A MYSTERY disease killing north Queensland's iconic gropers has been found in stingrays at Sea World on the Gold Coast.
Four gropers have died over the past week from bacterial septicaemia. The bacteria also caused the deaths of nine stingrays at Sea World last year.
The killer disease spread to the southeast site via the capture of a wild stingray from Cairns.
Sea World marine services director Trevor Long said the aquarium had bought a stingray off a licensed collector and later noticed it had grown a lump on its head.
"We took samples and sent them to a pathology lab," he said. "The results came back that it had this bacteria."
With fears the disease might spread, samples were sent to Biosecurity Queensland which has a taskforce looking into the groper deaths and a specialist fisheries vet was engaged from Melbourne.
"There was a lot we didn't know at the time and we hoped that at least we could help unfold the situation with the DPI people," he said.
Staff first tried a bath on the animals and then treated them with a vaccine which prevented further infection.
Because of fears that Sea World might accidentally introduce the disease into the wild, all its water discharges were chlorinated then treated again to protect the Gold Coast Broadwater. Mr Long said the disease remained a concern, noting that gropers often lived in harbours and under jetties in close proximity to human habitation and run-off.
It is thought more than 60 gropers have died between Mackay and the Daintree River since 2007.
The outbreak is the first in Australia. In February Fisheries Department vet Ian Anderson said the bacteria also had caused large-scale fish kills in mullet, bluefish, striped bass and sea trout in the US, Kuwait and Israel.
