[Dave B.]

'Wilson' if you read my post on the S.J. Freshwater Fisheries Forum you'll see that only the un-affected rainbows are being used to stock our trout production waters.

Just for the record it should be known that for MANY years the old Hayford hatchery at Hackettestown stocked trout all over NJ that had been exposed to, infected with and antibiotically treated for Furunculosis. This occurred from the mid 60's until the hatchery was finally taken out of service in 1983. Obviously this was well before the current pathogen guidelines were in place, but the important thing to note here is that virtually EVERY trout stocked water in NJ including those with documented reproduction recieved fish that were potential carriers and yet not a single large outbreak or fishkill has ever been recorded as a result. Below is an excerpt from the Coldwater Fisheries Draft Management Plan.

"...In 1912, the State began construction of its own hatchery in Hackettstown and began producing fingerlings. By 1932, the Hackettstown hatchery was raising over 500,000 trout for distribution across the state. In the years that followed disease outbreaks among the hatchery stock due to the intensive culture increased, as did the demand for other warmwater species. In 1980, the construction of the Pequest Trout Hatchery began and the production of all trout, with the exception of lake trout, was transferred there when the facility opened in 1983..."

My points here are that this is a well known disease, it already exists virtually worldwide as I stated in my other thread, and the potential risk involved for our fisheries is apparently extremely minimal if the past is any indicator.

All that being said, I would strongly urge everyone with an interest in this situation to take advantage of the 'Public Comment' form available in the link that Andy posted. The Div. does listen to us and I have a feeling the outcome of this particular situation may depend a good deal on angler sentiment.

For me personally, knowing what I know I see no issues with stocking previously exposed fish anywhere in the state, but that's just my 2 cents.