dying stripers

[tonydivefish]

article- 11/28 va. pilot-hampton roads section. most stripers in bay are diseased w/ mycobacteriosis. eats away @ their scales. can effect people. story by VIMS.

[fi$hlips]

don't eat the scales

[Tom Powers]

Here is the article. It is not clear in the article if, like the title, MOST are dying. . . If so a substantial increase in natural mortality would have a negative impact on the "producer" area quota that we fish on in the bay.

Most of Bay's stripers diseased and dying researchers find.

November 28, 2008
By Steve Szkotak
RICHMOND
A chronic bacterial disease that infects more than half of all the striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay is also lethal to the prized game fish, researchers concluded.


Scientists at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science said they are the first to conclusively link mycobacteriosis to the death of rockfish, another common name for Bay stripers.


Although the disease was first detected among Bay rockfish in 1977, its virulence was not immediately apparent because the fish weren't dying in large numbers.


"They're just going to drop out of the population one by one," David Gauthier, lead author of the study, said of the infected stripers. "It takes a long time to kill a fish."


The study appears in the October issue of Ecological Applications. It was conducted by researchers at VIMS, based in Gloucester Point, and from Coastal Carolina University and the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Center.
Mycobacteriosis slowly eats away at a fish's scales, scarring its streamlined, silvery body. The disease is usually harmless to humans, provided they wash their hands after handling infected fish. Handling an infected fish with an open wound can cause lesions.


"It's a common-sense thing," Gauthier said. "It's a really good idea to wear gloves."
Infected fish are also safe to eat but should be cooked thoroughly, he said.


While up to 60 percent of the striped bass in the Bay are now afflicted, older fish are infected at higher rates. The estuary is the primary East Coast destination for striped bass to spawn. The game fish is coveted along the East Coast and is often on the menus of high-end restaurants.


It's not clear how mycobacteriosis spreads, nor why the disease has increased sharply in recent years. The disease, however, has historically been found among farmed fish.


"What makes it unique is you don't see it prevalent in a wild population," said Gauthier, who is now at Old Dominion University's department of biological services.


He said the bacterial infection is a "stress disease," and he cited several theories on what's causing it among Bay stripers. They include the Bay's low-oxygen "dead zones," which could be forcing rockfish out of their preferred cold water into warmer waters; and low food supplies.


The study found a higher mortality rate in the summer months.
The study is based on fishery stock assessments that show an increase in natural deaths among striped bass in Maryland waters since 1999.

Among other findings, the scientists found that older females are more likely than males to die from the disease, a likely toll of spawning and migration.

[bbogue]

Here is a link to a VIMS frequently asked questions website on this subject.

Mycobacteriosis: Frequently Asked Questions (http://web.vims.edu/myco/FAQ.html?svr=www)

Bill
Miss Ginya

[hookinfinger]

"It's not clear how mycobacteriosis spreads, nor why the disease has increased sharply in recent years. The disease, however,has historically been found among farmed fish." :confused:

[Brandon]

Myco as we call it here in Maryland has been an issue for many many years. They have known and been studying it at the University of Maryland since the middle 1990's along with the Oxford Cooperative Lab and VIMS and a few other research institutions. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has known about it as well. It has not been all that publicized because of several reasons, but probably the most prevalent is because the charter boat association nor the commerical fishing establishment wants much coverage because it would scare customers from chartering, at least in MD, and from keeping people from wanting to eat striped bass. We see a lot more stripers with it, at least with visible signs of it, in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake. It's a real problem, just not many people want to talk about it.

Back in 2006 I talked with Steve Early of Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service Cooperative Oxford Lab about Mycobacteria in the Chesapeake Bay and it’s effects on Rockfish/Striped Bass. You can listen to my interview with him here (http://laterallineco.com/blog/2006/03/30/interview-with-steve-early-about-mycobacteria-in-striped-bass/). It's a pretty good listen. When you go to the link there will be a little button with and arrow which is the "play" button. It is an MP3 and also on iTunes under Lateral Line Podcasts.

Brandon

[Fishman]

If I remember correctly Dr Julie Ball did some talks on this disease a few years back at some of the anglers clubs. Maybe she will chime in.

[fshrgrl]

If I remember correctly Dr Julie Ball did some talks on this disease a few years back at some of the anglers clubs. Maybe she will chime in.

I have given several seminars around the state on Fish Handler's Disease, or Mycobacteriosis in humans, which is caused by Mycobactrium marinum.

As for the studies I have seen, There are different types of Mycobacterium bacteria, and Mycobacterium marinum is the variety that is most likely to cause this condition in humans. Mycobacterium marinum is aquired by handling ANYTHING (even inanimate objects) contaminated by marine waters infected with the bacteria, not just fish. This bacteria can affect people if it is able to establish itself within a breach in the skin.

I have not seen any studies that indicate that this is the primary variety of Mycobacterium that aflicts the striped bass population, but it is suspected that it may play a small role. The main suspected variety in stripers is Mycobacterium shottsii, which does not seem to cause a large threat to humans. The concern is that the M. shottsii and M. marinum are similar. But the M. shottsii variety grows in cooler temperatures than can be supported by a warm human body, therefore it probably is not a threat to people. Unfortunately, it is a large threat to the striped bass population!

Here is a link to my article on Fish Handler's Disease:

http://http://www.drjball.com/article6.html

[LandingCrew]

so because this is a bacteria, if you cook your fish and not cross contaminate and where latex gloves you should be okay to eat it, this is something my wife wonders and i would also like to know. also if we can get it by a break in the skin why does it affect stripers? is it from inproper handling at boatside removing scales and slime? or is it because they tend to live near rocks and might rub against them when ambushing prey. anything would be greatly appreciated.

[sprighunter]

I am extremely concerned about this disease. This has got to have been the worst bay rockfish season I have witnessed in my 15 years of fishing the bay. I mainly target spots inside the first island and schoolies(18-25inch) are not here in the numbers I am used to seeing. I fish a lot(3-4x a week at night) and live right on Lynnhaven inlet. This class fish is WAY OFF in the usual numbers than in years past. Normally these fish are stacked thick in the lightline of the CBBT by late Sept on outgoing tides and this year they did not really show up.. I have spoken with two biologists with the VRMC and they share my concern, but want to see if it repeats next fall. I feel the 18-25 inch fish have suffered greatly from this disease and it has gone undetected. I have caught lots of these diseased fish this year and noticed this in early october when I did catch some. The stripers have not shown up in Lynnhaven under the usual dock lights either. One nieghbor told me last year he caught over 50 fish at night from his dock and this year he has given up and may be caught 8. I will say the fishing has picked in the past week, but this has to be the worst Oct/Nov I have witnessed. I mainly read this board and do not post, but this I feel was worth saying and I hope this situation gets the attention it deserves, but unfortunatley until we see decline in the bigger females will people start taking notice of this disease. With a lack of 18-25 inch fish means a lack of 36-44 inch in years to come. This is a huge concern guys...