Another thing that is killing the aquaculture business here in the Great Lakes states are overzealous costly health testing regulations.

A few years ago there were a few fish kills in the Great Lakes that tested positive for VHS (mostly rough fish like carp, drum, gobies) and APHIS decided we needed to be saved from this virus that was going to devistate fish all over and fish farmers. Of course nothing was done to address the suspected vector (balast water from International Ships). Never mind they were coaxed to do something about it by the NAA (National Aquaculture Association) which was also coaxed by southern bait producers that saw this as an opportunity to wipe out the wild caught bait industry competition by expensive health testing, which they have succeeded in doing. I have been told the NAA now regrets being pulled into this and realizes they made a big mistake.

At first APHIS just stopped all fish transport for almost a year without any regard to the livelyhood of those that put food on the table via the fish business. Typical sitting your hands government.

So now we are required to do expensive fish testing (I know fish farms that spend thousands annually on this) to move fish out of our state borders. Strangely inside it's not required as apparently the virus doesn't activate until it leaves state lines. LOL It's so costly I'm quite sure many are going under the radar which negates the whole purpose.

I lost a lucrative out of state market thanks to the fact that I can't compete with someone outside of the Great Lakes that doesn't have to do the testing.

Anyway what I'm getting at is many fish farms are afraid to bring in fish from other sources in fears of testing positive for the virus. It's just a matter of time before fish are so inbred they loose good performance in ponds are food fish systems.

BTW the virus has yet to show up on any fish farm and probably never will. No fish kills anywhere for several years as apparently fish have developed an immunity which is microbiology 101 (I guess the PHD's at APHIS tested out of that class). Fish in all the major Great Lakes test postive for the virus but don't show any clinical signs. What does that tell you?

Some of us in the aquaculture industry have hoped they'd drop the expensive testing but we doubt APHIS would want to admit they were wrong.



Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 06/01/12 09:59 AM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.