TITLE: Watermen worry about health, jobs; Runoff, organism are targets of probe into ill men, fish on Pocomoke
BYLINE: Caitlin Francke
CREDIT: SUN STAFF
EST. PAGES: 2
DATE: 08/04/97
DOCID: BSUN525714
SOURCE: The Baltimore Sun; BSUN
EDITION: FINAL; SECTION: METRO; PAGE: 1B
ORIGIN: SHELLTOWN
(Copyright 1997 @ The Baltimore Sun Company)
SHELLTOWN -- At the mouth of the Pocomoke River, in a boat
built by his father, Ray Maddox hauls up a trout that looks like
a bullet went through it and wonders what started the war in this
river -- and how long it will last.
Like the fish he's catching, Maddox, 37, has two red marks
on his stomach -- each one a 3-inch patch of rough skin that itches
and burns.
"I am worried about my livelihood. I am worried about
my health," Maddox said, standing amid flapping fish in the
bottom of the grungy white boat. The fish fling Pocomoke River
water all over the three watermen.
"I'm also worried about everyone else's health,"
he said.
State officials took steps this weekend to try to determine
the cause of the sick fish and watermen.
A team of 100 scientists assembled at Salisbury State University
over the weekend recommended yesterday that state officials focus
on the effects of last year's heavy rainfall and the contaminants
and fertilizer -- particularly from the 170,000 acres of agricultural
fields -- that may have washed into the river.
In other recommendations yesterday, scientists appeared to
conclude that pfiesteria piscicida, a microorganism that attacks
the nervous system and the flesh of fish, might be a source of
the river's problems. With the water system thrown out of whack
by the rainfall, the fish could be under stress, which could make
them more vulnerable to organisms, such as pfiesteria, according
to a committee report.
"The evidence we have points to pfiesteria," said
Richard Lacoutre of the Academy of Natural Sciences' Benedict
Estuarine Research Laboratory in Calvert County.But, he added,
other causes are possible.
If pfiesteria is causing the fish lesions, that could spell
trouble for Pocomoke watermen. An N.C. State University scientist,Dr.
JoAnn Burkholder, discovered that pfiesteria can harm humans.
Scientists, including Burkholder, who were exposed to the microorganism
became ill with respiratory and related sicknesses when exposed
to pfiesteria in a laboratory.
"I think it sounds awfully familiar," Burkholder
said yesterday. "As a person, I have a strong feeling I am
going to find a lot more of Pfiesteria. As a scientist,
I can't know anything now."
Also yesterday, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene officials appointed a Somerset County nurse to be in regular contact with the watermen. That nurse will send questionnaires monthly asking affected watermen to describe any changes in their fishing practices or their health to try to pinpoint problems.
"We can follow up on them right away," said Dr.
Diane L.Matuszak, associate director of the Community and Public
HealthAdministration of the state health department.
State officials stress they have not established a strong link between the fishermen's illnesses and the river.
That leaves waterman Tommy East guessing what's wrong. LastJanuary, he contracted double pneumonia and was hospitalized for four days. The 34-year-old waterman, who has been fishing the river since he was 17, now uses an inhaler, takes antibiotics and has
lost 20 pounds.
"My doctor said my lungs looked like I'm a 50-year-old man who's been smoking his whole life," East said yesterday, wearing faded waders and worn white rubber boots. "I've never smoked a
cigarette."
Still, he, like the other seven watermen who regularly work
the lower end of the Pocomoke, go fishing on water they think
could be hurting them.
"A lot of people are saying, `Well, I wouldn't be doing
that. 'Well, what else am I going to do? You've been doing this
all your life; it's hard to stop and do something else."
On a trip to the mouth of the Pocomoke yesterday, Maddox
and East hauled in about 700 fish. About 20 of them had lesions
or bloody tails, which watermen said were the beginning of lesions.
Another three looked deformed, from what the watermen believe
is exposure to chemicals -- possibly from farms, they said.
One catfish looked as though it had been poked with a skewer,
leaving a bloody hole in its side.
The watermen wear waders and gloves, although Maddox picked
up one fish without wearing his gloves. "As much stuff as
is flying up in your face what's the sense in putting on gloves?"
said Maddox, who had a bronchial infection and a fever of 104
degrees for two weeks last winter.
He's had several colds since and said he is constantly fatigued.
"You go to bed, and you feel like you've never been to sleep,"
Maddox said. His wife, Lori, who often helps him on his boat,
has had lesions on her chest, arms and legs and has had respiratory
problems.
The watermen said that they throw most of the fish with lesions back into the water, but a few are kept for state scientists to analyze. Last fall and spring -- the high points of the lesion outbreak -- Maddox said that he threw about 300 fish with lesions back a day.
Sometimes the lesions heal, he said. Asked about the practice, he said: "Imagine what's already in the water if they are looking that bad."
The number of fish with lesions has vastly declined since
spring, but nobody really knows why.
Maddox worries that, come fall, another outbreak will hit.
"I know what it is going to look like come fall,"
he said. "It's going to be one hell of a mess."
Sun researcher Bobby Schrott provided information for this
article.
Pub Date: 8/04/97
ART: COLOR PHOTO 1
COLOR PHOTO 2;
Caption: Checking fish: Ray Maddox (foreground) throws back a few fish with lesions he caught in the Pocomoke River yesterday. Tommy East (standing) and Robby Pernell pull fish from a net on the boat.
Lesions: Ray Maddox shows one of several lesions he has developed in the past several months. He believes his health woes may be related to water quality problems in the Pocomoke River.;
Credit: LLOYD FOX : SUN STAFF PHOTOS
LLOYD FOX : SUN STAFF