Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries officials are reminding anglers that they can help reduce the spread of whirling disease affecting trout in western Maryland.
On Friday staff posted informational signs along Bear Creek in Garrett County, which has tested positive for the parasite known to cause the disease.
The whirling disease parasite came from Europe in the late 1950s and first came to Maryland in 1995 in the North Branch Potomac River, according to the DNR. Harmless to humans, the parasite attacks fish skeletons, causing severe internal damage and an erratic “whirling” swimming behavior for which the disease is named.
“While certainly this is cause for concern, at the moment, there is no cause for great alarm,” DNR Fisheries Director Howard King said in a statement. “Anglers need to be reminded to practice responsible stewardship and to be attentive to updates from the department as we work together to address this serious situation.”
To reduce the likelihood of spreading the spores of the organism, DNR is asking anglers not to move caught fish from one stream to another, not to discard carcasses in the stream or on the stream banks, and to remove mud from boots and equipment before moving from one stream to another.
Spring stocking updates and further information on whirling disease and ways to prevent its spread can be found at www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries.
