Bass caught in Susquehanna River with malignant tumor. Photo courtesy John Arway of the Fish and Boat Commission.
HARRISBURG — Cancer has been found in a fish in the Susquehanna River in Dauphin County. Biologists confirm it is the first case of cancer in a smallmouth bass in the river.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission say laboratory tests confirmed the presence of a cancerous tumor on the mouth of one fish. The fish was caught in the middle section of the river near Duncannon. Cancerous growths and tumors on fish are extremely rare, but they do occur. This is the only documented case of this type of tumor being found on smallmouth bass in Pennsylvania.
Catch-and-release rules are already in place in the section of the river where the fish was caught.
Director John Arway says the commission will renew its request for the Department of Environmental Protection to add the Susquehanna to the list of impaired rivers. He said this provides additional evidence that the health of the fish community residing in the river is being compromised. (Codi Jade)