ONTARIO GOVERNMENT SEEKS PUBLIC'S HELP TO SLOW SPREAD OF FISH DISEASE

For Immediate Release
June 15, 2007

ONTARIO GOVERNMENT SEEKS PUBLIC'S HELP TO SLOW SPREAD OF FISH DISEASE
Reporting Fish Die-Offs Through TIPS Line Helps Track Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia

TORONTO — The Ontario government is asking the public to help track the occurrence of viral hemorrhagic septicemia to slow and limit the spread of the fish disease, Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay said today.

“By calling our TIPS line if they find numbers of dead or dying fish, people will help us understand this disease and how it spreads,” said Ramsay.  “Adding this information to what we have learned by sampling fish around the province will enable us better to manage this disease and protect our fish populations.”

While stress caused by spawning or changing water temperatures may cause fish populations to die off in the spring and fall, reports from the public will help the ministry identify die-offs associated with viral hemorrhagic septicemia.

Ontario’s strategy for managing this disease includes:

• Sampling fish around Ontario under both the province’s sampling program and a federal sampling program
• Restricting the transfer of live bait fish and aquaculture-reared fish out of an identified Management Zone without a risk assessment
• Requiring eggs collected from virus-positive waters to be disinfected (salmon and trout) or reared and stocked only in virus-positive waters
• Educating those who transport live commercial fish about the disease.

Anyone who finds dead or dying fish should call the Ministry of Natural Resources TIPS line at 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667).  They will be asked for information about the species, condition and number of fish, the location of the fish and recent weather or environmental conditions.

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia was first identified in 2005 after a die-off of fish in the Bay of Quinte in Lake Ontario.  The virus has now been found in more than 15 species of fish in the Great Lakes, including walleye and emerald shiner. There could be serious ecological, social and economic impacts if the virus continues to spread to Ontario’s inland waters.

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia does not affect humans. Fish carrying the virus are safe to eat and handle. More information is available at http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/mnr/fishing/VHS.html.

For More Information

Anne-Marie Flanagan
Minister’s Office
416-327-0654

Jolanta Kowalski
Communications Services Branch
416-314-2106

General Enquiries

Natural Resources Information Centre
1-800-667-1940
TTY 1-866-686-6072 (Hearing Impaired)