Sharing information and educating the public on fish health issues in the beleaguered Klamath River Basin was the goal of a two-day conference that kicked off in Fortuna Wednesday.

More than 100 scientists and interested residents attended the conference at the River Lodge, which was co-sponsored by the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey.

Among the more than one dozen research presenters during Wednesday’s lineup was Humboldt State University fisheries professor Gary Hendrickson.

Hendrickson, along with several HSU students, presented information on the disease-causing parasite Ceratomyxa shasta and its polychaete worm host Manayunkia speciosa, a type of invertebrate worm found in the Klamath River watershed.

Unrelated to the disease that caused the die-off of thousands of adult salmon in the Klamath River in 2002, the protozoan parasite C. shasta infects the intestines of fish and is blamed by researchers for the death of as much as 50 percent of the Klamath’s juvenile salmon before they return to the ocean.

Along with fisheries student Marlene Meaders, Hendrickson is trying to better understand how the C. shasta develops in and passes through the polychaete worm on its way to the fish host it can potentially kill.

Although the fish disease problem associated with C. shasta has been known for many years, Hendrickson said the research he and his students have zeroed in on at HSU in the past eight months is a result of grant funding through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The disease organism’s complex life history has co-evolved with its hosts over millions of years, but Hendrickson hinted that recent changes to the Klamath River’s flows could be upsetting the natural balance.

“Somehow we have messed up the system where those spores are becoming more efficient in finding the next host,” Hendrickson said.

Although it is only speculation and requires more study, Hendrickson said one of the unintended consequences of the Klamath River dams are the 10- to 15-year periodic “pulses” of high volumes of water that could be flushing the polychaete worm, along with its disease-causing parasites, downstream.

USFWS Field Supervisor Michael Long said what is important about the conference is the variety of agencies within the basin that have realized the importance of the fish health and disease issue and the effects on the salmonid populations.

“This is another good example of the really good cooperation that is going on throughout the basin right now — folks working together toward a common goal,” Long said.

That coordination is what Long said will hopefully lead to management solutions to address the fish health issues.

But as to whether it is possible to separate the Klamath River’s declining fish health and the widespread call for the removal of the Klamath River dams — owned by PacifiCorp and currently up for re-licensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — Long said he wasn’t aware of any evidence to link the two at this point.

Although much fish disease research has been completed, Long said scientists are still trying to gather the most basic life history information about the disease pathogens.

Retired neurosurgeon Denver Nelson, who follows Klamath River issues closely, attended Wednesday’s conference to listen to the research.

“I don’t think taking the dams out will cure the Klamath completely,” Nelson said.

But Nelson said the public only has a shot every 50 years to weigh in on the issue.

The conference, which is free of charge and open to the public, continues today from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Fortuna’s River Lodge Conference Center.