July 18, 2012
MarineFisheries Advisory

Occurrence of skin lesions on striped bass
MarineFisheries has recently received reports of skin lesions on striped bass. The general condition reported has been red spotting visible along the sides of the fish. Lesions such as these can be indicative of the presence of the disease Mycobacteriosis, which is common in southern waters, especially Chesapeake Bay, but has not been documented in Massachusetts waters. The information available at this time indicates a slightly elevated occurrence of skin lesions on striped bass, likely of viral or bacterial origin, but not clearly associated with the disease organism Mycobacterium.

MarineFisheries staff has been collecting information from anglers on the prevalence and geographic distribution of the skin lesions. At present the prevalence appears to be low (<5%) coastwide but higher in fish from southern Massachusetts, primarily Buzzards Bay and the Cape Cod Canal. Internal and external examination of afflicted fish has not indicated that these lesions are associated with Mycobacteriosis. The examination of several dozen randomly collected striped bass showed no signs of abnormalities in their spleens, the hallmark indicator of the disease.

Lesions on the skin of striped bass are a relatively common occurrence and have many causative agents. The elevated prevalence seen in some areas this year may be the result of anomalously high spring and summer water temperatures seen in Massachusetts and more southerly waters. Fish with mild skin lesions are safe to handle and consume.

Some common-sense fish handling guidelines should be followed:

· Wear heavy gloves to avoid puncture wounds from fish spines
· If cuts, scrapes or other open or inflamed areas of your skin are present, cover hands and wrists with an impermeable barrier like a rubber or vinyl glove
· Wash hands thoroughly with an antibacterial soap after handling fish
· Wash off all cutting boards, surfaces, knives and other utensils used to process raw fish with warm soapy water
· Discard fish with large open lesions or darkened patches in the fillets
· Persons who exhibit signs of infection on their hands after handling fish should contact their physician immediately

MarineFisheries will continue to monitor the recreational and commercial harvests for increased prevalence of skin lesions. We encourage fishermen who observe lesions to contact us at marine.fish@state.ma.us and report the geographic location.

Good post. I wear gloves and wash them out daily. Spent some time saturday in ER at tobey hospital. I couldn't figure out why my hands were had small bumps and one area was swollen/red. I went to make sure it wasn't anything major. Doctor was unsure gave me antibiotics. Using the Boga from now on. I also heard if you do filet these fish do not leave skin on. Some are worse than others, one guy I spoke to said he caught a fish with the lesions were indented circles. Turned out to be poison ivy

I've caught alot of fish with the red circles all over them this year. It's quite concerning, every one was released without touching. For a solid week I would say 50% had varying circles on them. Some not so bad, some IMO severe.

Bass herpes
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

About a month ago my nephew Jake caught a bass at the Canal that was more red than white and silver. Both sides of the fish were almost completely covered with lesions from the gill plate back to the tail.

Thanks for the info I have seen many fish with those red skin lesions this year. Good to know they are indeed safe to eat.

Seen them for years. Apparently this years warm water temps have made it more prevealent but its been around a long time.

well they said mild scarce lesions are ok.... they think... You really guna eat a fish with disease on it? I'm not. Im not keeping many fish this year, if i get a request tho any signs of bacteria and its goin back. yet another reason i love my fish gripper, no touchie. I've caught a ton of fish in the ditch with this junk on em. gross

One out of two pretty much this year have has some sort of red sores, some worse than others.

I caught a few earlier in the year that had some of the red spots. I thought it was jelly and tried to lick it off. I haven't seen any fish with it since late May, but I also haven't been fishing as much as I was then.

Caught a decent fish in the canal a few weeks ago I was looking to keep it but it had "The Grip"!!!!! Threw it back in the drink.....I did not want to risk it!

I got a nice fat 38" real healthy looking fish with them a couple weeks back behind the Vineyard. Fishing was pretty hot, so he went right in the box. I didn't notice the red marks until he came out of the box at the dock.

Ive had dozens of fish with these lesions this spring, more common than years past.... Clients still wanted them, and wanted them filleted. No way I would eat one! Maybe they gave fillets away to "Friends"

Maybe I am not looking closely enough but I am not seeing very many fish with these red legions on them. Most of my fish go right back but if I was going to keep one for the table or for a friend I sure wouldn’t be keeping one that showed any signs of disease. :yak6:

I wonder if the fish houses turn any of these infected fish away during commercial season... Anyone ever had that happen or hear of it happening?

Are you talking about red marks like the ones on this fish?
Or something else?
I wouldn't eat any fish that didn't look right.

Are you talking about red marks like the ones on this fish?
Or something else?
I wouldn't eat any fish that didn't look right.

yes.

Almost all the fish over legal size that I've seen lately have been covered in it. This one has it mild, some look wasted.

Not one of the fish I caught in the CT river from late April to mid June had those sores on them. Once I started hitting the salt, I'd say more than 1/2 probably closer to 3/4. I was mostly fishing the Canal. But a few (not nearly as many) had them in seal land as well.

Haven't seen any up on the N.Shore. Had plenty in Gloucester, big and small, all healthy.

Word has it that these marks are the result of the gulf oil spill.

I've caught fish like that up here in Maine, was thinking that the fish got scraped up on the rocks, or was previously caught, and was battered up.
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over the past 3 days about a little more than half of the stripers I've caught have had some kind of skin leison. mostly just a small spot or two the size of a dime near the anus with a few having a lot of infected area, and a few being totally clean. the stripers under 30 inches seem to be all clean in my experience, its the bigger class fish that are in tougher shape. All in you know where

All the bass I caught today were covered with this crap. Very gross and a real bummer.

at least they're fat I guess:yak5:

Fishing Boston harbor right now as its red hot. Pulled up about 12 keepers and all have red spots on them. Very alarming as I never seen it this bad before.

after looking at photos mind you i'm no expert but i've noticed especialy this year alot of stripers with sea lice on them could the lesions be caused by them

I think its caused from animal waste runoff at farms in the chesapeake bay area.