Province’s fish farms to test for virus

[fogged in]

“This has been a six-year battle and so it is very unexpected to see a fisheries minister take such a bold and unprecedented step,”
http://digital.timescolonist.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

 

[trophywife]

vote diving, nothing will change. too much invested with our pension funds.

 

[gone fishin]

“This has been a six-year battle and so it is very unexpected to see a fisheries minister take such a bold and unprecedented step,”
http://digital.timescolonist.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

I thought it was widely accepted that PRV existed in Fish Farm in B.C.
What is testing going to prove and furthermore what will be done if they do confirm PRV does exist?

 

[agentaqua]

Good questions, gone fishing! One would hope that it would:
1/ Stop the denying about transfer-ability of diseases using the open net-pen technology,
2/ Provide data for an actual risk assessment, and
3/ Decrease the transfer of PRv (in this specific case) to wild stocks by not allowing diseased farm fish to be placed into operation - which is what that court case was about.

How it rolls out and what they actually do is another matter all together...

 

[wildmanyeah]

https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/n...nary-approach-fisheries-minister-says-319241/

 

[fogged in]

“Salmon farms will also be required to test salmon in net-pen farms for jaundice and heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI), which some scientists believe is associated with a native strain of PRV.”
“These are two key measures that reflect precaution where there is some debate about the science,” said Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson in an interview.”
HOWEVER
Dr. Gary Marty, Fish Farm vet, has admitted PRV is wide spread among Fish Farm Atlantic Salmon, but has stated that that “HSMI is (STILL) not in BC”
Will watch with great interest.

 

[agentaqua]

“Salmon farms will also be required to test salmon in net-pen farms for jaundice and heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI), which some scientists believe is associated with a native strain of PRV.”
“These are two key measures that reflect precaution where there is some debate about the science,” said Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson in an interview.”
HOWEVER
Dr. Gary Marty, Fish Farm vet, has admitted PRV is wide spread among Fish Farm Atlantic Salmon, but has stated that that “HSMI is (STILL) not in BC”
Will watch with great interest.

Interesting cherry-picking by the Communications Branch of DFO that prepped the speaking notes for the Fisheries Minister: "...some [AKA Marty] scientists believe is associated with a native strain of PRV.” So I guess an organism only needs ~12 years be pronounced as "native" by industry pundits and defendants (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3711887/) - and in this case - the Communications Branch of DFO. I wonder what COSEWIC thinks about this assertion?

 

[wildmanyeah]

AA im sure you can see the whole reason why DFO is doing what it is doing is based on the PSF and the SSHI results. https://www.psf.ca/what-we-do/strategic-salmon-health-initiative

Hence the testing for HSMI and jaundice in fish farmed fish and testing for the two types of PRV. They will also be "We are going to require testing (in hatcheries) for both of those strains because we are concerned about them".

Eradicating the native form of PRV or the form that PRV that's now everywhere including in rockfish and types of fish would be difficult. If fish farms were the cause, or other introductions or contamination caused it to be here. Well that ship has now sailed and its here. The industry is already on the path to close containment.

Fish farms are also being moved off of salmon migration areas and also need first nation approval.

 

[agentaqua]

Good lead-in on the PSF, WMY:

Statement of PSF President and CEO Michael Meneer

Regarding decision to test for Piscine Orthoreovirus (PRV) in aquaculture salmon

The Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) welcomes federal Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson’s decision to strengthen DFO’s testing and reporting of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation and jaundice syndrome, and screening for two specific strains of Piscine Orthoreovirus. This is important and timely action and a step in the right direction to ensure that the health of wild Pacific salmon is protected first and foremost.

The upcoming public consultations will be a critical part of this process and PSF looks forward to contributing. We acknowledge and thank the many people and organizations, particularly the Namgis First Nation, for their diligence on this critical salmon issue.

British Columbia and Canada must put wild Pacific salmon first and we have previously recommended a move to closed-containment aquaculture. We took this position based on the combination of information in the Province’s Ministerial Advisory Committee Report on Finfish Aquaculture; the results of our own research to date; and the chronically-low abundance of many wild Pacific salmon populations today.

This transition to closed containment will take time but the removal of open net-pen farms along migratory routes of wild Pacific salmon, particularly for those stocks of greatest concern, should occur as soon as possible. During this transition, everything possible should be done to improve assessment of the risks to wild Pacific salmon, including through the salmon pathogen research of the Strategic Salmon Health Initiative that is being done in partnership with PSF, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Genome BC.

Since 2013, PSF has supported the Strategic Salmon Health Initiative to study interactions between wild, hatchery and aquaculture salmon and the presence of microbes that could impact the health and survival of Pacific salmon. We will continue to engage in this issue and are prepared to assist the provincial and federal government in these new initiatives to support the sustainability and restoration of our wild Pacific salmon!

 

[terrin]

AA im sure you can see the whole reason why DFO is doing what it is doing is based on the PSF and the SSHI results. https://www.psf.ca/what-we-do/strategic-salmon-health-initiative

Hence the testing for HSMI and jaundice in fish farmed fish and testing for the two types of PRV. They will also be "We are going to require testing (in hatcheries) for both of those strains because we are concerned about them".

Eradicating the native form of PRV or the form that PRV that's now everywhere including in rockfish and types of fish would be difficult. If fish farms were the cause, or other introductions or contamination caused it to be here. Well that ship has now sailed and its here. The industry is already on the path to close containment.

Fish farms are also being moved off of salmon migration areas and also need first nation approval.

"If fish farms were the cause, or other introductions or contamination caused it to be here. Well that ship has now sailed and its here." After years of denying its presence we are now supposed to just accept that its here killing our Wild Salmon and no one is held accountable while we can't even go out and keep a fish we catch that is just total BS. The whole West Coast Sport Fishing Industry is on the ropes from these closures and the Killers need to be held to account. They are probably still flushing PRV out those drain pipes from the processing plant. No wonder Rock Fish are also infected.

 

[fogged in]

"If fish farms were the cause, or other introductions or contamination caused it to be here. Well that ship has now sailed and its here." \
After years of denying its presence we are now supposed to just accept that its here killing our Wild Salmon and no one is held accountable while we can't even go out and keep a fish we catch that is just total BS. The whole West Coast Sport Fishing Industry is on the ropes from these closures and the Killers need to be held to account. They are probably still flushing PRV out those drain pipes from the processing plant. No wonder Rock Fish are also infected.

The results of this testing might be the smoking gun Birdsnest likes to deny exists.
There is no doubt Fish Farms are a part of the problem with Wild Salmon survival!!
The issue needs to be expanded to include Sea Lice infection as even the Fish Farms admit their Sea Lice are killing wild salmon (no way to find out how many).
Fish Farms to their credit do try and time their big doses of Slice (another issue) to coincide with the passing of wild salmon smolts to reduce being infected with their Sea Lice outbreaks.
The issue of wild salmon survival is complex and no one should expect the removal of Fish Farms to provide a quick and easy solution, but it will certainly be a big step in the right direction!!