The Ontario government is asking the public to help track a viral disease that could be responsible for Durham carp dying by the hundreds.

Waterfront residents on Lake Scugog, about an hour northeast of Toronto, say they are gagging over the sight and stink of rotting fish remains washing ashore.

"It's stomach-wrenching," said Roger Lewis, a local resident.

The province wants to differentiate the infection, viral hemorrhagic septicemia, from populations dying off due to stress caused by spawning or changing water temperatures.

It's already testing some fish from the area, and should have the results in a few weeks--but residents want answers now.

"I'd like to know what the ramifications are for us because we're on the water," said Joanna Pourt, who lives on the lake's shore.

Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay said Friday in a press release that people's reports would help the province target and track fish that contract the virus to slow and limit the spread of the disease.

"By calling our TIPS line if they find numbers of dead or dying fish, people will help us understand this disease and how it spreads," said Ramsay. "Adding this information to what we have learned by sampling fish around the province will enable us better to manage this disease and protect our fish populations."

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia was first identified in 2005 after a die-off of fish in the Bay of Quinte in Lake Ontario. The virus has now been found in more than 15 species of fish in the Great Lakes, including walleye and emerald shiner.

The disease does not affect humans--fish carrying the virus are safe to eat and handle, but the province warned there could be serious ecological, social and economic impacts if the virus continues to spread to Ontario's inland waters.

Ontario's strategy for managing viral hemorrhagic septicemia includes:

  • Sampling fish around Ontario under both the province's sampling program and a federal sampling program;
  • Restricting the transfer of live bait fish and aquaculture-reared fish out of an identified Management Zone without a risk assessment;
  • Requiring eggs collected from virus-positive waters to be disinfected (salmon and trout) or reared and stocked only in virus-positive waters;
  • Educating those who transport live commercial fish about the disease.

Anyone who finds dead or dying fish should call the Ministry of Natural Resources TIPS line at 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667).

With a report from CTV's Desmond Brown