(Does this newsgroup exist anymore? Oh ... back to the news.)

Are any of these sushi fish? Any sushi fish likely to be hit?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060720/
sc_space/deadlyfishvirusspreadsinnortheast

Deadly Fish Virus Spreads in Northeast
Robert Roy Britt
LiveScience.comThu Jul 20, 11:15 AM ET

A deadly virus found in two fish species in the northeastern United
States last month appears to have spread to two more species,
scientists said today.

Meanwhile, hundreds of fish in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence
River have died in recent weeks, but officials are not yet sure if
the newfound virus is behind the kills.

Last week, an estimated 1,000 dead fish washed up on the shores
of Lake Ontario in just one morning.

Over the past month, about 300 dead fish have been frozen and
sent to scientists at Cornell University for evaluation. The virus,
hemorrhagic septicemia, was confirmed in these two fish in June:
round gobies and muskellunge. It causes fatal anemia and
hemorrhaging in many fish species but POSES NO THREAT TO HUMANS
[emph added] or other animals, the scientists say.

Researchers are awaiting test results for the possible presence
of the virus in smallmouth bass and burbot. Preliminary indications
are that it has spread.

"We have detected the virus in other fish species in the region,
which may be contributing to the continuing fish mortalities," said
Geoffrey Groocock, a postdoctoral associate at Cornell's Aquatic
Animal Health Program.

The fish deaths may not be as bad as they seem, however.

More dead fish might be being reported simply because people
are vacationing at the lakes during summer. Overall fish mortality
rates "do not appear to be changing," Groocock and colleagues
said in a statement.

So what to do?

"There is no cure for [this virus] in fish in an ecosystem as large as
the Great Lakes Basin. Given this, it is likely that management
practices designed to limit the spread of the virus will be put in
place," Groocock said.