Killer of Fish in Western Va. Eases: Scientists Search for Cause of Recurring Problem in Rivers

By Rex Springston, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.

Jun. 16–The mysterious killer of fish in western Virginia appears to be letting up, following its pattern of the past three years.

The number of sick and dying fish has declined significantly this week, said Bill Hayden, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality.

The letup allows scientists to focus more on the cause of the deaths than on responding to new reports of sick fish.

A fish ailment has showed up in the Shenandoah River region each spring since 2004. The sickness tends to appear in early April and disappear in mid-to-late June.

Scientists found sick fish this spring not only in the Shenandoah but in the James and Cowpasture rivers west of the Blue Ridge; in the James at Lynchburg; and in the Maury River at Buena Vista.

Many of the afflicted fish bore ugly sores that looked like cigar burns on their sides or ulcers on their lips.

Hayden said poultry waste, often applied to farm fields as fertilizer, remains on the list of suspects in the deaths.

When fish turned up sick in the upper James and Cowpasture, some observers suggested the waste might not be a cause, because those streams appeared to be less affected by poultry than the Shenandoah.

But it turns out that the waste can be found on farm fields in each watershed where the problems have turned up, Hayden said.

Testing will be stepped up to look more closely at farm waste that may be running into rivers, he said.

Hobey Bauhan, president of the Virginia Poultry Federation, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

But in a recent e-mail, Bauhan said restrictions on poultry waste have only gotten tougher in recent years.

Other possible causes of the deaths include bacteria, viruses, man-made chemicals or some combination of factors.

These are not typical fish kills that leave lots of floating bodies. In these incidents, scientists find only a few dead fish, but when they look closely, they find that unusually high percentages — 25 percent or more — of some species are sick or dying.

Most of the dead apparently drop to the river bottom and disappear.

The smallmouth bass, popular with anglers, is one of the main victims.

The killer has wiped out about 80 percent of the adult smallmouth bass and redbreast sunfish in parts of the Shenandoah and its north and south forks. Contact Rex Springston at (804) 649-6453 or rspringston@timesdispatch.com.

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