MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) - The fish-killing VHS virus has been detected in Lake Superior. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia was first found in Wisconsin 3 years ago in Lakes Michigan and Winnebago. Now, researchers at Cornell University said they found traces of the virus in fish caught at 4 locations on Lake Superior – including Superior Bay in northwest Wisconsin. The DNR says there have been no major fish kills stemming from the new discovery. And it does not plan new changes in fishing and boating policies as a result of the Cornell findings. Wisconsin already bans the transfer of live fish and bait from one waterway to another – and it requires boaters to dump all the water from their crafts before they leave.
DNR Secretary Matt Frank says he disappointed but not surprised by the new findings. Until now, Lake Superior was the only Great Lake not to be affected by the VHS virus, which has been found in 28 species of freshwater fish since 2005. Scientists are not sure how it got there – but it’s been speculated that migrating fish brought it in, or it was carried in by the ballast water of ocean-going ships.
