The New York Times reported today that documents released on Friday show that Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) a disease brought to the Pacific Coast by the salmon farming industry, has been detected in a coho salmon sampled in the Fraser River. This after it was revealed last week that two juvenile sockeye from rivers inlet had tested positive for the disease, the first time ISA has ever been documented in the Pacific Ocean.
While this development isn't particularly surprising it means that ISA has very
likely spread throughout the Georgia Basin, and perhaps further, already.
Canadian officials and the fish farming industry have been in denial for the
last week about the validity of the two samples tested from Rivers Inlet, even
asserting falsely that the samples had been destroyed and therefore could not
be retested by a Canadian government lab. The industry has also been denying
that the disease could have come from salmon salmon farms despite the fact that
ISA has never been present in the Pacific before and that the strain of ISA
detected in the two rivers inlet Sockeye was a European strain. Wild fish
advocates have lobbied for years to stop the import of eggs from European
hatcheries, citing concerns about disease and now their fears appear to have
been realized.
The US government appears to be taking the threat of ISA
on the Pacific Coast relatively seriously and last week Maria Cantwell, joined
by Senators from Alaska has asked government agencies to undertake a
comprehensive assessment of ISA and the threat it poses to American salmon
populations.
At this point damage control for the salmon farming
industry may be pointless, the disease has very likely already spread
throughout the region a grim reminder the risk that open net pen salmon farming
poses to wild populations. The only long term solution to this problem is
moving salmon farm production onto land in its entirety ensuring that wild fish
are not exposed to the many parasites and pathogens present on salmon
farms.
Check out this article in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/science/pacific-salmon-virus-raises-worries-about-industry.html?_r=1
likely spread throughout the Georgia Basin, and perhaps further, already.
Canadian officials and the fish farming industry have been in denial for the
last week about the validity of the two samples tested from Rivers Inlet, even
asserting falsely that the samples had been destroyed and therefore could not
be retested by a Canadian government lab. The industry has also been denying
that the disease could have come from salmon salmon farms despite the fact that
ISA has never been present in the Pacific before and that the strain of ISA
detected in the two rivers inlet Sockeye was a European strain. Wild fish
advocates have lobbied for years to stop the import of eggs from European
hatcheries, citing concerns about disease and now their fears appear to have
been realized.
The US government appears to be taking the threat of ISA
on the Pacific Coast relatively seriously and last week Maria Cantwell, joined
by Senators from Alaska has asked government agencies to undertake a
comprehensive assessment of ISA and the threat it poses to American salmon
populations.
At this point damage control for the salmon farming
industry may be pointless, the disease has very likely already spread
throughout the region a grim reminder the risk that open net pen salmon farming
poses to wild populations. The only long term solution to this problem is
moving salmon farm production onto land in its entirety ensuring that wild fish
are not exposed to the many parasites and pathogens present on salmon
farms.
Check out this article in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/science/pacific-salmon-virus-raises-worries-about-industry.html?_r=1
