Four Years Of Fish Kills, Disease Hitting Shenandoah Valley Guides, Residents - DNR

[hatrack]

ON THE SOUTH FORK OF THE SHENANDOAH RIVER - Three years ago, Bob Cramer, a fishing guide from Clover Hill, launched his boat into the South Fork of the Shenandoah River near Elkton to test the waters. In a 25-year-old annual ritual, Cramer, 53, was preparing for the oncoming spring season of showing off hot fishing spots for $350 a person. But that spring, Cramer saw something on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River that signaled trouble for the Valley's fishing industry and the end of his decades-old guiding business.

Dead smallmouth bass with sores were washing up along the shore. During the next three years, the kills would spread sporadically to the Shenandoah, James, Cowpasture and Maury rivers.

Today, biologists still don't know what's killing the fish or how it's triggered. For the past four years, hundreds of dead and dying redbreast sunfish and smallmouth bass have appeared with parasites, lesions and organ damage.

Just as mysterious is how much money the Valley has lost in its guiding and fishing industry, as well as the business it brought to local hotels, restaurants and roadside shops. Although Cramer said he's found other ways to make money, finding an answer to the fish kills is a moral responsibility, one intimately tied to the Valley. "I don't know what the answer is, but it's a sin because we live in such a beautiful area," he said. "It's going to get to the point where it's a human health risk."

EDIT

http://www.rocktownweekly.com/news_details.php?AID=16793&CHID=1

[democrank]

1. A disturbing article.

Thanks for posting this.

[underpants]

2. Oh crap, the outdoors (fishing in particular) are a large part of life in the Valley

and I mean from Bubbas to Birkenstocks everyone out there really cherishes their outdoor resources

this would be huge (as the economic numbers alone in the article point out). If this were to get into Smith Moutain Lake there will be hell to pay.

[truedelphi]

4. The carolinas had this problem because of allowing massive pig farms

The farms don't have to be anywhere near the places affected - as long as their run off can reach the area through creeks or streams.

A parasite called "Pfiesteria" will be able to become dominant in the affected waters. In the Carolinas, not only did the fish suffer with lesions and ruined organs, but people who inhaled water spray and/or lived near to the affected waters, they developed auto immune type diseases almost over night, that included brain fogs, and multiple sclerosis type illness. By moving away from the water, they could regain their health.

The pig farms move in and out of whatever area of the country they want. First the owners make massive campaign contributions to state legislators, and then move in. Sometimes the citizenry unites, and shuts them down, but nothing stops them from just moving somewhere else.

[ladjf]

3. Pollution. What else could it be? The human race is a toxic and

dirty species. We kill everything that we come in contact with.

[tom_paine]

5. self-delete

n/t

[kristopher]

6. The quoted scientist specialized in energy economics- disregard the article

It seems to be taken as an established fact that anything proceeding from economics is bullshit, so just disregard the scope of the problem.

http://www.isat.jmu.edu/faculty/papadakis.html

[dgibby]

7. Bummer

I grew up just above where the Jackson and Cowpasture Rivers flow together (near Eagle Rock) to form the James. Used to swim in the Cowpasture every summer (fished there, too). The water was pristine (and REALLY, REALLY cold!!!). Am moving back there next month--there's no place like home! Do you have any info re: the Jackson River and the fish kill? It used to be very polluted due to the paper mill, but that got cleaned up years ago, and did not affect the Cowpasture.