Rockfish bacteria can cause problems for anglers

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Associated Press writer Gretchen Parker recently visited with a Maryland charter fishing captain who contracted harmful bacteria while handling striped bass.

The Chesapeake Bay captain, Norman Haddaway, had suffered an injury from handling rockfish and had to have surgery to remove infected tissue.

Haddaway promises he'll wear gloves that contain Kevlar, the same material of bullet-proof vests. "It doesn't hurt now, but I know it's not getting any better either," Haddaway, who lives near St. Michaels, told Parker.

When the incident occurred last fall, Haddaway had four paying customers aboard and the fishing was hectic. Many of the rockfish were too small and Haddaway had to remove them from the hooks and drop them back into the water. "When you're catching that many fish that quick, you're not as safe and careful as you usually are," Haddaway said. "I went to grab it, and it just jumped and stuck me in the palm."

Bacteria from a sharp fin buried itself in Haddaway's hand and eventually resulted in a swelling that Haddaway described as "the size of a pork chop." The swelling spread to his wrist, and his elbow began to stiffen.

Doctors believe the fish was carrying mycobacterium marinum, the tiny critter that causes "fish handler's disease."

What worries an increasing number of scientists is the lack of publicity about the disease that was first documented by Maryland scientists in 1998. Some biologists now estimate it has spread to 50 percent of rockfish in some areas of the bay. According to Parker, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science estimates 76 percent of rockfish baywide are infected.

Last week, Desmond Kahn, an environmental scientist for Delaware's fisheries division, presented data to a conference of biologists showing the death rate of rockfish due to natural causes in the bay is three times what it was in 1997. But alternative data show a death rate that is slightly lower, he added. Kahn believes the reason for a rise in the death rate could be the spread of the mycobacterium. The bacteria, incidentally, can be fatal to fish but is not harmful to humans who eat infected fish.

And what does the Maryland Department of Natural Resources say? The DNR is downplaying the prevalence of the bacteria. The DNR's Martin Gary told Parker that the mycobacterium "isn't showing up in any way, shape or form that shows we're losing fish." Gary pointed out that only one DNR rockfish researcher has ever contracted the disease. The DNR's 10 striped bass researchers tag fish seven months a year and handle more than 10,000 specimens.

Anti-bacterial soap and other soaps that fight bacteria should be used frequently by people who fish, crab, or handle oysters, recommends Gary.