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I have been reading of your concern of dead walleys . I am from Wisconsin near Green Bay area. We have a, Walley Honey Pot here also . Our weather is also Bad . But I have not heard any reports of a fish kill of any species thus far . I am coming to erie in june have been since 80s your walley taste better . I hope and pray there is a logicale reason . This is a spring I want to forget . The midwest is getting pounded as is most of country . Good luck Guy's .
I found this under another thread thought it might be seen under DOA Walleyes better.
The story on these dead walleye is getting a little ahead of itself, in regards to potential VHS, and message boards on several sites are beginning to tangle rumor with fact.
As of this morning (May 10) the University of Toledo's Lake Erie Lab has not received tissue samples from the Ohio Division of Wildlife for testing. The researcher who will do these tests has been contacted by the supervisor of ODNR's Sandusky Fisheries Research Unit regarding testing, but no samples have been delivered.
I saw a post on another board stating that ODNR had identified the cause of the dead walleye as VHS. I doubt that any DOW biologist actually said that; VHS can only be identified through testing done (in Ohio) at UT, the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture, or a couple of out-of-state federal labs.
Yes, the Division is currently looking for fresh samples to have tested, and VHS may indeed be found, but that still might not mean that this virus is the sole cause of the current walleye mortality. Although retired, I still co-chair the Aquatic Animal Health Advisory Committee for the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture. Our state veterinarian, Dr. Tony Forshey, has expressed cautions during other fish kill incidents that just because a dead fish tests positive for VHS doesn't necessarily mean that VHS was the cause of death.
Throughout my career I witnessed dead walleye washing onto beaches nearly every spring, and a few times in large numbers similar to what is being seen now. Usually the cause was post-spawning stress that allows infectious bacteria such as Aeremonas to lead to death. We've reached a point with VHS at which many of the susceptible fish species in Lake Erie can test positive, and it will be no surprise if fresh samples of the current dead walleye do likewise. But we're seeing that fish can often live with VHS without clinical symptoms until they become otherwise stressed. Emerald shiners have shown some of the highest levels of VHS in their tissues of any Lake Erie species; when did we last see an emerald shiner die-off?
Walleye have ample reason to be stressed this year. It's been a long, cold spring with strong waves and currents as they attempted to spawn. Extreme muddy conditions might have reduced their feeding efficiency (how has the bite been this spring?), which can further weaken them. Once weakened, resistance to diseases like VHS and Aeremonas declines and symptoms can appear. I believe the environmental conditions we saw this spring would likely have resulted in noticeable post-spawning mortality regardless of the presence of VHS. VHS is most active at water temperatures in the 50s, so don't be surprised if samples test positive. But this will not mean that without VHS, there would have been no die-off.
All walleye samples tested have tested negative for VHS. Was in fact just the horrible spring weather I would assume.