Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Source: May 21, 2008

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Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) is a deadly fish virus and an invasive species that is threatening Wisconsin's fish. VHS was diagnosed for the first time ever in the Great Lakes as the cause of large fish kills in lakes Huron, St. Clair, Erie, Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River in 2005 and Thousands of muskies, walleye, lake whitefish, freshwater drum, yellow perch, gizzard shad, redhorse and round gobies died. Many Chinook salmon, white bass, emerald shiners, smallmouth bass, bluegill, black crappie, burbot, and northern pike were diseased but did not die in large numbers. ( /vhsfacts.html)

Infected fish shed the virus in their urine and reproductive fluids. The virus can survive in water for at least 14 days. Virus particles in the water infect gill tissue first, and then move to the internal organs and the blood vessels. The blood vessels become weak, causing hemorrhages in the internal organs, muscle and skin. Fish can also be infected when they eat an infected fish. Fish that survive the infection will develop antibodies to the virus. Antibodies will protect the fish against new VHS virus infections for some time. However, the concentration of antibodies in the fish will drop over time and the fish may start shedding virus again. This may create a cycle of fish kills that occurs on a regular basis. The virus grows best in fish when water temperatures are °F. Most infected fish will die when water temperatures are °F, and rarely die above 59 °F. Stress is an important factor in VHS outbreaks. Stress suppresses the immune system, causing infected fish to become diseased. Stressors include spawning hormones, poor water quality, lack of food, or excessive handling of fish. ( /vhsfacts.html)

VHS was found in European freshwater trout dating to the late 1930s and continues to cause epidemics in European trout farms; it first appeared on the U.S. West Coast in 1988 in marine trout and salmon, and started to be noticed in marine fish off the eastern Canadian province of New Brunswick from It was first detected in Great Lakes freshwater fish in The virus found in Wisconsin is a new genetic strain that's most closely related to the virus found in the Pacific Northwest, rather than the strain found in Europe. ( /vhsfacts.html)

 The DNR is asking the public to take precautions similar to those used in stopping the spread of invasive species on all waters:  Inspect your boat, trailer and equipment and remove visible aquatic plants, animals, and mud.  Drain water from your boat, motor, bilge, live wells, and bait containers.  Do not move live fish from one water to another.  Dispose of leftover bait in the trash, not in the water or on land.  Buy your minnows from Wisconsin bait dealers or catch your own and use it to fish the water you caught it from.  Wash your boat and equipment with high pressure or hot water, or let it dry for five days. (

 No one may harvest minnows for commercial sale from VHS-affected waters.  Harvesters must be a bait dealer and apply for a wild bait harvest permit and specify which lake or stream segment they will collect from and keep records of their harvest and what they did with the minnows.  May not possess farm-raised fish while engaged in harvesting operations or while transporting wild harvested minnows to the bait dealer’s business location or from the water where harvested to the point of sale.  Must have all minnows harvested from the wild inspected by a qualified fish health expert and receive a Fish Health Certification before they can be distributed. Further, all species identified by the federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, APHIS, as susceptible to VHS must have a negative VHS test before they can be distributed. Currently minnows on this list include, but is not limited to, emerald shiners, bluntnose minnows, and spottail shiners.  Harvesters are required to disinfect all of their gear before harvesting in another waterbody (

 VHS affected waters are closed to all minnow harvesting (currently these include Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, the Mississippi River, Lake Winnebago, Fox River from Lake Winnebago to Green Bay, and all connecting waters upstream to the first barrier impassible to fish). The only exception is that suckers (which are legally considered to be minnows also) can be taken but may not be transported away alive.  On other waters, minnows may be taken for personal use but may not be transported alive away from the water, or by Wisconsin bait dealers under a DNR wild bait harvest permit.DNR wild bait harvest permit  People who live on a lake or are vacationing at a resort may keep live bait in floating or submerged containers tethered to a dock or boat. Any unattended containers holding minnows or fish must be labeled with the owner’s name and address. (

 The following new laws apply to all anglers and boaters in Wisconsin:  You must drain all water from boats, containers and fishing equipment when leaving any state waters, banks or shores, or entering Wisconsin over land. This does not apply to any drinking water or up to 2 gallons of water being used to hold minnows that can be legally transported.  You may not transport any live fish or live fish eggs away from any state waters. There is an exception for minnows obtained from a Wisconsin bait dealer. These minnows may be transported away live and used again:  On the same water, or  On any other waters if no lake or river water, or other fish were added to their container.  You may not use dead fish, fish eggs, or fish parts as bait. There are three exceptions:  You may use dead fish, fish eggs, or fish parts as bait on any waters if they were preserved by a method that does not require freezing or refrigeration, orpreserved by a method that does not require freezing or refrigeration  You may use unpreserved or just frozen dead fish, fish eggs or fish parts as bait on the water from which they were collected or on Lake Michigan or Green Bay (and connecting waters upstream to the first barrier impassible to fish), or  Live minnows that die during a fishing trip may be used during that fishing trip (they may not be used on later trips unless you meet the two conditions above).  You may not possess or use minnows for bait that are obtained outside of Wisconsin. This does not apply if the minnows were imported under a Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) permit, or if they were obtained from Iowa or Minnesota and are being used only “between the tracks” on the Mississippi River. (

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