Beginning in 2018, Fisheries staff from Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) Research and Survey Office systematically examined 25 waterbodies across Kansas that had presumably healthy, popular largemouth bass fisheries; populations with declining relative abundance or size structure; and, populations that were previously identified as being positive for Largemouth Bass Virus (LMBV.) While the study brought to light the presence of LMBV at eight waterbodies not previously known to harbor the virus, what may be most surprising is the data that wasn’t there.

Largemouth Bass Virus Study Highlights

• A total of 1,260 largemouth bass were examined throughout the three-year study.
• Of the 25 waterbodies tested, 14 of those waterbodies tested positive for LMBV, six of which were already known to have LMBV.
• There was no evidence of LMBV effects on body condition, relative abundance of quality-length fish, or growth rates.

To learn more about KDWP’s study, visit https://afspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aah.10133 to access the March 2022 issue of the Journal of Aquatic Animal Health’s, “The Effect of Largemouth Bass Virus on Bass Populations in Kansas Impoundments.”