VHS fish disease found in smallmouth bass from Green Bay

MADISON – Test results returned Thursday show that VHS fish disease has been detected in smallmouth bass from Green Bay, state fisheries officials report.

The deadly fish disease was found in smallmouth bass from the bay in 2007, so this is not a new species nor location with VHS. It does show that the disease is active this year and underscores the need for anglers and boaters to take steps to prevent its spread, says Mike Staggs, Wisconsin’s fisheries director.

“This is an important reminder that VHS is still out there and that we all need to take steps to prevent it from spreading to new lakes and rivers,” Staggs says. “That includes not moving live fish, draining water from your boat and equipment, buying your bait in Wisconsin and following rules for using leftover bait.”

“It’s particularly important that anglers and tournaments that target smallmouth bass in Green Bay diligently take the prevention steps and consider additional measures, like disinfecting live wells that were holding smallmouth bass.”

The three smallmouth bass from Sturgeon Bay were sent to the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Madison earlier this spring for testing after anglers and DNR staff observed a high percentage of smallmouth bass with open skin lesions. DNR received word Thursday that VHS had been isolated from the fish.

DNR biologists in the Peshtigo area are now sending down a smallmouth bass found dead near the mouth of the Oconto River in Green Bay for DNR fish health specialist Sue Marcquenski to assess whether VHS is possible, in which case the fish would be sent on for testing. A citizen had reported seeing many dead small mouth bass in this area within the past couple of weeks.

So far, preliminary results from VHS tests on several waters statewide have not found the disease, meaning VHS has not been detected elsewhere in the state beyond the Lake Winnebago and Lake Michigan systems.

VHS fish disease is not a human health threat but can kill 37 different species of fish, including trout, musky, bass and bluegill, and it caused large fish kills in some Great Lakes waters in 2005 and 2006. The disease was first detected in Wisconsin in 2007 in fish from the Lake Winnebago system and the Lake Michigan system; tests since then suggest the disease hasn’t spread beyond those waters.

Anglers inadvertently moving infected live bait is a main way that VHS fish disease can spread; VHS can also be spread through VHS-contaminated water.

More information about VHS and steps to prevent it can be found online: VHS and You: Keeping Wisconsin's Waters Healthy.