Harry, it sounds like you have a bad case of "fishing envy". If you are
nice to John he might allow you on his boat, if not there are lots of
fishing charters on the Bay.


http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?s... hesapeake+bay

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Harry Krause wrote:

John H wrote:


Wow, what a set of coincidences. I'm probably on the water three times
a week,
and I've never seen his lobsta boat.
John H


I especially enjoy reading about your striper catches, John, when I
think about the article on rockfish that ran in last Thursday's
Annapolis paper. I'll bet you don't wear rubber gloves when you handle
and clean those fish, and I'll bet you eat those fish, too.

See ya!


Whoops...forgot to attach the article...if you run into John Herring and
you're not wearing thick rubber gloves, avoid shaking his hand,
especially the one with the open lesions and oozing sores.

Some rockfish pose a danger to bay fishermen
By MIKE UNGER, Staff Writer

Despite the dramatic recovery of rockfish in the Chesapeake Bay, more
than half of the bay's most popular fish carry bacteria that can cause
painful skin infections in fishermen, according to the Department of
Natural Resources.

Saturday's start of rockfish season brought little publicity about
mycobacteriosis, first documented by Maryland scientists in 1998.

They now estimate it has spread to 50 percent of rockfish in some areas
of the bay. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science, however, estimates
76 percent of rockfish in the bay are infected.

"I think there is a clear human health concern that hundreds of people
will be out fishing for rockfish at the start of the season, and very
few are aware there is a prevalent disease with these fish," said Howard
R. Ernst, a Naval Academy professor and author of "Chesapeake Bay
Blues," a book published last year that's critical of the state's
regulation of bay pollution.

Although there's no proof that eating striped bass infected with
mycobacteriosis can make people sick, handling an infected fish can lead
to health problems, as Norman Haddaway found out.

He was stuck by a fat fish, 17 inches long, with shiny scales that
shimmered silver, green and blue as it flopped on the bottom of his
charter boat.

The Talbot County fishing guide was in a hurry. He and his four paying
anglers had pulled 120 rockfish from the bay in about an hour and 10
minutes. Most of the fish, like this one, were too small to keep, and
Mr. Haddaway scrambled to throw it overboard.

"When you're catching that many fish that quick, you're not as safe and
careful as you usually are," he said. "I went to grab it, and it just
jumped and stuck me in the palm."

Bacteria from that shiny fin bore into Mr. Haddaway's hand and erupted
on the other side in a swelling the size of a pork chop. The lump soon
spread to his wrist, and his elbow began to stiffen.

Doctors think the fish was carrying mycobacterium marinum, the cause of
what watermen call "fish handler's disease."

"Mycobacterium appears to be on the rise among striped bass in the
Chesapeake Bay," said Phil Jones, a fisheries manager with the DNR.
"It's had an
effect on the survival rates of other species, but to date we have not
seen any indication that it affects striped bass survival."

On the contrary, last year's recreational harvest of 2.97 million pounds
was the highest since a moratorium was implemented in 1985, Mr. Jones
said.

In addition, last year's commercial take of 1.935 million pounds met the
DNR's pre-set allotment.

Low profile

Maryland scientists down-play the prevalence of the bacteria in the
official state fish, touted as one of the Chesapeake Bay's few success
stories. The state instituted the rockfish ban in 1985 after a collapse
in the bay's population. By the time the moratorium was lifted in 1990,
the population had recovered.

"There's quite a bit of politics here," said Victor Crecco, supervisor
of research in Connecticut's Marine Fisheries Division. "Politically,
they feel very uncomfortable about this."

Martin Gary, a DNR fisheries ecologist, says fish handler's disease has
an exaggerated reputation because several infections that aren't
mycobacteriosis get lumped together. The state doesn't keep records of
how many people catch it, but surgeons at the Curtis National Hand
Center in Baltimore say they see two or three new cases every month.

"There does seem to be a disproportionate number of people who live on
the Chesapeake Bay who contract it," said James Higgins, a surgeon at
the center. "This does seem to be a hot spot for it."

James Price, president of the nonprofit Chesapeake Bay Ecological
Foundation, said he fears that if the disease isn't addressed, the
rockfish resurgence will be short-lived.

"I feel that it is just as threatened today as it was in (1985)," he
said. "There are signs that these fish are not surviving past six years."

Scientists don't know what's causing the mycobacteriosis outbreak.

Next week, Desmond Kahn, an environmental scientist for Delaware's
fisheries division, will present data to a conference of biologists in
Ocean City showing that the death rate of rockfish from natural causes
in the bay is three times what it was in 1997.

Alternative data show a death rate that's slightly lower, he said.

"All we know about this disease is that up to 70 percent of samples have
shown to be infected and in aquaculture ponds it's fatal," said Bill
Goldsborough, a senior scientist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

"In the early analysis, you have to be concerned that something's going
on."

Cautionary tale

Most agree that fishermen should be cautious when handling fish with
lesions, which afflict some stripers infected with disease. The vast
majority suffering from mycobacteriosis, however, exhibit no outward
symptoms.

"What we tell people is to use common sense," Mr. Jones said. "Wash your
hands after handling fish, and if a fish has lesions, throw it back."

Mr. Haddaway, who was injured last fall, had surgery at the Curtis Hand
Center in February to remove infected tissue. He suffered a severe
allergic reaction to antibiotics, and lay in Memorial Hospital at Easton
for five days with a constant drip of morphine and steroids.

Six months after the rockfish stuck him, the lump on the back of his
hand hasn't completely healed.

He vows to wear a glove while fishing; Kevlar gloves (made of the same
material as bulletproof vests) cost $40.

"It's been a kick in the teeth," Mr. Haddaway said last week at his home
in Claiborne, a tiny town just west of St. Michaels.

"It doesn't hurt now, but I know it's not getting any better either."

---