FURUNCULOSIS again in our trout!!

[Polelock]

Anyone else aware of this?

From F&G....

We are still dealing with furunuculosis within part the production facility. Our B line brook trout have been treated again and are showing no mortalities. BNT in the G and H lines are being treated with antibiotics at the present time and mortalities are decreasing.

These fish are treated with Sulfamerazine & Terramycin.. Antibiotics that i do not want to ingest.... From I've heard, these sick fish will be stocked this year... Last years batch of sick fish were destroyed.. Have the fishing public been made aware? Why are these being stocked? Why are we introducing this disease into our waterways? Too many unanswered questions here...

Here is a good read on Furunuculosis.. http://www.glfc.org/pubs/SpecialPubs...pdf/chap25.pdf

Can this disease affect other species of fish?

[AndyS]

Rumors are going around that there won't be any trout stocking this year

I say it's time the feds stepped in on this one.

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/njfieldoffice/index.html

They have been awfully quiet through all this.

[Polelock]

Having a tough time believing they would actually stock these fish Andy!!!!!

[Jigman13]

I'm wondering if any of the sick fish are finding their way into the river now up by the TCA on the Pequest. I saw some fish the last time I was up there with some interesting damage on them--I wasn't sure if they were wounds from birds and animals though. I'm def not a biologist, though.

[acaravaglia]

I say the state starts doing population control on all of these birds praying on these trout. It if they're not infesting the hatchery with deases, they are eating all of the stocked trout in ponds. Bunch of bull shit if you ask me. Wait till some of these virus are spread into other lakes / streams and starts infecting other species.

[UglyStick]

I'm far from being an ichthyologist, but an outbreak of furunculosis in an operating hatchery isn't simply a matter of destroying some fish and moving on. Short of removing all the fish, draining and sterilizing the entire facility, it takes a much greater master plan to combat it including everything from keeping birds away from the raceways to antibiotic treatments to obtaining more resistant strains of trout to whatever and can take quite awhile. In an attempt to avoid a complete shutdown that would mean no trout for possibly a few years, F&W (who has an on staff pathologist) are doing everything they can to mitigate the problem while still being able to produce stockable trout even if it means less fish for a period of time.

F&W is aware of the spring stocking schedule and needs to see how their mitigation plan plays out before being able to make any final decisions for the season. They have been very clear to this end discussing the topic and answering all relevant questions at their public forums noting that it will likely be right before the spring stocking period before any final decisions can be made.

From recent updates, it seems that the rainbows, which are much more naturally resistant to furunculosis, are OK. The issue remains with the brookies and browns but does appear to be improving due to the treatments (which is evidenced by the initial quote in this post).

They are fully aware of any and all risks and have no intention of stocking fish that could pose a threat to either humans or the environment. Trust that they know what they're doing and we'll know the conclusion when they know it. I'm not sure what the go / no go date is but it must be sometime in the next few weeks.

[FASTEDDIE29]

Is there enough funds to possibly get trout from another state or would that cause problems and put accounts in the negative? HMMMMMM, there's still trout to catch in alot of streams but not stocking would just be brutal for many anglers. I'm sure the great people at F&G will fix the problem. I have nothing but faith in them.

[EJS]

Originally Posted by FASTEDDIE29

Is there enough funds to possibly get trout from another state or would that cause problems and put accounts in the negative? HMMMMMM, there's still trout to catch in alot of streams but not stocking would just be brutal for many anglers. I'm sure the great people at F&G will fix the problem. I have nothing but faith in them.

I was wondering the same thing! Since we can't seem to produce healthy trout here, maybe we should close down that archaic museum quality hatchery and simply bring in the fish from out of state!

West Virginia, one of the poorest states in the nation, has a state of the art hatchery! We are still using concrete raceways with a link to an active river ecosystem! Seriously, where is the money going, where is the accountability?

Having diseased fish in a controlled environment is unacceptable! Having multiple years of diseased fish, well that's simply incompetent! Incompetence should lead to unemployment, especially in this situation!

I purchase a yearly out of state license with trout stamp! I expect what is promised, and 4 weeks of stocking is not acceptable!

[AndyS]

I like using the chain of command.

Next, take it to the Feds, I see they are busy planting trees. No help there, we go to US Fish and Wildlife in Washington DC and see what they have to say about all of this.

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/njfieldoffice/index.html

The New Jersey Field Office, located in Pleasantville, Atlantic County, implements the US Fish & Wildlife Service's Ecological Services program throughout New Jersey and its territorial waters. The US Fish & Wildlife Service is a bureau within the US Department of the Interior with the mission of "working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people."