Minimal risk to wild Fraser River sockeye due to pathogen transfer from BC Salmon Farms

Risk assessment finds minimal risk of pathogen transfer to wild salmon
News Release
From Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Ottawa, Ontario– Scientific research plays an important role in informing our policy choices on sustainable aquaculture activities and management. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) released a science advisory report today on the assessment of the risk to Fraser River sockeye salmon due to Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHNV) transfer from Atlantic salmon farms located in the Discovery Islands area of British Columbia.

The report concludes that there are minimal risks to the wild Fraser River sockeye salmon populations due to the transfer of IHNV from Atlantic salmon farms in the Discovery Islands. Current fish health management practices such as vaccination and eradication of infected fish, help to minimize the risk. The advice in the report was developed by consensus.

This report is the first in a series that will assess the risk of pathogen transfer associated with aquaculture activities to wild fish and the environment in the Discovery Islands. All reports will be made available to the public. DFO carried out the analysis under the Aquaculture Science Environmental Risk Assessment Initiative. The request for Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat advice supports DFO’s role of managing aquaculture in BC and aligns with recommendations in the Cohen Commission Report on the risks to wild fish populations related to pathogen transfer from fish farms.

The peer review group was made up of 39 experts from various disciplines selected for their expertise and knowledge. The participants included scientific expertise from DFO, provinces, academia (Canada and International), Indigenous peoples, and stakeholders.


Quotes
“Our government is committed to sound science. We use scientific advice when making decisions affecting fish stocks and ecosystem management, and this risk assessment provides clear, scientific information to help us do that.”

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

Quick Facts
  • IHNV is native to the Pacific Ocean environment and while it occurs in wild salmon, farmed Atlantic salmon are more susceptible to the disease.

  • The peer review process is intended to review and challenge the scientific information leading to objective consensus. Science peer review processes are evidence-based, objective, impartial and respectful.

  • The Aquaculture Science Environmental Risk Assessment Initiative synthesizes scientific knowledge and provides risk-based science advice to support science-based decision making on sustainable aquaculture.
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https://www.canada.ca/en/fisheries-...inimalriskofpathogentransfertowildsalmon.html
 
Fish farms, protecting wild salmon since 2015*

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* your mileage may vary depending on the goodness of foreign corporations
 
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I think this entire report is hilarious. It gets released Wednesday at perfect timing, and pushed through to deflect. The news and papers can get it in just as everyone take time off for holidays. It isn't independent at all, and extremely rushed to say that initially. It is only first set of data I mean really?

The smarter thing would be for the government to bring in an independent team to investigate. This team cant be activists, government or industry. Completely independent and that also goes for Morton and her group.

This isn't independent does it sound like it? Sound like the government has control over these:

"The peer review group was made up of 39 experts from various disciplines selected for their expertise and knowledge. The participants included scientific expertise from DFO, provinces, academia (Canada and International), Indigenous peoples, and stakeholders."


I think this report actually does disservice to the farmers themselves actually. Despite how we all feel I think the government can do more than the minimum here, and I think we see it doesn't even take the industry seriously either. It is only an opinion but it is likely is the Province has asked DFO to do this. With blood discharge issue the Province will be under pressure to get compliance under control. Remember many of the senior people under the liberal government still drive the bus at MOE. This report in complete advantage for MOE. Do you guys get it now? It isn't hard to see?
 
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I hesitate to comment, but here goes. This report addresses one single type of virus (IHN) and fish diseases that have been proven to be linked to it including but not limited to "Sockeye Disease". It suggests they will also be looking at other diseases and their causes. This does not exonerate or damn the industry.

Hopefully there is more to come as the federal government has been called on repeatedly to examine the impact of fish farming on salmon stocks. This is one of the ways they will do it.

I welcome a scientific appraisal of the situation.
 
"The peer review group was made up of 39 experts from various disciplines selected for their expertise and knowledge. The participants included scientific expertise from DFO, provinces, academia (Canada and International), Indigenous peoples, and stakeholders."

I agree with using this method its only right to get all involved in the consensus. You may like to see something that you deem "independent" but when you leave it up to one group they will typically only be independent to those that pay them.

Almost all regulations in this country are developed this way. I was recently involved in creating specifications/regulations with the municipality/Provencal ministry/regulators in the lower mainland were involved along with independent company/regulators and industry/stake holders. While I may be bias to this way I believe the end result was fair to all parties.
 
I agree with using this method its only right to get all involved in the consensus. You may like to see something that you deem "independent" but when you leave it up to one group they will typically only be independent to those that pay them.

Almost all regulations in this country are developed this way. I was recently involved in creating specifications/regulations with the municipality/Provencal ministry/regulators in the lower mainland were involved along with independent company/regulators and industry/stake holders. While I may be bias to this way I believe the end result was fair to all parties.

Yes I know, and have been involved in process. I also know how flawed that process currently is. It causes lots of problems across BC. That's why the BC Professional reliance model is being looked at. For exactly what you said. As expected I see BC announced today it was tightening up the regulations on the blood from discharge. It is exactly what I said. It's coordinated.
 
I agree with using this method its only right to get all involved in the consensus. You may like to see something that you deem "independent" but when you leave it up to one group they will typically only be independent to those that pay them.

Almost all regulations in this country are developed this way. I was recently involved in creating specifications/regulations with the municipality/Provencal ministry/regulators in the lower mainland were involved along with independent company/regulators and industry/stake holders. While I may be bias to this way I believe the end result was fair to all parties.
I think this entire report is hilarious. It gets released Wednesday at perfect timing, and pushed through to deflect. The news and papers can get it in just as everyone take time off for holidays. It isn't independent at all, and extremely rushed to say that initially. It is only first set of data I mean really?

The smarter thing would be for the government to bring in an independent team to investigate. This team cant be activists, government or industry. Completely independent and that also goes for Morton and her group.

This isn't independent does it sound like it? Sound like the government has control over these:

"The peer review group was made up of 39 experts from various disciplines selected for their expertise and knowledge. The participants included scientific expertise from DFO, provinces, academia (Canada and International), Indigenous peoples, and stakeholders."


I think this report actually does disservice to the farmers themselves actually. Despite how we all feel I think the government can do more than the minimum here, and I think we see it doesn't even take the industry seriously either. It is only an opinion but it is likely is the Province has asked DFO to do this. With blood discharge issue the Province will be under pressure to get compliance under control. Remember many of the senior people under the liberal government still drive the bus at MOE. This report in complete advantage for MOE. Do you guys get it now? It isn't hard to see?

I actually, couldn't disagree with you more. If it said 390 experts selected from the same group, you would still imply there must be a bias. People, when Canada found its first case of Mad Cow Disease, we reported it to the world. This caused the beef industry to lose at least $1B in revenue. It was exploited by the Americans and we paid dearly. We found a second cow, same thing, we reported. Our governments are so open compared to most of the world and, right or wrong, I mostly trust what is being reported. For some reason, Canada feels the need to always confess to the world and apologize. This is why we apologize for the oil sands. Apologize for the natural gas deposits in BC. Apologize for our fresh water and apologize because our country is so vast. Now the same funding group is opposing hydro (site C) in BC. Guess what, we are the worlds largest source of CO2 recycling. Many think it is the rain forests in Brazil, but this is dead wrong. It is the vast evergreens stretching all the way from BC through Siberia. That is what makes the world run and generates all the oxygen. So when the US decides they want to make there country great, we think the solution is to cow tow to the Europeans, who by the way, are a way bigger problem with coal electricity than we can even imagine, and we shut down Canadian industries. Why? If the so called Europeans are expanding their salmon farming and fish farming and give us a tsk tsk, well, they should suck it. If the Americans play us for fools, and maybe we are, by supporting anti-anything that might cause a minor suck on there economy, then they should blow off. Morton is funded by American charities. She can't even honestly tell anyone where the money comes from. Maybe she doesn't know. Maybe she doesn't care. She means well, but maybe she is fighting the wrong villain. Stop this. We need to help salmon farmers (especially those from BC - sounding a bit protectionist), and we need to stop giving into external pressures that have an agenda.
 
. We need to help salmon farmers (especially those from BC - sounding a bit protectionist), and we need to stop giving into external pressures that have an agenda.

And just what might that agenda might be???
Me thinks it might be how are we going to stop Fish Farms from killing wild salmon.
 
And just what might that agenda might be???
Me thinks it might be how are we going to stop Fish Farms from killing wild salmon.

Imo, that agenda is downplay the economic benefits of BC farmed salmon to increase the value of Alaskan salmon.
 
I hesitate to comment, but here goes. This report addresses one single type of virus (IHN) and fish diseases that have been proven to be linked to it including but not limited to "Sockeye Disease". It suggests they will also be looking at other diseases and their causes. This does not exonerate or damn the industry.

Hopefully there is more to come as the federal government has been called on repeatedly to examine the impact of fish farming on salmon stocks. This is one of the ways they will do it.

I welcome a scientific appraisal of the situation.

Thanks for your input.
The way I look at it the press release and the spin of this report is that it's all wrong. Let's be clear this is just a report to answer one question. The question is can a new vaccine, that is given to open net fish farm atlantic salmon, protect wild sockeye on their migration route. The answer seem to be yes but I will wait for the science community to weigh in on the matter. What I think the real headline should be goes like this........

Risk assessment finds minimal risk of pathogen transfer from wild salmon to farmed atlantic salmon.

News Release
From Fisheries and Oceans Canada


Ottawa, Ontario– Scientific research plays an important role in informing our policy choices on sustainable aquaculture activities and management. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) released a science advisory report today on the assessment of a new vaccine to protect Atlantic salmon grown in open net fish farms located in the Discovery Islands area of British Columbia. This lowers the risk that the Fraser River sockeye salmon and the Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHNV) being transferred to Atlantic salmon in open net farms.

The report concludes that current (as of 2015) farmed fish health management practices such as vaccination and eradication of infected fish, may help to minimize the risk. In fact that is the only reason why the advice in the report can be developed by consensus.

IHNV is native to the Pacific Ocean environment and while it occurs in wild salmon, farmed Atlantic salmon are more susceptible to the disease.

Quotes

The minister states: "After millions of dollars and tens of years of research we have finally found a vaccine for this deadly virus. My subjects in BC should be proud that they are one step closer to being the Atlantic salmon capital of the world."

Fish Farm representative states: "One virus down and only a dozen or so to go. Now where was that application for funds, I need some signatures before he jumps on that plane. I swear I had that paperwork around here somewhere. Did I say that out loud? Damn."

Local DFO worker states: " I wonder if this new vaccine would work with our hatchery fish? Too bad we will never have the budget to find out."

So you see the real story is this is great news for the FF's not so much for the people that depend on pacific salmon.
 
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I actually, couldn't disagree with you more. If it said 390 experts selected from the same group, you would still imply there must be a bias. People, when Canada found its first case of Mad Cow Disease, we reported it to the world. This caused the beef industry to lose at least $1B in revenue. It was exploited by the Americans and we paid dearly. We found a second cow, same thing, we reported. Our governments are so open compared to most of the world and, right or wrong, I mostly trust what is being reported. For some reason, Canada feels the need to always confess to the world and apologize. This is why we apologize for the oil sands. Apologize for the natural gas deposits in BC. Apologize for our fresh water and apologize because our country is so vast. Now the same funding group is opposing hydro (site C) in BC. Guess what, we are the worlds largest source of CO2 recycling. Many think it is the rain forests in Brazil, but this is dead wrong. It is the vast evergreens stretching all the way from BC through Siberia. That is what makes the world run and generates all the oxygen. So when the US decides they want to make there country great, we think the solution is to cow tow to the Europeans, who by the way, are a way bigger problem with coal electricity than we can even imagine, and we shut down Canadian industries. Why? If the so called Europeans are expanding their salmon farming and fish farming and give us a tsk tsk, well, they should suck it. If the Americans play us for fools, and maybe we are, by supporting anti-anything that might cause a minor suck on there economy, then they should blow off. Morton is funded by American charities. She can't even honestly tell anyone where the money comes from. Maybe she doesn't know. Maybe she doesn't care. She means well, but maybe she is fighting the wrong villain. Stop this. We need to help salmon farmers (especially those from BC - sounding a bit protectionist), and we need to stop giving into external pressures that have an agenda.

Me thinks your $lip is showing.
 
DFO has been in cahoots with, doing free research for, and otherwise promoting fish farms since the get go.
I take pretty much any news from DFO as "fake news".
Truly independent researchers and scientists are needed when dealing with aquaculture related issues.
 
I actually, couldn't disagree with you more. If it said 390 experts selected from the same group, you would still imply there must be a bias. People, when Canada found its first case of Mad Cow Disease, we reported it to the world. This caused the beef industry to lose at least $1B in revenue. It was exploited by the Americans and we paid dearly. We found a second cow, same thing, we reported. Our governments are so open compared to most of the world and, right or wrong, I mostly trust what is being reported. For some reason, Canada feels the need to always confess to the world and apologize. This is why we apologize for the oil sands. Apologize for the natural gas deposits in BC. Apologize for our fresh water and apologize because our country is so vast. Now the same funding group is opposing hydro (site C) in BC. Guess what, we are the worlds largest source of CO2 recycling. Many think it is the rain forests in Brazil, but this is dead wrong. It is the vast evergreens stretching all the way from BC through Siberia. That is what makes the world run and generates all the oxygen. So when the US decides they want to make there country great, we think the solution is to cow tow to the Europeans, who by the way, are a way bigger problem with coal electricity than we can even imagine, and we shut down Canadian industries. Why? If the so called Europeans are expanding their salmon farming and fish farming and give us a tsk tsk, well, they should suck it. If the Americans play us for fools, and maybe we are, by supporting anti-anything that might cause a minor suck on there economy, then they should blow off. Morton is funded by American charities. She can't even honestly tell anyone where the money comes from. Maybe she doesn't know. Maybe she doesn't care. She means well, but maybe she is fighting the wrong villain. Stop this. We need to help salmon farmers (especially those from BC - sounding a bit protectionist), and we need to stop giving into external pressures that have an agenda.
 
DFO has been in cahoots with, doing free research for, and otherwise promoting fish farms since the get go.
I take pretty much any news from DFO as "fake news".
Truly independent researchers and scientists are needed when dealing with aquaculture related issues.

39 isn't enough. That is why I said there could be 390 independent scientists reviewing this and the anti-FF lobby still won't accept facts. I have challenged everyone on this website to provide the independent researchers that had proven the real harm caused by FF's. We have had claims that FF's are killing as much as 50% of our wild stocks. Wow. Not a single shred of evidence to prove it, but lets claim this. When asked for data to back it up, well that very data might lead us to conclude that runs in the presence of FF's, salmon stocks are improving. The pro-FF lobby is not going to ever make a wild claim that FF's increase the survival of wild salmon, but statistics don't lie.

In the end, an after substantial obfuscation and deflecting, the anti-FF lobby group has produced a series of research documents that proved FF's were safe. It was there productions and to be honest, they haven't really debated the veracity of their own productions. In the cases where an anti-FF advocate had scientific evidence of deadly pathogens, viruses, etc...the results were never able to be confirmed by an independent third party lab (isn't that what you are asking for).

We have had the Anti-FF lobby claim the decline of the Fraser sockeye is because of FF's. Even when all the science shows a temperature inversion in the ocean caused the mass decline, they still blame the FF. The actual FF researchers have accepted the fact that ocean temps caused the latest declines, but nope, we will state the same thing over and over in hopes it will become a fact.

We have had claims by the anti-FF lobby that farmed salmon isn't safe and was poisonous. Nope, all the research proves this is simply a false statement to keep you all against FF's - lets bend the light around the facts.

Then we get the anti-FF lobby telling us all the scientists are being muzzled. These muzzled scientists give interviews to any media outlet that wants to listen including international papers etc. Well, the government heard them, tested their claims and the evidence is they were false. Yep, they should have been muzzled instead of being allowed to spread false or incomplete science.

I challenge any of you to show me where an anti-FF researcher has concluded the third party lab's purposefully doctored the results or hid the results. There is not a single case of this that I have seen. When a scientist sends several samples (known and unknown) to a lab where there are to confirm the possible existence of a virus and all the known samples test correctly (this establishes the baseline accuracy) but the "salmon farm test" is either inconclusive or negative, it just proves the science of the researcher making the claims was at best premature or simply the result of bad science. Provide me with AM's public statements (or Suzuki's public statements) that the retested FF samples to confirm her positive tests for PVR, or IHNV, or whatever else was part of a government collusion to cover up the truth. She has never said the labs that did the retesting were wrong, instead she made a video about sea lice and started sit-ins at FF's.

Are any of us supposed to believe that if the FF industry was conclusively proven to be safe that the AM's of the world would start supporting this industry?
 
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spopadyn
Nothing new in your latest post and some would agree with you and some not,
but nothing to be gained by anyone debating your opinion in the above post!!
You have been recognized as a great debater, but at least until after Christmas can you give it a rest.
Merry Christmas
 
spopadyn
Nothing new in your latest post and some would agree with you and some not,
but nothing to be gained by anyone debating your opinion in the above post!!
You have been recognized as a great debater, but at least until after Christmas can you give it a rest.
Merry Christmas
I will make a deal - no posts from me - but not a single lie from your anti-FF group. No false accusations - no false science - no junk. No problem with fair and balanced - just keep it real. My response to Onefish was another claim of DFO collusion and them producing "Fake News". How about you start correcting this instead of leaving it to the pro FF posters to correct every misstatement. Sound fair? Merry Christmas as well.
 
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