MIBowhunter
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Mosquitofish Won’t Fight West Nile
Harrison Twp, Mich. — A state biologist says people should not plant mosquitofish in ponds and streams to fight mosquitoes that carry the deadly West Nile virus.
Fifty-one people died of the disease last year.
Fish biologists began to study the fish in December to see if the guppy-sized creature could eat enough mosquito larvae without threatening the food chain for native fish.
The 2-inch fish have been planted in other states and countries for mosquito control. But researchers at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources office in Macomb County’s Harrison Township near Mount Clemens say the fish would not be effective in Michigan.
“There’s no reason to plant them here,” DNR supervisor Robert Haas said. “There’s too much of a risk that they could escape into public waters.”
Harrison Twp, Mich. — A state biologist says people should not plant mosquitofish in ponds and streams to fight mosquitoes that carry the deadly West Nile virus.
Fifty-one people died of the disease last year.
Fish biologists began to study the fish in December to see if the guppy-sized creature could eat enough mosquito larvae without threatening the food chain for native fish.
The 2-inch fish have been planted in other states and countries for mosquito control. But researchers at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources office in Macomb County’s Harrison Township near Mount Clemens say the fish would not be effective in Michigan.
“There’s no reason to plant them here,” DNR supervisor Robert Haas said. “There’s too much of a risk that they could escape into public waters.”
