WASHINGTON - A wasting disease that kills rockfish and can cause a severe skin infection in humans has spread to nearly three-quarters of the rockfish in the Chesapeake Bay, cradle of the mid-Atlantic's most popular game fish.
The mycobacteriosis epidemic could carry profound implications for the rockfish, also known as striped bass. The fish fuel a $300 million industry in Maryland and Virginia, but because the bacteria kill slowly, effects on the stock are only now emerging.
The disease also sends a grim message about the entire bay ecosystem. The rockfish remains bay conservationists' only success story -- a species nearly wiped out, then revived by fishing limits. But as the number of rockfish surged, the fish remained in a body of water too polluted to support the level of life it once did. That made them vulnerable to a malady researchers did not see coming -- a signal, some scientists say, that controlling fish harvests is no longer enough to ensure long-term survival of a species.
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In humans who touch the fish, the microbe can cause a skin infection known as fish handler's disease, which is not life-threatening but can lead to arthritis-like joint problems if untreated. Watermen say the only sick fish they see are in small, overcrowded rivers and streams. The netting season that ended Feb. 28 "was a super-good season as far as catching, and a good season as far as the price," said Larry Simns, president of the Maryland Watermen's Association. With no evidence of health risk from eating the fish, watermen say, prices have remained stable.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11775087/
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