The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued an emergency order halting the interstate transport of many species of gamefish in the Great Lakes states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, New York and PA until further notice. Best case senario of this being ammended or lifted probably won't be for at least 6 weeks -- maybe not until the Spring of 07. The problem is VHS (Viral Hemmorhagic Septicemia) has been found in some fish and areas of the Great Lakes, and this is supposed to contain the virus etc. (It's been known about for at least 2 years, but now we get a knee jerk reaction blanket policy disregarding if fish come from a closed system, or have been tested for this disease and found to be disease free.) What can I say that's the government for you. :rolleyes:
This could effect some of you that want fish to plant into your ponds in the future, as it could put some farms out of business, reduce their out of state supplies and/or could drive up prices of fish. Minnesota that is a big fathead minnow supplier will be hit hard, and those of us that ice fish may find it hard to get minnows for bait. Not sure if the southern bait suppliers will be allowed to bring in fatheads and shiners or not.
Here's a link to go to for more information: (You'll need PDF to access it.)
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/aqua/pdf/vhs-fed-order_ogc-changes.pdf If you are in any of these states and you were going to get trout other than brook trout, this fall and winter you can forget about it. Same goes for walleye, bass, bluegill etc. etc.
Here are tehe species of fish covered:
(c) Regulated Species of Live Fish:
The following are regulated species of live fish:
Atlantic cod Gadus morhua
Black crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus
Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus
Bluntnose minnow Pimephales notatus
Brown bullhead Ictalurus nebulosus
Brown trout Salmo trutta
Burbot Lota lota
Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus
Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch
Chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta
Emerald shiner Notropis atherinoides
Freshwater drum Aplodinotus grunniens
Gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum
Grayling Thymallus thymallus
Haddock Gadus aeglefinus
Herring Clupea spp
Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus
Largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides
Muskellunge Esox masquinongy
Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus
Pike Esox lucius
Pink salmon Onchorhynchus gorbuscha
Pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus
Rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss
Redhorse sucker Moxostoma spp
Rock bass Ambloplites rupestris
Rockling Onos mustelus
Round goby Neogobius melanostomus
Smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu
Sprat Sprattus spp
Turbot Scophthalmus maximus
Walleye Sander vitreus
White bass Morone chrysops
White perch Morone americana
Whitefish Coregonus spp
Yellow perch Perca flavescens
If other species are identified as VHS susceptible, the Administrator will amend this list of regulated species and will specify the regulated species of live fish on the APHIS Web site at
www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/aqua/.
