Strawberry has whirling disease

[Joe_Dizzy]

Today, I found out, from Alan Ward, Strawberry Project Leader with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, that whirling disease was discovered, in Strawberry, in 2011.  Perhaps this was widely known, but I was not aware of it.

"Strawberry" has (had) whirling disease... or "fish" from Strawberry had whirling disease?

Hatcheries all over the US were cultivating/spreading whirling disease through the 90s (and 2000s). Utah hatcheries were no different. Strawberry Reservoir is stocked (heavily)... so it makes sense.

well...maybe PRIVATE hatcheries had WD in Utah during the 90's -- and more specifically, private hatcheries owned and operated by the Leavitt (yes, governor) family in Wayne County.  But State run hatcheries were NOT "cultivating / spreading" whirling disease...

In 1991, the DWR discovered whirling disease in Utah in a series of private hatcheries and adjacent waters in the Fremont river drainage of Wayne county. Initially, an attempt was made to eradicate the parasite by removing fish from those streams and reservoirs for an extended period of time. That effort proved unsuccessful and since then, the parasite has been found the in several private hatcheries, one state hatchery and waters in Cache, Weber, Beaver, San Juan, Summit and Sevier counties.

Whirling disease has been found in fish from about a dozen different fisheries in Utah and probably present in many others (Green River has whirling disease I believe).

The diseased fish in Strawberry were Kokanee... which likely came from a hatchery... a state hatchery.