Gyrodactylus salaris

[turrifftackle]

I hope everyone that has been abroad is aware of this parasite and the devastation it can cause, and that all their kit has been disinfected before commencing fishing back in the U.K.
I have heard a nasty tale which I hope is not true- otherwise we may be looking at the beginning of the end.!!!!!!

Frank

[wilbert]

I hope that this nasty parasite has not made it to our shores. I have fished abroad twice and on return have disinfected and allowed all my equipment to dry indoors for well over a week but when I have fished on rivers that have (supposed to have) GS declaration forms I have never been asked to sign one or asked if I have been abroad or disinfected my equipment on return. My club has a rule that no one is allowed to fish for a week after returning from a fishing trip abroad to try and stop any spreading of this parasite. Fingers crossed its just a rumor with no foundation.

[salar76]

i'm amazed that iceland is the only country that checks that everyone entering has their tackle certified - why don't we do that? still, as long as the import of juveniles is allowed for the UK farms this approach would barely scratch the surface of the risk to our rivers

[exerod]

turrifftackle said:

...I have heard a nasty tale which I hope is not true...
Frank

Is this the canoe story or something new?

Andy

[turrifftackle]

Unfortunately something completely new - as to its arrival in the U.k.
However if it is true it will all come out and if not then no need to scare monger with false stories.

I just hope everybody is/ should be aware and perhaps we are looking at having to disinfect our tackle between uk rivers and not just abroad.

Frank

[johnmac]

I spoke with the main man on Gyrodactylus Solaris just last week......as of last week there were no reports of any solaris in Scotland or the UK..... but its worth noting that Gyrodcatylus in its original form is very common iN the UK...... I can however say that a lot of money is being spent on research into this pest via the Scottish Office... and the threat is taken very seriously!!! but i'nm afraid that the top man confirms that it is just a matter of time!

[scottyjock]

Glasgow uni are doing an online survery about this

www.gcal.ac.uk/econsurv/salmon_parasite.htm


Might help raise awareness of this issue.

Jock

[exerod]

Everything I have read about GS states that salmon in the Baltic rivers are tolerant to the parasite and suffer no ill effects. What I find odd is that I can find no record of attempts to re establish a run of fish by using Baltic salmon in Norwegian rivers that have lost their fish or to try and introduce some level of immunity by crossing local fish with Baltic ones. Does anyone know if either of the above have been tried anywhere or if there is some reason why it would not work?

I cant imagine poisoning of whole catchments would be acceptable or practical in the UK. How much poison would you need to clear out Loch Ness, and I don’t think the pike, barbel or roach fishers would be too happy on the Hampshire Avon!

Andy

[dighty]

Thats a good point although the baltic is less salty than the Atlantic/North sea - maybe the Baltic fish aren't as salt tolerant...I believe some Scottish fish were sent to Norway to see if they were as susceptible to GS as Norwegian fish -and they were...

[williegunn]

I have asked Andrew Wallace at the ASFB and he has heard no nasty rumours.

[storlaks]

Quite a detailed report Graham. Like you I skimmed though it. A glimmer of hope, in the event that it was to arrive on British shores, is that the Aluminium Sulphate treatment could be the way forward. This would avoid killing evertything in the River. Some Rivers in Norway(i.e. Laerdal) have now adopted this method. Fingers crossed though!!!!

www.netfish.no/en/?file=show_nyhet&id=433d=34

[turrifftackle]

For my sins on my day off yesterday I chanced upon the debate in the Scottish Parliament about the new Aquaculture and Fisheries bill.

It would appear that the bill has cross party support and no one spoke against it as such.

The politicians are in love with the fish farming industry and even our local North East ones were in love as processing jobs were located in Mintlaw ,Fraserburgh and Peterhead. There was acknowledgment that they might cause problems with sea-lice and cross breeding but 10 000 jobs were more important.
However on the GS subject I gathered that although all were shocked at what would happen and as to the scale of the problem should it arrive in Scotland- once here I fear very little will be done. A dry run of the procedures will be taken early next year to test the capability and readiness of all agencies to act.

BUT and here is the rub---- the whisky industry has a huge lobby and if GS were found in the Spey- it would be a case of that's a shame but we can't poison the river as we will kill the Whisky industry and the reputation of Scotland as a "pure"environment will be lost forever.

Rhona Brankin did however state that best scientific advice was that bringing it in on fishing tackle or other watersport equipment carried a very low risk. Live fish imports were the danger but these were not to be banned as very little of them took place, there were stringent rules to be met if they did and a quarantine period was also required.
Interestingly under EU law we could not ban these imports- unless Europe designated areas that were infected and then imports from these areas could be stopped. Has any area that has the parasite already been designated ?- no- and unlikely to be so !!!!!!!


On the political side of things the 1976 Fisheries bill that deals with Protection orders may be looked at if an alternative solution can be found. (these orders are seen by some as a way of keeping off the riff raff) and a mention for the River Ugie at Peterhead as it or part is up for sale and the local Angling Club and Juniors will be left without no fishing.

And for the pike anglers- live bait will be banned and an amendment will be tabled to the bill in the new year.



Frank

[ceilidh]

Sadly, most MSPs represent urban constituencies and are therefore inexperienced or uninterested in fishery matters, or are still tainted with the outdated misconception that rod salmon fishing is a 'toff's pastime' and are therefore biased against it, regardless of the real economic or social factors. Add to this the utter imbecility of ministers such as Ross Finnie, who has just acquiesced in signing the death warrant not just for British, but all EU controlled North sea fisheries and the prospects for any effective governmental measures for either the prevention or control (should it arrive) of GS are hardly reassuring.

I am fortunate in having a one day per week rod on a small middle Tweed beat, for which I am obliged to sign an annual undertaking that, should I fish abroad, I will comply with all recommended disinfection procedures before entering the water after my return. There is also a notice on the beat for the benefit of guests and canoeists, requesting them not to fish or put their canoes into the water if they have recently been in foreign rivers and giving contact details for further advice. However, though well intentioned this is hardly a practical solution.

I suspect that , apart from readers of this and similar Forums, less than 50% of those who fish for salmon are even aware of the existence or threat posed by to our rivers by GS. Legislation, if and when it eventually materializes, will probably be too late. What is urgently needed is education and publicity, in the form of a combined campaign by the government ( well, we know about pot bellied pigs, so what about flying pigs?), fishing clubs and associations, fishing journals, fishing proprietors and all the rest of us.

[stoater]

I am sadly not quite up to speed on GyroSal, but, Why hasn't it occured naturally in our own Rivers yet? Surely on the feeding grounds don't Salmon from various sources intermingle? And maybe the odd Salmon from the Baltic even swims up our rivers by accident?
Logically and ominously it does look a matter of time. I think Anglers are very unlikely to introduce this parasite. Boats etc., maybe. My biggest fear is Nature.
When Nature senses a large population of a certain species, it gives it a dose of something awful.... Hopefully I'm off the mark here, please someone say so!

[kelliefly]

Having been to Norway only once fishing for salmon and treating
our fishing equipment with vircon on arrival and when we arrived home again,I wonder how many visitors to our shores do the same.
As a member of our local angling club, I have met fishermen on the river from all over europe.
Asked if they had taken steps to prevent G S entering our river systme the answers were . . WE DONT HAVE IT .
NOBOBY ASKED ME ABOUT IT WHEN I BOUGHT MY TICKET,
But the best one yet was . . quote, I am only fishing for one day so why bother .

[kelliefly]

As the river convener i am trying to make the committee aware as to what we should have in place as a control measure.
Are there any other club members in this forum that can tell me what they have in place ?

[kercock]

We ,as ghillies could,at one time,when the F/M disease was about,could get sachets of Vircon no bother from the Bailiffs here on the Tay.However,quite recently,as you know Grant there was none available from the Fisheries board and certainly no satches,allegedly only available in large containers of 1l plus... Obviously the Boards are not taking the threat very seriously,at least the Tay Board is'nt !

[stoater]

Graham R, what an Xmas present knowing that Gyro can't naturally get here through sea-water. Yes, it sounds like Man will be at fault if it arrives here.

[kelliefly]

I must agree the tay board seems to be a bit slow, you would think the board would like to protect the tay from such a possible threat, as there jobs would also be on the line and the loss of tourism to the area would be vast.
Good to hear from you Dennis.

[Willie The Gillie]

kelliefly - the Tay board is not as quick as just slow !!! These guys are slower than a big bag of slow things on all fronts. The chairman had to be reminded recently of when the season opened !!!!! and the biologist swears that native riparian broadleafed trees have zero benefit to juvenile fish !!! As Angus Tree (rivers boss for SNH) recently said when I told him this " A classic example of man believing he came before the fish" We are wide open on the Tay and the board is elected purely on how many tweed suits you have and nothing to do with passion, intelligence or get up and go levels. GS infestation on the Tay is a hellish but realistic possibility that no one seems too concerned about here.