2014 NJ trout stocking changes due to disease at Pequest

[gregschmegg]

"24k to patterson great falls hmm does Simms have a Goretex bullet proof vest? id buy one"

Maybe Orvis can do a video on Extreme Urban Fly Fishing in Paterson.. have Aaron Jasper demonstrate roll casting downstream between tire runs.

 

[Iso]

Explain to me why we are considering putting these fish any where near a natural ecosystem?

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Explain to me why we are considering putting these fish any where near a natural ecosystem?

Because this disease came from a natural ecosystem. It is not a foreign disease, it is in so many rivers and streams throughout the country. Hopefully, our wild trout (especially our native brookies) have evolved with this disease and have grown totally or fairly immune to it. But most of our wild fish, not all but most, will not see stockings of infected fish this year. Also, it doesn't tend to break out in nature like it does in the stressful environs of a trout hatchery. Right now the hatchery conditions are as stressful as they could be meaning it is a max. capacity minus the scant 15K browns they killed last fall as the balance of trout are about to be stocked over the next few months, so this is the peak of any trouble time in a hatchery. In the river, these fish will not be touching each other all day as they do in raceways where they are tightly packed.

I'm not saying their proposal is 100% solid, but you have to weigh all the factors. In the end, we need disease resistant trout in our hatcheries like other states produce including PA where about half their hatcheries have furunculosis in their respective water supplies yet their fish test negative after being selectively bred for resistance to this disease from stock out of the Rome, NY hatchery. The Rome hatchery was nearly wiped out at one time from furunculosis and the trout that survived were bred to be resistant to it over time. PA used those resistant fish to bolster their own hatcheries over 20 years ago.

Pequest relies on ground water wells which do not introduce bacteria or other diseases and that has worked well for NJ for 30 years, but now we have furunculosis that likely made it to the hatchery via bird droppings and we can no longer rely just on clean well water to keep disease free in that facility.

 

[Pete]

The silver lining to the shorter stocking schedule....
Three more weeks without truck chasers !

The silver lining to stocking below the Great Falls with so many trout.
People from Hawthorn, Patterson, Fair Lawn, Garfield, and Clifton, won't be crowding your favorite stream as much.
Some of their kids may get addicted to fishing, instead of less desirable habits.

 

[trico mike]

Can other fish get the disease buy eating infected trout.

 

[Pete]

Can other fish get the disease buy eating infected trout.

As I understand it, salmonoids are especially vulnerable, but other species (eg Pike, smallmouths) can also be affected.

Hopefully, as Brian suggested, natural selection has given fish "in the wild" more resistance than hatchery stock.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Can other fish get the disease buy eating infected trout.

Yes, although the list of non-native salmonids that are susceptible is small. There is a documented case down south (can't recall if the Carolinas or Virginias) where smallmouth bass got it from infected trout and it has been documented in American eels and even in flounder in saltwater. It may impact other species as well, but again, it has not been highly destructive in the natural world but rather in hatchery settings.

There are no easy answers to these fish currently in Pequest, but I think there are long-term solutions the Division can and is pursuing to remedy this in future years. Inform yourselves and weigh in on the public comment period once you feel you have enough information to make an informed decision. Personally, I'm still fact-gathering.

 

[trico mike]

My concern was fish that make it into saltwater,such as the ones they put in the squan. They end up becoming food for stripers blues,weakness etc. I was just wondering if these could be affected. With the basses behavior of schooling it could be easily spread in the striper population. If that's the case they should end the searun program for awhile. I don't know if this can happen I was just trying to hear from more knowledgeable guys on the subject.

 

[Thursthouse]

Furnoculosis in humans..

Repeated furunculosis in adult male with abnormal neutrophil activity. - Abstract - Europe PubMed Central

 

[Oliver10]

Furnoculosis in humans..

Repeated furunculosis in adult male with abnormal neutrophil activity. - Abstract - Europe PubMed Central

I googled this and the fish jut look like regular mutant stockers. who cares. http://www.ag.auburn.edu
/mediagallery/2013/08/13/bacterial-diseases-in-coldwater-fishes-3/

 

[Rusty Spinner]

My concern was fish that make it into saltwater,such as the ones they put in the squan. They end up becoming food for stripers blues,weakness etc. I was just wondering if these could be affected. With the basses behavior of schooling it could be easily spread in the striper population. If that's the case they should end the searun program for awhile. I don't know if this can happen I was just trying to hear from more knowledgeable guys on the subject.

Not yet detected in striped bass although IPN is and that is what closed the Connequot Hatchery in Long Island on the stream of the same name. But it (furunculosis) can be found in flounder and American eels and at least one report of it being found in smallmouth bass in another state. Again, this is a natural disease that seems to infect mainly trout hatcheries far worse than general populations of either stocked or wild fish. PA is loaded with furunculosis in its trout streams and about half their hatcheries, but you don't hear about it impacting that state's wild trout. That state now raises disease resistant fish and the wild trout have likely built resistance to it over time although I have no concrete proof of that.

I think it's good that folks are now becoming aware of this issue and are taking time to research it as it will only lead to better protections for our trout in the future. But short term, this is a mess of sorts for NJ.

 

[Thursthouse]

I googled this and the fish jut look like regular mutant stockers. who cares. http://www.ag.auburn.edu
/mediagallery/2013/08/13/bacterial-diseases-in-coldwater-fishes-3/

I just thought it wasn't documented in humans

 

[Rusty Spinner]

I just thought it wasn't documented in humans

It's not the same bacteria found in fish. Furunculosis basically means skin lesions. It is certain specific bacteria that cause lesions and trout are affected by a different bacteria than affects humans. We cannot get this furunculosis disease in our hatchery from touching or eating infected trout, for example.

 

[Pete]

It's not the same bacteria found in fish. Furunculosis basically means skin lesions. It is certain specific bacteria that cause lesions and trout are affected by a different bacteria than affects humans. We cannot get this furunculosis disease in our hatchery from touching or eating infected trout, for example.

That was my understanding. It's like saying you have boils, without getting into the exact pathogen that caused them.

In humans it generally involves a staph infection of a hair follicle.
Since fish don't have hair, it's a different pathology.

 

[NJpatbee]

It is going to be an adjustment for many anglers, especially the put and take crowd, but with some common sense we should be OK. The State is still planning to stock 570,000+ trout with hopefully any disease treated trout nowhere near the wild and holdover waters. There will be plenty of trout to kill and take home, some closer to the more populated areas, so the sales of licenses and trout stamps may not suffer too badly. The addition of 4.5 miles of C&R on the Flatbrook should make trout available for other general kill sections.

Hopefully, the F&W will have the resources to prevent the disease from blooming again. This is a setback for F&W, but not catastrophic for our cold water fisheries. I still plan to enjoy trout fishing in NJ in 2014.

 

[CR]

I wrote a story on fly fishing the Passaic River in Eastern Fly Fishing magazine in the last year or so. That stretch of river just upstream of Dundee Dam has several different kinds of nuclear radioactive waste in it, in addition to ridiculous amounts of toxic and cancer-causing contaminants. The fungus in the fish is the LEAST of things to be worried about in that section.

 

[FIN-ITE 34]

Nuclear radioactive waste or radioactive waste? Where would nuc waste come from in that section of the Passaic? Just curious.

 

[Drossi]

Conspiracy.....use a fish kill as the reason to shorten the stocking season to 4 weeks. See how much $$$ the state saves vs. license sales decrease. If the number is positive, we never go back to the 7 week stocking season. I'm fine with that but it should be 2 stockings in April and 2 in May.

 

[GARYB]

Don't know if the catch and keep crowd will really notice, I don't think they read much. I know they go over the limit so they can't count either .lol

 

[jholland]

Altogether a difficult situation. Tough for business probably too but we will see. Working on some options....

 

[MACFLY]

Don't know if the catch and keep crowd will really notice, I don't think they read much. I know they go over the limit so they can't count either .lol

They will know when they arent catching fish in certain streams. Lets face it after opening day most will have figured it out. I am a bit concerned about the south branch early in the season though. I guess not much can be done to prevent the wild fish from getting taken in numbers.

 

[lightenup]

Altogether a difficult situation. Tough for business probably too but we will see. Working on some options....

Not only the fly shops, and fishing businesses, but the local delis, gas stations, and bars probably get a little up-swing in business on opening and stocking days...

 

[Rusty Spinner]

They will know when they arent catching fish in certain streams. Lets face it after opening day most will have figured it out. I am a bit concerned about the south branch early in the season though. I guess not much can be done to prevent the wild fish from getting taken in numbers.

The Division was considering putting out special signs indicating that some rivers like the SBR above Solitude were NOT stocked to get anglers to notice the change ahead of time like they do when they stock the river.

 

[FIN-ITE 34]

Will that include signs for the Passaic and Hackensack to indicate that they will be stocking those rivers?
By the way, where the hell are they going to stock the Hackensack?

 

[PRomano]

Will that include signs for the Passaic and Hackensack to indicate that they will be stocking those rivers?
By the way, where the hell are they going to stock the Hackensack?

Bellow Oradell reservoir. It's a safe bet that any township or county park along those 2 rivers will get fish.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Will that include signs for the Passaic and Hackensack to indicate that they will be stocking those rivers?
By the way, where the hell are they going to stock the Hackensack?

I don't have any idea on that.

 

[FIN-ITE 34]

I guess that was a rhetorical question regarding the Hack. But can anybody give me driving directions from RT 80 east if they don't mind spotburning.:rofl:

 

[Rusty Spinner]

I guess that was a rhetorical question regarding the Hack. But can anybody give me driving directions from RT 80 east if they don't mind spotburning.:rofl:

Just look for all the happy Northern pike

 

[emoussa]

Just look for all the happy Northern pike

I didnt think they stocked Pike in the Hackensack?

 

[NJpatbee]

I would like to see waters like the upper SBR posted as "non-stocked" and to have it publicized in the media. Sounds like a TU project and I am willing to help.