Myco in striped bass
Hello all,
I was looking at a photo on the board and it reminded me of something. For the last few years I've been reading reports of a bacterial disease in Striped Bass. The disease is known by its abbreviation "Myco." Scientists think it originated in run-off from livestock farms in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Anyhow, this is bad stuff because it kills Stripers, but if you touch an infected striper it can also give a human a nasty infection. I looked up some state game&wildlife sites and the one in Maine gives the best summary. Here is the link: http://www.maine.gov/dmr/recreational/documents/mycoFAQ.pdf
So be sure to wear a glove when handling a Striper these days. And you might keep the fish and report it to local wildlife authorities if you catch one that has symptoms.
tight lines,
Hank
Posted by Henry V
created over 9 years ago
- last updated over 9 years ago
1300 views
- 5 responses
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I was not aware of this disease. Thanks for sharing this info.
Posted by Joe Pych
over 9 years ago
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henry can myco affect other fish my son has a catfish posted today that lives in our resovoir with wipers that was just sitting beside the boat and he scooped it up in the net and it had the same coloration as the striper you posted about
Posted by John Wright
over 9 years ago
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John, I don;t know. I hope not. You might save the fish and give it to a wildlife officer, so they can have a biologist check it out.
Posted by Henry V
over 9 years ago
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Reading the PDF that Henry linked to, it sounds like myco isn't known to infect other species of fish, but they really haven't done any studies, so it certainly could. If you catch a fish that's acting strange - definitely don't eat it.
I hope I don't run into any infected fish, as much as I usually touch fish with my bare hands, and then end up using my mouth to hold the end of the line, wet a knot, etc at some point during almost every trip. Need to try and get out of that habit.
Posted by Jason Robinson over 9 years ago - Report Abuse
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good info henry i never heard of it and were in the middle of our striper run rite now i"ll keep my eyes open
Posted by John Wright
over 9 years ago
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