As you are probably aware, incidents of whirling disease and gill lice have been confirmed in several drainages in Western North Carolina. Whirling disease, caused by the microscopic parasite Myxobolus cerebralis, damages cartilage and skeletal tissue in trout, causing them to swim in a whirling motion. Gill lice are tiny, white crustaceans that attach to a fish’s gills, which can traumatize gills and inhibit the fish’s ability to breathe.
Members of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the US Forest Service, the NC Department of Agriculture and other stakeholders are diligently monitoring the situation and working on ways to better protect our watersheds.
If you catch a trout that you suspect is infected with gill lice, please call Jacob Rash with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission at 828-659-3324, ext. 225, or by email at [email protected]. If you catch a trout that you suspect is infected with whirling disease, please report the catch on the Commission's website. You can even use these methods to report catches in neighboring states.
For more information, on whirling disease and gill lice, please visit the North Carolina Wildlife Commission website.