Observed Herring were found to have:

Moribund behavior observed in Prince William Sound herring having skin hemorrhages and ulcers.  Death would likely be caused by asmoregulatory collapse and/or secondary microbial infections resulting from the ulcerating skin lesions.

Lesions in some fish included proliferative foci of macrophages in the kidney and vascular congestion of the kidney and liver.

Congestion of liver and spleens;

diffuse hepatocyte necrosis;

kidney tubular degeneration

(passive congestion?)

Additionally there was concern about nutritional deficiency through lack of forage likely present in Prince William Sound herring based on the smaller than expected size of the fish that returned.    

(page 36)  *

Similar herring found near Kodiak Island.

(Aside:  bioremediation work is said to have been done with Inipol EAP 22 on LaTouche Island and on Kodiak in 1989, August; also 1990 - not considered in the study herein referred to or any thought given to what 2-butoxyethanol does...)

Only one-third of the Pacific herring expected to spawn in Prince William Sound, Alaska in the spring of 1993 were observed.  Of these herring, 15-45% had external ulcers or subdermal hemorrhages of the skin and fins, accompanied by lethargic swimming behavior.

When 2/3 (100,000t) of mostly the 5 year old (1988 year class) Pacific herring expected to return to spawn in PWS failed to appear, the commercially important seine fishery was never opened for harvest.

____________________________________________________

Above information on 1993 Pacific herring with skin ulcerations &/or external hemorrhages & organ damage...

taken from the following:

Association of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus with epizootic hemorrhages of the skin in Pacific herring Clupea harengus pallasi from Prince William Sound and Kodiak Island, Alaska, USA

Vol. 19:27-37, 1994; published June 9

T. R. Meyers, S. Short, and K. Lipson of the Alaska Dept of Fish and Game - Juneau, AK

W N. Batts, J. R. Winton of US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Fisheries Research Center

and J. Wilcock and E. Brown of Alaska Dept of Fish and Game, Division of Commercial Fisheries - Cordova