Sick or dead puffer fish in Hawaii, your help needed!!!!

Hello everyone

there have been a series of mysterious deaths of pufferfish in kaneohe bay reciently. I am forwarding information about this knowing that alot of you paddle in Kbay. If you see any freshly dead, dying or visibly distressed pufferfish, here is some contact #'s to people that are trying to study the cause. below the numbers i will also attach the latest that they have found about this.

There is collection information, and what to look for and do if you come upon a sick, or dying puffer, visual signs and so forth, at the bottom on this post.

thanks for any help with putting more eyes on the reef.

dan
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If anyone notices a dead puffer (or any other freshly dead or unusual
mortality), pls place it on ice (not frozen) and pls call me
immediately so we can arrange to have a look at it and try to determine
cause of death. I or one of my staff can be reached at:

Thierry Work 792-9520
Bob Rameyer 792-9521
Renee Eismueller 792-9523

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Hi All:

We had another striped puffer reported to us by an HIMB boat driver (Yeah Bobby!) yesterday bringing the total number of fish we have necropsied here to 9. In contrast to the other fish we examined, this female in good body condition had particularly notable skin lesions on the cheeks and severe bleeding in the swim bladder. I suspect this last fish may be a more severe case of whatever disease it is that is killing puffers.

This latest case highlights the importance and need for us to examine additional fish as they are found so we can get a better appreciation of the different degrees of severity of this disease. The earlier fish we examined had very subtle gross and microscopic lesions and may have been early stages of disease. Examining more severe or advanced cases may offer additional clues.

Separately, it appears that this is a state-wide phenomenon that has been going on a while. Linda Preskitt from Eyes of the Reef (EOR) reported that puffers have been dying in Kona since February and Skippy Hau from Maui got
reports of dead puffers in May.

Available data from laboratory assays seem to rule out bacteria, fungi, parasites, or physical trauma such as bycatch or gut impaction with plastics. Two possibilities are on the table at this time: Virus or toxicosis. I am currently leaning towards the former (virus) based on tissue changes and the geographic breadth of the phenomenon; we are
currently running various lab tests to rule viruses in or out.

Given the geographic breadth of this phenomenon, we need to pursue this until we can come to some sort of answer. To that end:

1) Please continue documenting where and when fish are dying.
2) If someone runs into a sick or dying fish, pls report them to Linda Preskitt or Bill Wash (Big Island), Skippy Hau or Darla White (Maui), Don Heacock (Kauai) or us (Oahu). For neighbor islands, we will work with you to get the fish to Oahu for examination.
3) When we get the fish, we do a complete external and internal exam (necropsy), take tissue for microscopy, and freeze various tissues and fluids for additional laboratory assays. In addition to our efforts here, we are collaborating with fish disease labs on the mainland to try and get answers.

Pointers for fish collections:
1) For our purposes (laboratory investigations), we are looking for fish that are sick or on death's door. If the fish is dead with skin peeling or smells, we cannot do much with it. In that case, simply document where and when you found it.
2) Clinical signs of sick fish reported by people include: Puffers on the surface unable to dive, puffers puffed up swimming erratically or upside down near or on the surface.

I'll continue posting updates intermittently as data dribble in. Thanks to everyone for your help.

Best.

Thierry M. Work
Wildlife Disease Specialist
USGS-NWHC-HFS

Submitted by tubems on Thu, 07/08/2010 - 2:04pm