Carnobacterium piscicola LV 61 produces a bacteriocin designated piscicolin 61, that is heat resistant, active over a wide pH range and inactivated by alpha-chymotrypsin, pepsin, trypsin and papain. It is effective against strains of the genera Carnobacterium, Enterococcus and Listeria. Other lactic acid bacteria tested were less sensitive or resistant to piscicolin. It is produced at temperatures from 1 to 30 degrees C. Maximum bacteriocin activity was detected after the culture had entered the stationary phase of growth and when the culture was grown in a medium with an initial pH between 8.0 and 9.0. The same high amounts of bacteriocin could be obtained in a culture at a constant pH of 6.5. No bacteriocin was produced at pH 5.0. Peptone in the growth medium promotes bacteriocin production, whereas meat and yeast extract did not influence the amounts of bacteriocin produced. Bacteriocin production and immunity are probably encoded by a 22 kb plasmid.