stones93
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METRO VANCOUVER - A virus linked to the death of farmed salmon has for the first time been found in B.C. freshwater fish — cutthroat trout in Cultus Lake — a research team reported Thursday.
Researchers say the finding should spur the B.C. government, which is responsible for management of freshwater fish, to launch a thorough study to determine how widespread piscine reovirus (PRV) is and whether it is fatal to native fish.
"This concerns me greatly," said professor Rick Routledge, a Simon Fraser University fish-population statistician. "The province needs to pay attention to this because we have evidence it is found within freshwater fish."
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced this week it would be testing B.C. wild salmon to determine the status of three salmon diseases: infectious haematopoietic necrosis, infectious pancreatic necrosis, and infectious salmon anaemia.
"PRV is not on their list," Routledge noted in an interview.
Evidence of PRV was found in 13 of 15 sampled fish. Follow-up analyses further confirmed the virus' presence in these fish and identified their genetic sequencing as 99 per cent identical to Norwegian strains, casting doubt on the virus being native to B.C.
The virus has been linked to heart and skeletal muscle inflammation, a disease that has reportedly become widespread in Norwegian salmon farms and can lead to fish mortality.
Also involved in the research discovery were Fred Kibenge, a virology professor at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island, and Stan Proboszcz, a fisheries biologist with B.C.'s Watershed Watch Salmon Society.
In an interview, Routledge said it is possible that endangered Cultus Lake sockeye introduced the virus to the freshwater trout when they came upstream to spawn. PRV has also been found in B.C. in farmed salmon and wild salmon.
Another possibility is that someone introduced it to the lake on a boat, trailer, or on fishing gear.
"It's there, that's the concern," Routledge said. "And we know it can infect several different species (of Atlantic and Pacific salmon). It could be getting into all sorts of other fish populations, as well."
Cultus Lake is also home to rainbow trout, kokanee and Dolly Varden.
Independent fish researcher Alexandra Morton, a vocal opponent of salmon farming, announced in April that supermarket-purchased farmed salmon had tested positive for PRV.
"We have to think carefully about we're doing, putting fish farms in the middle of salmon migration routes, where they are an ideal places for these viruses to thrive." Routledge said.
lpynn@vancouversun.com
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Discove...+wider+study/6959173/story.html#ixzz215iayg7q
Researchers say the finding should spur the B.C. government, which is responsible for management of freshwater fish, to launch a thorough study to determine how widespread piscine reovirus (PRV) is and whether it is fatal to native fish.
"This concerns me greatly," said professor Rick Routledge, a Simon Fraser University fish-population statistician. "The province needs to pay attention to this because we have evidence it is found within freshwater fish."
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced this week it would be testing B.C. wild salmon to determine the status of three salmon diseases: infectious haematopoietic necrosis, infectious pancreatic necrosis, and infectious salmon anaemia.
"PRV is not on their list," Routledge noted in an interview.
Evidence of PRV was found in 13 of 15 sampled fish. Follow-up analyses further confirmed the virus' presence in these fish and identified their genetic sequencing as 99 per cent identical to Norwegian strains, casting doubt on the virus being native to B.C.
The virus has been linked to heart and skeletal muscle inflammation, a disease that has reportedly become widespread in Norwegian salmon farms and can lead to fish mortality.
Also involved in the research discovery were Fred Kibenge, a virology professor at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island, and Stan Proboszcz, a fisheries biologist with B.C.'s Watershed Watch Salmon Society.
In an interview, Routledge said it is possible that endangered Cultus Lake sockeye introduced the virus to the freshwater trout when they came upstream to spawn. PRV has also been found in B.C. in farmed salmon and wild salmon.
Another possibility is that someone introduced it to the lake on a boat, trailer, or on fishing gear.
"It's there, that's the concern," Routledge said. "And we know it can infect several different species (of Atlantic and Pacific salmon). It could be getting into all sorts of other fish populations, as well."
Cultus Lake is also home to rainbow trout, kokanee and Dolly Varden.
Independent fish researcher Alexandra Morton, a vocal opponent of salmon farming, announced in April that supermarket-purchased farmed salmon had tested positive for PRV.
"We have to think carefully about we're doing, putting fish farms in the middle of salmon migration routes, where they are an ideal places for these viruses to thrive." Routledge said.
lpynn@vancouversun.com
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Discove...+wider+study/6959173/story.html#ixzz215iayg7q
