Gyrodactylus Salaris

[parkgillie]

It is just a straw poll to try and get a feeling for what anglers really want to do with their tackle if they have been fishing abroad in a country where there is Gyrodactylus Salaris and have promptly arrived the UK to fish.This parasite has been found in Russia,Finland,Sweden,France,Germany,Spain and Portugal and is suspected in Italy.I omitted Norway thanks Mr Gunn.

[williegunn]

Neither of the above. I carry out my own disinfection before fishing again. I think you can add Norway to your list.

[altmor]

No contest - have the beat disinfect tackle - no doubt for a small fee ? ... unless the beat was laying on the best of tackle, then one might be tempted to try out a top rod set up - no doubt again for a small fee ?

I think the answer for beats however might be more appropriately, "if one couldn't produce a certificate, then sorry - no fishing "!!

The old adage "Caveat Emptor" applies - in that the angler who has bought the fishing should read the rules, and if he turns up full of the joys, expecting a good week's fishing ahead, he only has himself to blame if he can't produce a certificate.

[parkgillie]

williegunn said:

Neither of the above. I carry out my own disinfection before fishing again. I think you can add Norway to your list.

That you disinfect your tackle is to be commended Mr Gunn.If every angler adopted this practise the risk to our rivers would be virtually eradicated however we cannot afford to be complacent and assume that all anglers are as careful with their tackle and where its been.

[salar76]

I expect that WG is in the minority for disinfecting his tackle after a foreign trip.

It would be easy enough for 'gillied' beats to enforce some form of disinfection, but beats with no gillies or association waters would be much harder to police. And who is going to ensure that other river users, such as the canoeists follow correct procedures. After all, it's only the salmon anglers that care about salmon.

[parkgillie]

salar76 said:

I expect that WG is in the minority for disinfecting his tackle after a foreign trip.

It would be easy enough for 'gillied' beats to enforce some form of disinfection, but beats with no gillies or association waters would be much harder to police. And who is going to ensure that other river users, such as the canoeists follow correct procedures. After all, it's only the salmon anglers that care about salmon.

Salar 76 The points mentioned are spot on and I for one would hope that everyone with an interest in our angling environment doesnt just hope to eradicate the threat by relying on Gillies/Guides only to deal with this threat by offering a last line of defence on our rivers.Having attended a meeting with other gillies and riparian owners from the Dee last night,the experts addressing the audience mentioned,for example, there is a real danger that this parasite could survive in bilgewater on a ship/ferry and be transported from say Norway to the Tay system,or any other where there are freshwater or brackish docking conditions.Once there it could easily be transported by native Brown trout and spread in the river system.
This parasite is unbelievably good at reproduction and killing salmon and in an incredibly short time when giving birth the offspring is pregnant and ready to feed and breed and keep the cycle going.

I would hope that hotel owners who are housing visiting owners would have leaflets and facilities to help eradicate this pest,providing they are made aware of the risks they ,i am sure would want to protect their revenue streams.It would be useful to see airports and harbours offering information to help appraise visitors of the potential risks to our environment.Information posters on the walls of these places could do this and help visitors be more aware of their responsibilities to our environment.
Fishing tackle shops could offer facilities in house to help anglers reduce the risk of transporting the threat into our environment and sell disinfectant kits.Fishing tackle manufacturers could market/sell 1 pint spraying disenfectant kits,similar to household cleaning sprays, which would easily clean an anglers tackle,should anglers and fishing guides wish to purchase them.
Lets hope more people become aware of this threat and as many as possible get on board and push conservation measures to minimise threats to our environment.

I have a wee nagging worry that i cant shake off and its this scenario.
This parasite eventually gets into our rivers and kills off native stocks and harms our industry to the detriment of beat owners,hoteliers,guides and tackle shops.The government are aware that fishmongers can still sell salmon sourced from fishfarms as the parasite cant live in the marine environment where these farms operate.The government pay lipservice to the problem and do a minimum of work to try and eradicate the pest as people can still eat salmon.If this scenario came to pass it would be incedibly sad for all of us who enjoy our time on the river bank,we all have so so much to lose.

[storlaks]

You only have to look at some famous rivers in Norway to see what damage this thing can do. Rivers like the famous Vosso have yet to recover (after many years) and others like the Laerdal are coming back slowly. It's a scary prospect!

I totally agree on maximum publicity about the dangers of this parasite. Every major river board should have this on their agenda and a plan in place to get maximum awareness out there.

I like the idea of the disinfectant being available over the counter. The purchase of this should be made mandatory with all permits on public water, if you have fished abroad. All private beats should also offer disinfectant capabilities OR be able to advise where locally this could be done, and again it should be mandatory before you step into the river.

[parkgillie]

storlaks said:

You only have to look at some famous rivers in Norway to see what damage this thing can do. Rivers like the famous Vosso have yet to recover (after many years) and others like the Laerdal are coming back slowly. It's a scary prospect!

I totally agree on maximum publicity about the dangers of this parasite. Every major river board should have this on their agenda and a plan in place to get maximum awareness out there.

I like the idea of the disinfectant being available over the counter. The purchase of this should be made mandatory with all permits on public water, if you have fished abroad. All private beats should also offer disinfectant capabilities OR be able to advise where locally this could be done, and again it should be mandatory before you step into the river.

Hi Storlaks

There was representation at our meeting from the two main local tackle dealers and one mentioned to me that they were looking to set up a disinfection station in their tackle shop for the start of the season.The idea for the portable disinfection kit came after i discussed with Keith Cromar, head gillie at Park, how we were going to provide the facilities at our fishing huts and Keith thought this was the simplest ,most practical means for delivering the disinfectant to tackle.However it seems logical that if Cortland for example can provide chemical fly line treatment for their flylines then some tackle manufacturers,perhaps Scandinavians with their knowledge of treatments used on their catchments, could take up the initiative to produce and market portable disenfection kits for retail purchase.If any forum readers have access to the angling magazines then perhaps you can use your influence to Lobby your contacts for support in encouraging tackle manufacturers to produce these kits.

One things for sure it is relatively simple to treat this parasite on anglers tackle compared to dealing with this in the river environment.The lecture last night covered at length the difficulties in treating the parasite infestation in Norwegian rivers and the costs are unbelievably or should i say frighteningly high in implementing treatments.If this gets into our rivers we will all lose our sport we love and for some our livelihood.We should not be frightened about treating our equipment and there is so much information online on how to treat our equipment that we should try and encourage dialogue on the forum, from anglers, (like Mr Gunn, who in an earlier reply to this poll/thread, pointed out that he does disinfect his tackle)on how they disinfect their equipment.

[charlieh]

There's some advice on methods of sterilisation on the Tweed Commissioners' website - see www.rtc.org.uk/Fisheries_Management/Gyrodactylus_salaris/Disinfection/disinfection.html

I wonder about the effectiveness of a spray, although I see it is one of the methods suggested on the Tweed. Thinking about the methods of transmission, it seems to me that one of the most likely vectors among fishing tackle would be felt soled waders/boots, as they are likely to hold water and remain damp for far longer than rods, lines or flies. Would a spray bottle of the size that might be sold to individual users really be good enough to saturate boot soles, and is it going to be sufficiently portable for, say, a Norwegian who is flying from Oslo to Aberdeen for a few days on the Dee? I'd have thought that total immersion for 10 minutes in a tank of solution, provided by the beat, was far more likely to work. I don't think Virkon is very expensive - wasn't it quite widely used to try to control Foot & Mouth?

I don't want to appear complacent, but unless you're going from a foreign river to a domestic one within a short space of time, I think thorough drying in an airing cupboard should do the trick.

storlaks said:

You only have to look at some famous rivers in Norway to see what damage this thing can do. Rivers like the famous Vosso have yet to recover (after many years) and others like the Laerdal are coming back slowly.

Small correction, but the Vosso doesn't have Gyrodactylus, so far as anyone can tell. The causes for its decline aren't clear and a number of factors have been suggested, but G.s. isn't currently in the frame.

[storlaks]

Charlie, you are correct. I got my parasites confused with bad management practices (after reading the Opening of the Tay post) ((-:

I'm pleased to hear Park are putting measures inplace for disinfection. DO you know if other beats are doing the same??

Every year when I go to Norway I get my tackle -rods, lines, boots, waders etc disinfected before I'm allowed to fish the river (River is GS free). Afterwards I'm given a certificate to show I've had it done. It's a simple spray and they seem to think that is sufficient....who am I to argue. It gets done again when I come back, just to be sure.

[parkgillie]

storlaks said:

I'm pleased to hear Park are putting measures inplace for disinfection. DO you know if other beats are doing the same??

We,the gillies, are looking at ways of dealing with the situation should anglers turn up from countires where there is a risk of infection and they have no vets certification regarding their equipment.Nothing has been finalised as yet.I would imagine that many beats will be looking at the practicalities of implementing effective controls to safeguard the river and will implement what is practical.I would stress that i am only offering my own opinion on this matter and this does not represent my place of work.

[ceilidh]

This topic has already been covered, quite extensively, in a similar thread on this Forum only a short while ago. For those interested in keeping abreast of developments in the Gyrodactylus saga and to avoid duplication of posts it might be helpful if these two threads could be combined by the Moderator under the same original heading.

Obviously, there are many useful measures which can be taken by those in charge of well run association or club waters or upon private waters supervised by ghillies and subject to strict letting conditions. However, quite apart from the dangers posed by fishers themselves, canoeists, campers or hikers who come from or have recently travelled abroad could enter watercourses completely unaware of the potential risk.