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NJ Trout: Furunculosis and Proposed Modified Stocking Schedule


metaliczombi

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The Pequest trout hatchery in NJ has been battling Furunculosis since this past September and they have released a report on the problems and a modified schedule for spring stocking. It seems to be pretty straight forward. Protect wild and native fish and get the stocker trout out of the raceways into put & take waters. Any holdover or production waters won't see a fish. One place they they propose to stock is the lower Passaic River below the Great Falls to the Dundee dam. This should lead to many confused anglers on opening day.

 

Here's the reports:

 

http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/2014/trout_changes14.pdf]http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/2014/trout_changes14.pdf

 

http://www.nj.gov/dep/workgroups/docs/troutmgtnotice20140221.pdf]http://www.nj.gov/dep/workgroups/docs/troutmgtnotice20140221.pdf

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This is scary stuff. The NJ DFW is planning on stocking 24,000 potential carriers of this disease into both of the non-trout, lower sections of the Passaic and Raritan Rivers. I hope they don't screw up and infect these rivers just to appease the stocked trout fans.

 

From NJ DFW:

 

 

"Treated fish are a population of fish in which the pathogen has been previously detected, gone through a mitigation period, and subsequently test negative for the bacterium as outlined in 1) above.
These fish will be considered as carriers of the bacterium
and will only be stocked in waters that do not support trout (non-trout waters such as warmwater lakes and rivers)."

 

This same disease, Aeromonas salmonicida, is suspected of causing the fish kills that wiped out up to 80% of the smallmouth bass in the Shenandoah River. These fish kills have been happening every spring since 2004, when the water temps are in the 50s, and then subside when the water temp gets up into the 70s.

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The carp snaggers down there will be happy to have a little variety in the bucket. I've asked a few folks if a fish ladder or dam removal was ever proposed for the Passaic. Answer was basically- "no, we dont want the dirty lower river fish infecting/polluting the cleaner upper river".

I like to see a man of advancing years throwing caution to the wind.  Its inspiring in a way.

More coffee hun?

Yeah, just keep it coming.

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There is a meeting this coming Saturday, 3/08/14 at Centenary College if anyone is interested in expressing their opinion in person. You can express yourself online through this link: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/news/2014/troutmtg14.htm

 

The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife will be holding its annual Trout Stocking Public Meeting on Saturday, March 8, in the Centenary Theater (aka The Little Theater), located in the Seay Building, Centenary College, Jefferson Avenue, Hackettstown, Warren County. The meeting begins at 10 a.m.

 

Fisheries Patholgist Dr. Jan Lovy and Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries biologists will present information on the proposed policy (see below) regarding management of the bacterial disease (furunculosis), which occurred this past fall at the Pequest Trout Hatchery, as well as a proposal to alter Spring trout stocking in order to protect the state’s trout resources.

 

This important meeting will have a comment period at the end of the program to provide opportunity for anglers to ask questions, voice their opinions, and give suggestions regarding the proposed changes for New Jersey's 2014 trout stocking program. Information about furunculosis at the hatchery, the proposed changes and proposed trout allocations are below.

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From doing some reading on this subject, the old hatchery had break outs of furunculosis and other diseases every so often and that was one of the reasons for building Pequest. No fish from Hackettstown were moved to Pequest due to this fact. Pennsylvania has breakouts and deals with it by continuing regular stocking. This disease seems to be only really bad for hatchery fish from the stress from being in a concrete raceway in the hatchery. There are thousands of rainbows that never tested positive from raceways that never tested positive. Those fish will be stocked in the sensitive areas that the other fish won't be. The state should set-up bait stands at different lakes selling the questionable trout as bait. They'd sell out in a few weeks at the muskie/walleye lakes.

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I was at the public forum and asked about the threat to other species. Hatchery officials admit that even though the fish were treated , small traces of furunculosis cannot be detected AND they cannot rule out cross infestation to other species. Then why the hell even take that chance. These fish are going into the Raritan main stem, DOD lake, Farrington Lake, among others. The trout fishing community does not give a rats ass about our sweetwater fishery. They are dumping their garbage in our back yards. .They just want to sell trout stamps. They raised them, let them take care of them. Any infected bass, perch, pike,carp, ( all affected species), should maybe be accidentally "dropped" into the Clairmont or KLG areas

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I was at the public forum and asked about the threat to other species. Hatchery officials admit that even though the fish were treated , small traces of furunculosis cannot be detected AND they cannot rule out cross infestation to other species. Then why the hell even take that chance. These fish are going into the Raritan main stem, DOD lake, Farrington Lake, among others. The trout fishing community does not give a rats ass about our sweetwater fishery. They are dumping their garbage in our back yards. .They just want to sell trout stamps. They raised them, let them take care of them. Any infected bass, perch, pike,carp, ( all affected species), should maybe be accidentally "dropped" into the Clairmont or KLG areas

 

Amazingly fish survived when diseased fish from Hackettstown were stocked for years in our waters. Don't want the fish stocked, stop buying a license and fish out of state. Revenue goes down, they can't stock anything.

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Back in the day of Hackettstown, the Raritan was a toilet below Duke Island. The river has made a remarkable recovery long after Hackettstown closed . Research it on line, it's only been learned in the last 10 years that trout infected with furuculosis CAN INFECT SMALLMOUTH. They never stock the main stem with trout. Now all of a sudden they want to stock it...with fish that WERE infected and treated

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114,000 Brook trout shall not get the pleasure of getting tossed out of a bucket or shot out of a tube since they are being euthanized.

 

Due to the re-occurrence of a fish disease that has affected a section of the Pequest Trout Hatchery in Warren County, the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife is euthanizing a portion of its brook trout population that was scheduled to be stocked this spring and is taking other steps to protect the overall integrity of the facility.

 

This action is consistent with the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Fish Health Policy, which was approved last week by the State Fish and Game Council following a public comment period and two public hearings. The plan states that fish found positive of pathogens, such as furunculosis, will not be stocked in state waters.

 

“We continue to thoroughly test and treat fish in all sections of the hatchery and are taking all precautions necessary to contain this disease,” said Division of Fish and Wildlife Director David Chanda. “Weighing all the factors with this most recent outbreak, it is in the best interest of the hatchery now and to safeguard the 2015 stocking program that the 114,000 brook trout that tested positive for furunculosis are euthanized.’’

 

Furunculosis, a fatal disease caused by a bacterium known as Aeromonas salmonicida, mostly affects cold water species of fish such as trout. Laboratory tests last weekend confirmed the presence of the disease in brook trout in an upper portion of the concrete raceway system used to raise trout for stocking of New Jersey’s waterways.

 

It is important to note that no human health risks are associated with this bacterium and that it is not transmissible to humans or other animal species.

 

 

Despite the loss of the large number of brook trout, the Division still will release healthy trout in state waters in time for the Opening Day of Trout Season scheduled for April 5, at 8 a.m. None of the trout being stocked this spring have the disease. Some may have been exposed to the bacterium that causes furunculosis but were effectively treated. Others that will be stocked have tested negative.

 

The 114,000 trout to be euthanized are a portion of the more than 600,000 trout the Pequest Hatchery raises every year. The fish are being humanely euthanized by introducing carbon dioxide into the water.

 

The 31-year-old Pequest Fish Hatchery had its first outbreak of furunculosis last fall, likely transferred into the hatchery by birds. Osprey feeding on infected fish in the wild may have spread the bacteria through contact when feeding on fish in the affected pool at the hatchery. As a result, some 25,000 trout were euthanized last fall.

 

Located in Oxford, the Pequest Trout Hatchery utilizes state-of-the-art techniques and procedures to produce some 300,000 pounds of trout each year for stocking in nearly 200 ponds, streams and lakes throughout New Jersey. Artesian wells in the Pequest Valley provide a constant flow of cold water necessary for the rearing of trout.

 

The Division of Fish and Wildlife utilizes robust measures to protect raceways at Pequest from bird infiltration, including wire deterrents strung over the raceways and air cannon. The division is continuing to investigate other options, including enclosing the raceways under fabric domes or barn-like structures. It also is exploring installation of extra wells to allow each raceway to have its own unique water supply for each group of fish.

 

Rainbow trout appear to be resistant to the disease, so the hatchery is increasing production of these species for stocking in future years. Brown and brook trout tend to be more susceptible and these fish will be vaccinated to provide protection against the disease. The Division also is considering acquiring brown and brook trout that have been bred for resistance to furunculosis.

 

For the short term, the affected areas of the hatchery will be drained, dried, steam cleaned, and disinfected before the next round of fish are introduced back into the raceway.

 

For more information on the Pequest Trout Hatchery, visit state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pequest.htm. [/url]

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