Anglers Can Help Slow the Spread of Fish Disease

June 16, 2008 -- As summer approaches and fishing season shifts into high gear, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is reminding anglers that preventing the spread viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) will take the effort of everyone.

Although long known in Europe, VHS is a relatively new disease to the Great Lakes region that is capable of killing numerous species of fish by causing internal bleeding.

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Fishing on Grand River, Michigan: Photo by Joel Dinda (CC)

First discovered in the Great Lakes in 2005, VHS has caused fish kills in northern Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River, Lake Erie, and inland in Budd Lake near Harrison.

Anglers can help prevent the spread of disease by following two simple rules: Don't move water and don't move fish.

Anglers are asked to empty their live wells and bilges when they leave a lake or river. Live wells should be disinfected with one half-cup bleach per five gallons of water before the boat is launched on another body of water. Fish should never be moved from one body of water to another, including minnows used for bait. Please dispose of leftover minnows away from the water; do not empty your bait bucket into the lake, which is illegal. Anglers who collect their own minnows should use them only in the same waters where they were collected. Certified VHS-free minnows can be used anywhere in the state and now are widely available in bait shops. Uncertified minnows may be used in the specific VHSv Management Areas indicated on the receipt provided by the bait shop. If there is any doubt, anglers should use uncertified bait only in the VHSv Positive Management Areas.

There is no known treatment for VHS in a lake or river. Preventing the spread of VHS is the best way to protect Michigan's fish stocks from the disease.

Source: Michigan DNR