04-30-2005, 02:43 AM
This is NOT good news, but it may be of interest to BFT folks. It appeared in the Daily Herald this morning, Friday, April 29, 2005. I've pasted the first few paragraphs in the message below. If you want to read the entire story, go to HarktheHerald.com. The URL for this particular story is as follows: http://www.harktheherald.com/modules.php...=0&thold=0
Disease forces extermination of 900,000 fish
Caleb Warnock DAILY HERALD
An outbreak of whirling disease has been discovered in the Springville fish hatchery, requiring that 900,000 fish, mostly rainbow trout destined for lakes and ponds around the state, be destroyed.
Whirling disease spores were discovered in routine tests of 60 fish in early April, said Joe Valentine, Division of Wildlife Resources aquatic culture supervisor. [url "http://heraldextra.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=display_ads&file=index&func=display_ad&ad=00263470"][/url]![[Image: adlog.php?bannerid=208&clientid=192&...3045aa4f61]](http://adserver.harktheherald.com/adlog.php?bannerid=208&clientid=192&zoneid=27&source=&block=0&capping=0&cb=39c565b416b8f984321ce13045aa4f61)
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[/url] Additional tests found more infected fish, and DNA tests confirmed the spores to be whirling disease on Wednesday.
Wildlife officials announced in July 2004 that they would close the Springville fish hatchery to the public because of fears of spreading the disease through mud on shoes, for example. The disease causes fish to spin and deforms them, causing them to eventually starve to death.
Both Hobble Creek and Provo River are known to be infected with the disease, "and we're right in between," Valentine said of the hatchery. The disease was likely spread to hatchery fish by birds or mammals that had been in one or both of those streams.
The news is a double blow to state wildlife officials. The Springville hatchery is the third in Utah to suffer an outbreak of the disease, and a fourth hatchery is being reconstructed, leaving only six of the state's 10 hatcheries to produce stock fish.
Recovering from the outbreak will cost at least $2 million, Valentine said. A water treatment system sensitive enough to remove all disease spores must now be built, and all raceways where the fish live must be sterilized after the fish are destroyed.
The financial impact is also escalated because the fish to be destroyed are worth at least $200,000, he said. They include 250,000 9- to 11-inch mature fish that were ready to be stocked in lakes and streams this year.
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Disease forces extermination of 900,000 fish
Caleb Warnock DAILY HERALD
An outbreak of whirling disease has been discovered in the Springville fish hatchery, requiring that 900,000 fish, mostly rainbow trout destined for lakes and ponds around the state, be destroyed.
Whirling disease spores were discovered in routine tests of 60 fish in early April, said Joe Valentine, Division of Wildlife Resources aquatic culture supervisor. [url "http://heraldextra.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=display_ads&file=index&func=display_ad&ad=00263470"][/url]
Wildlife officials announced in July 2004 that they would close the Springville fish hatchery to the public because of fears of spreading the disease through mud on shoes, for example. The disease causes fish to spin and deforms them, causing them to eventually starve to death.
Both Hobble Creek and Provo River are known to be infected with the disease, "and we're right in between," Valentine said of the hatchery. The disease was likely spread to hatchery fish by birds or mammals that had been in one or both of those streams.
The news is a double blow to state wildlife officials. The Springville hatchery is the third in Utah to suffer an outbreak of the disease, and a fourth hatchery is being reconstructed, leaving only six of the state's 10 hatcheries to produce stock fish.
Recovering from the outbreak will cost at least $2 million, Valentine said. A water treatment system sensitive enough to remove all disease spores must now be built, and all raceways where the fish live must be sterilized after the fish are destroyed.
The financial impact is also escalated because the fish to be destroyed are worth at least $200,000, he said. They include 250,000 9- to 11-inch mature fish that were ready to be stocked in lakes and streams this year.
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