and research scientists attended this annual session, which has become the
means by which state and federal wildlife agencies and universities share
and compare the latest findings and anecdotal information about the virus.
Fewer fish kills attributable to LMBV were reported during 2001 than
in the two previous years, and those incidents were less severe than those
in the past, state biologists said.
"The news is good from Alabama. It's been very quiet," said biologist
Jerry Moss.
As evidence of the improved state of Southern fisheries, Dave Terre
presented preliminary results that show only 45 of 899 adult-size
largemouth bass sampled in LMBV- positive reservoirs in Texas were
infected with the virus.
"Largemouth Bass Virus is just one of many challenges for managing
bass populations, not the single one," added Tony Goldberg, a scientist at
the University of Illinois.
Minor kills were reported in Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana,
and Michigan.
The latter two are of most significance overall, because they further
confirm that LMBV is not confined to Southern waters. During the summer of
2000, biologists attributed a kill in Lake George on the Indiana-Michigan
border to the virus. At that time, resource managers had hoped that the
Lake George incident was an aberration, and that LMBV would not be found
in any additional Northern fisheries.
This past year, though, the virus was found in two lakes in Michigan,
three in Indiana, and two on the border, all in the same area. In
addition, Illinois biologists confirmed the virus in fish from four lakes,
as well as some hatchery stocks, although no mortalities were linked
to LMBV.
Among the many mysteries of LMBV is what triggers it to turn from an
infection into a deadly disease; many of the bass that test positive for
the virus are otherwise healthy. Equally perplexing is how the virus is
transmitted from one fish to another and one lake to another. Dealing
with such uncertainties, resource managers want to err on the side of
caution.
"LMBV now is considered a significant, reportable pathogen," said
Michigan's John Hnath. "And we've requested that the virus be added to the
list of diseases of concern for the Great Lakes watershed."
Elsewhere during the past six years, LMBV has been found in fish from
Texas north to the Missouri-Arkansas border, east to the Chesapeake Bay
area, and south into Florida.
Until this year, the virus, which poses no threat to humans, was
believed to have been first confirmed as an identifiable virus at South
Carolina's Santee Cooper Reservoir during 1995. But at this year's
workshop, John Grizzle of Auburn University cited evidence that the virus
existed in Florida's Lake Weir in 1991. Scientists continue to debate
whether LMBV is a new phenomenon or has been around for years, killing
bass but not being recognized as the culprit.
"What we do know is that this virus is not everywhere, as are some
viruses," said Grizzle, emphasizing the need to learn as much about the
disease as quickly as possible so as better to contain it.
And more good news is that the learning curve should accelerate
rapidly during the next few years, as more than $400,000 from
Wallop-Breaux (federal Sport Fish Restoration Program) is funding research
at places such as Auburn, Louisiana State, Mississippi State, and
the Warm Springs Fish Health Center. Additionally, state agencies and
other universities are financing valuable work.
Scientists are developing more sensitive and non-lethal ways to test
for the virus, as well as looking at how factors such as temperature,
angling pressure, genetics and toxins might trigger the virus to turn
deadly. They also are examining potential non-lethal impacts, such as
slower growth rates among younger fish infected with the virus.
The latter could explain why fewer bass of 5 pounds or more are being
caught in some states, but resource managers are quick to add that much
more data is needed to determine the cause. They add that while angling
success has declined in some lakes for a year or two following a die-off,
no evidence exists that fisheries have been significantly impacted. Other
factors, they say, must be considered as well.
Steve McCadams
is a professional hunting and fishing guide here in the Paris Landing
area and host of The Outdoor Channel's television series IN-PURSUIT. |
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