Rachel's #904:FISH-KILLING VIRUS IN THE GREAT LAKES

[Guest guest]

At 06:08 PM 4/30/07, you wrote:

>The New York Times (pg. A4), Apr. 21, 2007

>[Printer-friendly version]

>

>FISH-KILLING VIRUS SPREADING IN THE GREAT LAKES

>

>By Susan Saulny

>

>CHICAGO, April 20 -- A virus that has already killed tens of thousands

>of fish in the eastern Great Lakes is spreading, scientists said, and

>now threatens almost two dozen aquatic species over a wide swath of

>the lakes and nearby waterways.

>

>The virus, a mutated pathogen not native to North America that causes

>hemorrhaging and organ failure, is not harmful to humans, even if they

>eat contaminated fish. But it is devastating to the ecosystem and so

>unfamiliar, experts said, that its full biological impact might not be

>clear for years. It is also having a significant impact on the lakes'

>$4 billion fishing industry.

>

>There is no known treatment for the virus. As a result, scientists are

>focusing on managing its spread to uncontaminated water -- quite a

>challenge since the Great Lakes are linked and fall under the

>jurisdiction of several states and provinces in Canada.

>

> " Updates over the winter suggest it has spread further than we

>thought, even last year, " said John Dettmers, a senior fisheries

>biologist for the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission in Ann Arbor, Mich.

>

> " It's really early, " Mr. Dettmers said. " As much as I'd like to say

>we know exactly what's going on, we don't. We're all sitting here on

>the edge of our chairs waiting to see how bad it's going to be this

>year. "

>

>When it was first detected about two years ago, the virus had affected

>only two species in a limited amount of water. But it has aggressively

>spread to other areas and other fish and is now being confirmed in

>Lake Huron after infecting Lakes Ontario and Erie, Lake St. Clair, the

>St. Lawrence River and the Niagara River. It is suspected in Lake

>Michigan as well, although there is no official confirmation.

>

>Last year, the virus, called viral hemorrhagic septicemia and known as

>V.H.S., caused untold thousands of dead fish to wash up in places like

>the eastern shoreline of Lake Ontario, a warning sign that scientists

>said could just be the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is going on

>underwater.

>

>The five Great Lakes -- Superior, Erie, Huron, Michigan and Ontario --

>hold 20 percent of the world's fresh surface water.

>

> " We anticipate that this will continue and get worse over the next

>few years, " said Dr. Jim Casey, associate professor of virology at

>Cornell University. " We fear there may be more widespread presence of

>the virus. "

>

>One of Dr. Casey's colleagues researching the virus, Dr. Paul Bowser,

>a professor of aquatic animal medicine, added, " This is a new

>pathogen and for the first number of years -- 4, 5 or 10 years --

>things are going to be pretty rough, then the animals will become more

>immune and resistant and the mortalities will decline. "

>

>No one is sure where the virus came from or how it got to the Great

>Lakes. In the late 1980s, scientists saw a version of V.H.S. in salmon

>in the Pacific Northwest, which was the first sighting anywhere in

>North America. V.H.S. is also present in the Atlantic Ocean. But the

>genesis of a new, highly aggressive mutated strain concentrating on

>the Great Lakes is a biological mystery.

>

> " We really don't know how it got there, " said Jill Roland, a fish

>pathologist and assistant director for aquaculture at the U.S.

>Department of Agriculture. " People's awareness of V.H.S. in the lakes

>was unknown until 2005. But archived samples showed the virus was

>there as early as 2003. "

>

>Scientists pointed to likely suspects, mainly oceangoing vessels that

>dump ballast water from around the world into the Great Lakes. (Ships

>carry ballast water to help provide stability, but it is often

>contaminated and provides a home for foreign species. The water is

>loaded and discharged as needed for balance.)

>

>Fish migrate naturally, but also move with people as they cast nets

>for sport, for instance, or move contaminated water on pleasure boats

>from lake to lake.

>

>The United States Department of Agriculture issued an emergency order

>in October to prohibit the movement of live fish that are susceptible

>to the virus out of the Great Lakes or bordering states. The order was

>later amended to allow limited movement of fish that tested negative

>for the virus.

>

> " Getting rid of it is extremely hard to foresee, " said Henry

>Henderson, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Midwest

>office in Chicago. " These species spread, and reproduce. It is a

>living pollution. "

 

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