A Case History of Adaptive Management Strategies for Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus (VHSV) in Washington State

Abstract
We examined nearly 10 years of data and management decisions that have been collected or made by agencies in the Pacific Northwest since the first isolation in North America of a fish pathogen identified as viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV). This historical perspective illustrates the problems of managing pathogens in ecosystems that are not self-contained. The responses of management agencies were complicated by the lack of information about relatedness of the local isolate to its European form, by the lack of information on VHSV in marine waters, and by the paucity of data regarding the impact of this pathogen on Pacific salmon.
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