Ohio people wake up!

[teleost]

We've had many guys from Ohio release fish and many guys argue that releasing fish isn't bad. One topic was locked where a guy wanted evidence that disease has been spread by releasing fish. If anyone here questions how important it is to NEVER release ANY fish into the wild (even if the fish came from that water originally) this is an article to read.

I urge any member from the Mansfield area and the Mohican River to disinfect
any/all nets with chlorine bleach between every excursion into the water and don't release fish under any circumstances.

http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/2008/06/fishkilling_disease_reaches_in.html

Fish-killing disease reaches inland lake near Mansfield
Posted by D'Arcy Egan June 05, 2008 08:09AM


A disease that has killed fish around the lower Great Lakes has been discovered in Clearfork Reservoir, an Ohio inland lake near Mansfield.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife collected routine fish samples in April to test for viral hemorrhagic septicemia outside of the Lake Erie drainage. Test results announced Wednesday detected a positive sample from a muskie netted from Clearfork Reservoir.

Wildlife officials are asking anglers and boaters to avoid moving live fish from Clearfork Reservoir to other waters; to drain water from boat live wells, bilges and engines before leaving the reservoir; and to empty bait buckets and coolers.

Wildlife experts said the virus poses no risk to humans. Swimming will not put people at risk, and fish caught from Clearfork Reservoir are safe to eat.

The virus was confirmed by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service laboratory in La Crosse, Wis.

A large fish kill from VHS was documented in western Lake Erie 2006, with mostly sheepshead, or freshwater drum, dying. There was a smaller fish kill in 2007.

There has not been a fish kill in Clearfork Reservoir.

I sure hope it wasn't an MFK'r that caused this recent infection.

 

[snakeheader]

wow i live in ohio and i didnt know we had idiots letting non native fish go to that extent,geez,shows how dumb some people can be

 

[JDS]

I will be more concerned about it if you get the state to stop letting fish go back into wild.

I would also like to see some proof where somebody released some native caught fish that he has raised, and which caused A disease outbreak in said body of water. The problem is there is no proof. that being said I would never release a fish that I caught in a body of water with a known disease in it.

 

[teleost]

I will be more concerned about it if you get the state to stop letting fish go back into wild.

I would also like to see some proof where somebody released some native caught fish that he has raised, and which caused A disease outbreak in said body of water. The problem is there is no proof. that being said I would never release a fish that I caught in a body of water with a known disease in it.

This is the "proof" you're looking for. It's not possible for a fish to transport itself from lake Erie to this body of water in this short time period. People either moved fish with the virus or people (the state) raised stock with VHS and then released it into the system.

 

[Rockbass6]

wow i live in ohio and i didnt know we had idiots letting non native fish go to that extent,geez,shows how dumb some people can be

I think alot of the fish that are getting released are actually natives. An example would be someone catches a largemouth and gets sick of having it in a 55 and releases it back into the wild its sad but its true. Most of the exotic fish will die in the winter if released, but still if released in the summer they will probably thrive quite well for the time being. Releasing fish is horrible! if you cant find someone to take it your better off throwing it in the garden than throwing it in the lake or river system and possibly causing a huge mess.

 

[JDS]

First off I will not defendant anybody who releases nine native fish into the wild. That is just so wrong on someone levels. But I will not complain about people who catch native fish keeps in awhile and wont's to release it back into the body of water it was caught in.

What really bothers me as you read some of these posts, were said individual has released a fish that he caught back into the wild and gets ripped for it. Yet where is all the outrage for the local states that do it 100 times worse than the average hobbyist can. Just a few posts down their someone who helped stock walleye fry where is the condemnation for that? Do you think there fish will be healthier than mine? I've seen some of the fish my state has stocked. Sometimes they are so sickly looking I would never want them in my tank let alone my lakes.

 

[Polypterus]

First off I will not defendant anybody who releases nine native fish into the wild. That is just so wrong on someone levels. But I will not complain about people who catch native fish keeps in awhile and wont's to release it back into the body of water it was caught in.

What really bothers me as you read some of these posts, were said individual has released a fish that he caught back into the wild and gets ripped for it. Yet where is all the outrage for the local states that do it 100 times worse than the average hobbyist can. Just a few posts down their someone who helped stock walleye fry where is the condemnation for that? Do you think there fish will be healthier than mine? I've seen some of the fish my state has stocked. Sometimes they are so sickly looking I would never want them in my tank let alone my lakes.

Having worked at a hatchery that produced fish for stocking I can assure you there is zero in common between state stocking and the Bucket biologist / ignorant aquarist...

I'm personally not a fan of state fish stocking or the ignorant policy of "put 'n Take" fisheries and feel it is counter productive to proper fisheries management. Often the idea is: we can just make more.. Rather than preserve what we have where it SHOULD be. That said...

Hatchery raised fish are run through strict levels of disease control and screening. (these days...This was not so just a couple decades ago) If there is even an inkling of a pathogen that could affect the native waters or wildlife found in these fish they are all destroyed and the hatchery is closed for the season for disinfecting.. Physical condition of an animal is very different than being infected with a pathogen. Fish raised for stocking are generally not in the best physical condition but they are not hardly a pathogen vector. It is the pathogen vector issue here that is the prime concern...

It is the Bucket biologist, ignorant aquarist and ignorant fisherman that is a primary transfer vector of infectious pathogens... Not the state.. This needs to be well understood and not glossed over..

 

[koop171]

You can't blame a state for this.Yes I undertand that this reported incident happened in ohio but i'm sureif I look I could find similarcases in most states. I remeber watching a vid of a couple of ppl on the east coast releasing a could of cats into a river and they thought they were don't a good thing. So don't blame a state just raise awarness by using this article as an example of what NOT to do.

 

[JDS]

Fish raised for stocking are generally not in the best physical condition but they are not hardly a pathogen vector.

a ridiculous statements like this doesn't make your argument to convincing. Me being an ignorant Aquarius knows better.

 

[JDS]

You can't blame a state for this.

after seeing firsthand what my state does with its waterways I think I can.