Isn't It Too Late (Whirling Disease)

[ÜberFly]

Considering it's been found outside of Johnson's Lake and found in other areas (b/c of the fish farms)?

 

 

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/whirling-disease-johnson-lake-1.3842765

 

An entire lake in Banff National Park may have to be drained of all its trout — or all of its water — to stop a deadly fish parasite from spreading to more waterways.

Parks Canada officials are considering these extreme measures for Johnson Lake, where the first Canadian case of whirling disease was detected in August.

• Deadly fish disease found outside Banff park for 1st time, including trout farm
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Since then, whirling disease — which targets trout and salmon and causes them to swim in a circular pattern — has been detected in 14 more locations.

"Just because of the proximity, there's possibility of birds moving the parasite through ... fish or fecal matter, and also recreational use connecting between the water bodies," said Bill Hunt, the manager of resource conservation with Banff National Park.

Hunt said officials are particularly concerned that the disease could eventually infiltrate two more Banff lakes — Minnewanka and Two Jack.

'We do know that removing fish from a water body puts a break in the life cycle of the parasite,' says Bill Hunt with Banff National Park. (File Photo/John Hart/The Associated Press)

Draining the lake

Hunt said removing the water from Lake Johnson would expose the parasite to colder temperatures.

"Evidence suggests that freezing is another way to reduce the prevalence of the parasite," he said.

"Whether that is a full dewatering of the lake or a partial dewatering just to remove spores within the shoreline area, these are questions we're looking at right now."

 

Hunt said "oddly enough," it's not that tough to drain a lake. Many construction companies in Alberta that are already doing this for various industrial projects, he said.

"It's expensive, and we'd want to make sure there's a reasonable likelihood of a successful outcome."

 

This rainbow trout displays the characteristic black tail and skeletal deformities indicative of whirling disease. (Stephen Atkinson/Oregon State University)

 

Toss the trout

The other option would see all the rainbow, brown and brook trout scooped from the 15-hectare lake.

"We do know that removing fish from a water body puts a break in the lifecycle of the parasite," Hunt said.

He said the CFIA would destroy the trout, which are all non-native species that were introduced to Johnson Lake years ago.

Hunt said at this point, Parks Canada is just brainstorming ideas and will not take any action until after completing public consultations and an environmental assessment.

[Jayhad]

I wonder if they will repopulate with rainbows, and browns or take this opportunity to stock cutties

[Dangus]

Ya my feeling is that since it's a park, it would be restored to native species.

Not really sure what it accomplishes. It's in the bow, it'll just end up back in the lake.

Just need to let some natural selection work its magic.

[BurningChrome]

So maybe draining it will "put a break" in the lifecycle, but from what I've read the spores can survive 30 years in dry dirt. Wouldn't it start up again after they put more fish in? It might not start right away, but maybe in a year, 2 years, 10 years... Seems not fully baked to me.

[Dangus]

I think there was something about freezing in there too. Maybe that'd wipe it out.

Still,'seems like a waste

[McLeod]

before they do that they need to find out if the parasite is already in Minnewanka which I suspect it already .

[bcubed]

before they do that they need to find out if the parasite is already in Minnewanka which I suspect it already .

 

I suspect the main issue is that they're only reporting the 'finds', and not the negatives. May well have tested Minnewanka and just havent published it yet?

[BurningChrome]

I suspect the main issue is that they're only reporting the 'finds', and not the negatives. May well have tested Minnewanka and just havent published it yet?

Thought I read somewhere that they did test it but didn't find anything and will continue to test. It's much more difficult to prove a negative than a positive...

[snuffy]

It really depends on how resilient the spores are. Certainly bacterial spores would laugh at your efforts, but these are Cnidaria. It's not obvious from the reading I've done and BurningChrome is right that a negative is hard to prove. I assume they are using a PCR based assay, but while very specific, those aren't always all that sensitive.

 

(Really interesting life cycle though. I had no idea there were fresh water Cnidaria!)

[eagleflyfisher]

Fishing a stream in BC this past fall and landed a smaller cutthroat that had the exact same appearance as the picture above but no crooked tail. Do some fish just occasionally have a skin colouring like that ? It was sure black from the dorsal back.

[monger]

Black coloring often shows up at an infection site....not necessarily from whirling disease

[fishteck]

Will the Bow River survive Whirling Disease? Experience in Montana would suggest YES!

 

 

http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/articles/2007/whirlingdisease.htm

[BurningChrome]

Will the Bow River survive Whirling Disease? Experience in Montana would suggest YES!

 

 

http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/articles/2007/whirlingdisease.htm

Survive, yes. But it took what, about a decade for Montana rivers to recover? Our already at risk bulls and cutties are a major concern though. How will their already low numbers fare if they're exposed? Posts like this have a danger of lulling people into a false sense of security when we should be encouraging them to clean their gear between water bodies, especially when you look at quagga mussels being on our doorstep as well.

[fishteck]

Burning Chrome:

You, as many are, maybe overreacting to the impact of Whirling Disease. I believe the article is well researched and written.

 

The impact of a relatively high incidence of Whirling Disease in tributaries of the Missouri has not negatively impacted the trout population in the main stem of the Missouri. Lots of speculations as to why this was the case, but no definitive answers. What the article does say is that more research is needed to completely understand the impact of the disease.

 

The situation was different on the Madison where rainbow trout mortality was high and there was concern for the westslope and Yellowstone Cutthroat populations as there is here. But nevertheless, trout have survived with what is thought to be a WD resistance gene and populations of trout have returned to historical levels.

 

I have fished Montana's rivers the majority on the Missouri a lot over the years, going back to the time when WD was first reported.in 1995 and have never seen an WD infected fish. And to be honest I did not hear much about the disease. Sure, I did wash my gear and boat at that time, as I do now, before fishing on my return to Alberta.

 

We need to be vigilant with preventative measures, but Whirling Disease as a trout killer may not be as deadly as once feared, but it’s still a potential threat to the Alberta trout fishery. The fishery will survive!

[DonAndersen]

Fish tech,

 

WD was in the Madison about 30 years ago. Wiped out <>90% of the trout and today the Madison is back to 80% of pre-80's levels.

There is a price to pay for Govts sitting on their asses.

 

Don

[fishteck]

Don:

Everyone references the Madison River as an example of what Whirling Disease can do to a fishery and the economic loss to those that make a living from it. But why did the Missouri River not see the same devastation? No one has an explanation for the difference. In addition what measures were put in place on US rivers that did anything except slow the disease until (the speculation of) a resistance population was large enough to sustain itself.

 

So now the Bow River fishery is faced with the potential for an expansion of Whirling Disease across the river basin if containment measures in the upper reaches are not successful. The fishing community will do its part by adhering to the government's recommendations for cleaning equipment and boats. But Calgary with a large active river recreational community will find it very difficult to contain the spread of the disease. Canoes, kayaks and float tubes will continue to use the river with little or no regard for cleaning procedures.

 

If the provincial government is serious about WD containment, a ban is needed on all access the Bow River, regardless of the type of activity. This is impossible! Therefore what can the government do except attempt to slow the spread of the disease.

[BurningChrome]

There are more water bodies in Alberta than the Bow. How well do you think the cutthroat and bulls up in the mountains will fare if anglers bring it up there? Right now they might have a bit of protection from dams, hanging culverts, and waterfalls. Cleaning your gear isn't that difficult and like I said before protects against transferring other invasive species.

[monger]

WD now found at Red earth creek area upstream of Bow Falls.

I heard that samples for Calgary should be available in February

[fishteck]

BurningChrome:

 

If Whirling Disease get into the Calgary reach of the Bow River it will more than likely spread across all water bodies in southern Alberta. There are just too many Calgary anglers who fish all over the place. All we can hope for is the impact will not be too great.

[bcubed]

BurningChrome:

 

If Whirling Disease get into the Calgary reach of the Bow River it will more than likely spread across all water bodies in southern Alberta. There are just too many Calgary anglers who fish all over the place. All we can hope for is the impact will not be too great.

 

The odds of it being in Banff, and Lott creek and not in the Bow in Calgary.. I'd say 1 in a million. Already in the Bow below Exshaw, no way it's not down here..

[TroutPanther]

Maybe our govt can learn a thing or two from how they have approached the didymo situation in NZ:

- angler education with check, clean, dry signage at most access points, f&g pamphlets, licensing websites etc

- free spray bottles at tackle and fly shops for cleaning your gear

- banned sale & entry of felt-soled boots

Etc.

Good to see them starting to take the issue of invasives more seriously with the mandatory boat inspections at the borders, although it does little to prevent intra-AB spread.

[jpinkster]

My biggest hope? The WD scare forces government to start taking matters they can control more seriously. Once WD gets in, it's almost impossible to contain or manage. That is something we can't control. Things like smarter fishing regulations and habitat protection are things government can absolutely control. Hopefully a closer eye on our fisheries creates more awareness on some of the big issues that have otherwise been ignored by the provincial government.

[TroutPanther]

On the chum a couple days ago. Hopefully our bios are taking notice.

 

http://fwp.mt.gov/news/newsReleases/headlines/nr_4296.html

 

Helena, MT Governor Steve Bullock issued an executive order today declaring a statewide natural resource emergency for Montana water bodies due to the detection of the larvae of invasive aquatic mussels at Tiber Reservoir and suspected detections at Canyon Ferry Reservoir and the Milk and Missouri rivers. The signing of the Executive Order triggers the deployment of an interagency rapid response team to respond to the emerging situation...

[BowLurker]

Spoke with a couple guys at a legit fly shop in Kelowna. The people who were willing to speak with us knew that it was kind of a small issue.

 

The fact that the rumours were to try and block Montanans from coming to Alberta was really laughable in Kelowna too. Wtf.

 

Whirling Disease topics are never-ending, even within Canada. Stop saying we're going to block Montana/Idaho from fishing here. Idiots.

 

Clean/spray with vinegar/and make sure you can do overtime on Friday nights!

 

-M.

[bcubed]

Clean/spray with vinegar/and make sure you can do overtime on Friday nights!

 

uhhh.. wut?