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<P><A
href="http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2004/06/10/news/top_stories/top1.txt">http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2004/06/10/news/top_stories/top1.txt</A>
<P>Parasite spreading concern on Klamath River
<P> Published June 10, 2004
<P> By DYLAN DARLING
<P> A parasite that is causing infection and death among young salmon in
the lower Klamath River is raising <BR>concerns for federal and state officials
and other water <BR> interests.
<P> The high level of infection in fish comes as a surprise because water
conditions in the river are relatively <BR>good, sources say.
<P> "It has us real worried," said Dave Sabo, manager of the Klamath
Reclamation Project.
<P> U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials are worried that the Klamath
Project will be blamed if something <BR>happens to salmon fingerlings being sent
down the river <BR> from the Iron Gate fish hatchery near Yreka.
<P> The parasite Ceratomyxa shasta, called C shasta for short, is common in
the main stem of the Klamath River <BR>system, from the Pacific Ocean to the
Williamson <BR> River.
<P> The microscopic parasite spends part of its life floating in the river
as a tiny, 3-millimeter-long worm, said <BR>Jerri Bartholomew, an assistant
professor of <BR> microbiology at Oregon State University.
<P> The worms find their way into the digestive tracts of salmonid fish,
which include salmon, steelhead and <BR>trout.
<P> Some fish are resistant to the parasite. Most are not.
<P> Inside the fish's intestine, the parasite feeds on tissue and
reproduces, often killing the fish by causing an <BR>infection.
<P> Depending on the water temperature and other factors, the fish will die
within 20 to 30 days after the <BR>parasite has entered it. The warmer the
temperature, the <BR> faster the spread of the parasite and possible spread
of infection.
<P> "We are seeing a high incidence of disease in our out-migrant fish,"
said Toz Soto, fisheries biologist for the <BR>Karuk Tribe, one of the
downstream tribes.
<P> "It's always around, but we are really concerned because the infection
rate seems to be really high this year," <BR>Soto said.
<P> In early May, scientists on the Klamath River started finding dead
salmon fingerlings in traps between I-5 <BR>and the Scott River, said Al Donner,
spokesman for the <BR> U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The parasite has
killed 50 to 80 percent of the young salmon in some places.
<P> At the Happy Camp trapping site on the river, tribal scientists found
75 to 80 percent of the young salmon <BR>headed downstream appear to be
suffering from <BR> infection.
<P> Officials and scientists couldn't immediately estimate how many total
fish the parasite might kill. It's <BR>presumed that some dead fish can't be
seen in the murky <BR> water, and that birds consume many dead fish before
they are seen by scientists.
<P> Adding to the mystery of the infection outbreak is the lack of
stressful conditions often blamed when fish start <BR>dying.
<P> "The temperatures are good and the oxygen levels are good for fish,"
said John Engbring, director of the Fish <BR>and Wildlife Service's California
and Nevada <BR> Operations office in Sacramento.
<P> He said scientists will continue to collect samples to try to figure
out what is causing the parasite to spread.
<P> "At this point, we don't know if this is more natural, or if there are
some human causes that are making it <BR>more significant," Engbring said.
<P> Sabo said the Bureau is doing what it can to help the situation, but
higher flows might not be the answer.
<P> "We want to make sure that the fishery is as healthy as it can be,"
Sabo said.
<P> Observers hope the infection doesn't affect as many fish as it did in
2000, when an estimated 300,000 young <BR>salmon and steelhead died from the
same parasite <BR> and a fungus that attacks the gills.
<P> The California Department of Fish and Game released more than 5 million
fish from the Iron Gate Fish <BR>hatchery over the past month.
<P> The fingerlings were released a million at a time, about four or five
days apart, with the first release on May <BR>13 and the last on June 3, said
Kim Rushton, <BR> hatchery manager. The hatchery also held back 900,000
young salmon to be released in the fall.
<P> The C shasta parasite is just one of the many dangers salmon face in
their life cycle. Larger fish, birds, seals <BR>and fishermen all take a toll on
fish populations.
<P> "You raise millions to get a few thousand back," Rushton said.
<P> He said the average return for each run of adult chinook salmon is
10,000 to 15,000. The hatchery needs <BR>8,000 adults to collect eggs.
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