Restrictions to protect fish

Several emergency restrictions have been issued to protect fisheries in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The restrictions ago into effect Saturday to guard against viral hemorrhagic septicemia.

The restrictions prohibit the exchange of ballast water by ships within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore boundary, require decontamination of all watercraft, gear, and equipment prior to launching into park waters, and restricts the use of specific fishing baits known for VHS.

All Wisconsin rules for fishing and limiting the spread of VHS still apply within the National Lakeshore except in these few cases where the park service restrictions are more stringent.

VHS is a deadly fish virus recently discovered in all of the lower Great Lakes and several inland lakes. It spreads rapidly and is responsible for large scale fish kills in 32 species of fresh water fish, 28 of which live in the Lake Superior Basin. The virus has not yet been detected in Lake Superior, but has significant potential to impact the ecology throughout the basin.

The full VHS Prevention and Response Plan is available at www.nps.gov/apis/parkmgmt/vhs.htm.

Tags: fish, water, ships