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Author Topic: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon  (Read 241947 times)

Sandy

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finding your limits is fun, it can also be VERY painful.

If you care about Canada's future, get involved by holding your MLA's & MP's accountable!! don't just be sheep!!

troutbreath

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Re: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon
« Reply #76 on: October 31, 2011, 03:29:13 PM »

"Minister of Agriculture and Lands Don McRae quipped, "Well, we've got another example of spinning media headlines and fearmongering from the Opposition." Not exactly reassuring."


It sure sounds like he's got the pig by the horns.
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another SLICE of dirty fish perhaps?

chris gadsden

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Re: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon
« Reply #77 on: October 31, 2011, 03:44:22 PM »

Sorry some of this didnot copy, have sent to Rodney and maybe he can make it work.
CG

Chris,

 Please find enclosed below important details re. the spread of a deadly fish farm flu to Fraser River coho salmon (this is a second case in addition to the positive tests of ISA in sockeye salmon from Rivers Inlet on the Central Coast).

 

Please pass onto fishing groups in the Fraser River and your media contacts.

 

‘Internal’ Government documents obtained by GAAIA reveal that this second case (ISAV #2) – in coho salmon in the Fraser River (Weaver Creek which feeds into the Harrison River) - was reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) by the World Organization for Animal Health’s (OIE) Reference Laboratory at the Atlantic Veterinary College on October 20 and to the Cohen Commission last week.

 

 

ISA #2 Timeline.jpg

 

The Canadian Government were swift to contact their trade partners in China, Japan, the European Union and the United States and draft “media lines” and “communication products” yet patently failed to notify First Nations, fishermen or the general public.  

 

Trade Partners and Communications.jpg

 

In view of the Canadian Government’s lack of public transparency, GAAIA today made documents available online and is briefing various stakeholders.  The arrogance of briefing Canada’s trade partners but not the people of British Columbia is shocking.

 

 

It is becoming abundantly clear that the Canadian Government and the Norwegian-owned salmon farming companies who control 92% of B.C.’s salmon farms have blood on its hands in relation to the spread of the European genotype of ISA to wild salmon in British Columbia – and potentially beyond the borders of Canada into Washington, Alaska, Russia, Japan, Oregon and California.

 

GAAIA alleges that the Canadian Government - as represented by various agencies including the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) - are guilty of incompetence, silence and arrogance as well as negligence.  In terms of the latter, GAAIA has consulted with a lawyer with a view to a private prosecution or lawsuit related to mischief, breach of public trust and/or malfeasance.  Moreover, once the salmon farming company or companies responsible for spreading ISA have been identified it will open the floodgates to legal action.    

 

Read the letter to the Minister of Fisheries, Keith Ashfield; Minister of Agriculture, Gerry Ritz; and B.C. Minister of Agriculture, Don McRae  - download online here.

 

More details via:

 

"Exclusive Documents Online Now!  ISA reported in coho salmon in the Fraser River" (Fishyleaks, 31st October): http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/fishyleaks

 

"Nightmare in the Fraser River: Deadly disease found in coho opens floodgates to legal action" (Wild Salmon First/GAAIA, 31st October): http://www.wildsalmonfirst.org/declaration

 

 

Read more background via the GAAIA reports "ISA: Diary of Disease Disaster" and "Fish Farmageddon: The Infectious Salmon Aquacalypse" - online here

 

 

Best fishes,

 

Don

 

Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture
« Last Edit: October 31, 2011, 03:47:40 PM by chris gadsden »
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chris gadsden

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Re: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon
« Reply #78 on: October 31, 2011, 11:06:21 PM »

What I missed above should be here. Sorry for the delay.

 The leaked documents re. the second case of ISA in coho salmon
sampled on the Fraser River - online now via:
http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/fishyleaks

chris gadsden

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Re: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon
« Reply #79 on: November 01, 2011, 04:28:17 AM »






 B.C. wild-salmon advocates worried about European virus strain
  By Judith Lavoie, Postmedia News November 1, 2011 12:09 AM  Comment 0 •Story•Photos ( 1 )
  Wild-salmon advocates fear that tests showing a serious virus in one Fraser River coho and two wild sockeye salmon mean the European strain of infectious salmon anemia (ISA) could be spreading through B.C.'s wild salmon runs.Photograph by: Rebecca Blissett, Postmedia NewsVICTORIA — Wild-salmon advocates fear that tests showing a serious virus in one Fraser River coho and two wild sockeye salmon mean the European strain of infectious salmon anemia (ISA) could be spreading through B.C.'s wild salmon runs.


But B.C. Salmon Farmers Association spokeswoman Mary Ellen Walling said the positive laboratory tests at the Atlantic Veterinary College have yet to be confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.


"The CFIA is now doing additional testing on the sockeye and coho to see if they are false positives, which is quite common," she said.


Salmon farmers are worried because the virulent strain of ISA has been shown to kill Atlantic salmon, which are raised in B.C. salmon farms, Walling said.


In Chile, where ISA devastated Atlantic stocks in fish farms, coho salmon, which also were being raised on farms, did not die, she said.


"We are certainly concerned and we are anxiously waiting for the results of their findings. What we have to do is just have confidence in the CFIA and their processes," she said.


Fish-farm opponents believe ISA has been introduced to the Pacific through salmon eggs imported by fish farms.


But Walling said farms are not seeing any unexpected or unexplained diseases.


"We have a good survival rate on the farms," she said.


More than 4,700 farm fish have been tested and there has been no sign of the virus, Walling said.


Biologist Alexandra Morton, who provided the specimens of wild fish for testing, said it is not known which strain of the virus it is and what the effect will be on wild salmon.


But the potential effects could be devastating, she said.


"This is hugely significant. We now have two cases, from 600 kilometres apart, from different species and two different generations," she said.


"What are the chances that two tests on this coast should come back positive? It's a very alarming development."


There are reports from Chile that fish with ISA turned yellow, and Morton said she has found four dead pink salmon and two chinooks whose organs were yellow and flesh white.


"That means to me that this European disease can affect wild Pacific salmon," she said.


Morton believes that, if ISA is proved, it can be traced back to a specific hatchery.


"I think someone should be testing coast-wide right now," she said.


Victoria Times Colonist


Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/wild+salmon+advocates+worried+about+European+virus+strain/5636089/story.html#ixzz1cS62mHsI

chris gadsden

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Re: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon
« Reply #80 on: November 01, 2011, 04:39:36 AM »


ISA virus is serious, so what's B.C. doing about it?
  By Dale Kelley, Special To The Sun October 31, 2011   While fishermen are alarmed to learn about the discovery of a European virus in wild British Columbia salmon, the news comes as no great surprise. Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) has erupted in every country that farms salmon. Why would anyone think Canada is immune? Despite the presence of this disease in East Coast farms, British Columbia still allows the importation of non-indigenous Atlantic salmon eggs from other countries. It was just a matter of time.

When Alaska banned fish farms, the top reason was to avoid disease spreading to our wild stocks. What was at stake was no mystery: Norway had already killed entire populations of wild fish due to parasites and disease introduced by imported salmon. Our state wisely chose to avoid such risk; yet folks to the south of us put us squarely in the path of what Alaskans feared the most.

As the representative of Alaska fishermen who rely exclusively on the health of wild fish, I am appalled by the near-silence of the Canadian agencies responsible to protect them. I've reserved comment in hopes that they would send some signal to the public, and West Coast fishermen in particular, that Canada is proactively engaged with a "fish first" attitude.

On Friday Oct. 21 - more than a week after ISA was detected in B.C. salmon - Canadian officials issued a press release devoid of any sense of urgency. They announced they will run more tests, wait several weeks for results, and only then, if additional testing reveals ISA, stakeholders will be convened to, "identify and take appropriate next steps." Really?!

It's sound practice to verify a diagnostic result, particularly one with significant ramifications. What seems beyond the pale is the decision to wait weeks before convening the experts to develop a plan of action. In fact, it's incredible there wasn't a contingency plan in place long before the first farmed fish was placed in an ocean net pen.

At minimum, you'd think the B.C. government would try to reassure us, by pointing to the experts they immediately pulled together to brainstorm how to evaluate the extent of the problem and methods to contain and control it. Instead, in his opening response to questions from the B.C. Legislature, Minister of Agriculture and Lands Don McRae quipped, "Well, we've got another example of spinning media headlines and fearmongering from the Opposition." Not exactly reassuring.

Dr. Frederick Kibenge, who diagnosed ISA in British Columbia, has both studied and diagnosed ISA outbreaks; he runs an ISA specialty lab. How strange that fisheries officials play down the findings of this respected scientist instead of fasttracking an investigation.

We've also read statements that minimize the threat to Pacific salmon. Yet Dr. Kibenge isolated ISA in Pacific coho salmon at a Chilean farm, where large numbers of coho died from the disease. Dr. James Winton, fish health section chief of the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Fisheries Research Center, has conducted much of the research on the topic. Winton has described last week's ISA finding as a "disease emergency" with "global implications."

Canadian officials need to explain to the public precisely what they are doing to monitor and enforce biological safeguards on the fish-farm industry. Canada and the U.S. have a responsibility to protect the wild public resources they hold in trust for us all.

I have no desire to strike fear into the hearts of the public or the fishermen I represent. However, we need transparency and assurance that appropriate steps are underway. If the Canadian government has information to quell our concerns, we have not yet heard it. If they have an effective plan of action, we have not yet seen it. How do fisheries professionals in Canada and along the West Coast intend to safeguard wild fish and fishing communities from the introduction of foreign disease strains now, and into the future? We're listening.

Dale Kelley is executive director of the Alaska Trollers Association.


Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/virus+serious+what+doing+about/5632076/story.html#ixzz1cS8sZirg

Easywater

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Re: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon
« Reply #81 on: November 01, 2011, 12:07:45 PM »

What I missed above should be here. Sorry for the delay.

 The leaked documents re. the second case of ISA in coho salmon
sampled on the Fraser River - online now via:
http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/fishyleaks

Did you notice that ALL the players that signed the CFIA documents are actors?

The "A/" in front of their titles indicates that they are "acting" (temporarily promoted) in those positions.

A/Regional Director
A/regional Operations Coordinator
A/Director

Coincidence or?
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troutbreath

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Re: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon
« Reply #82 on: November 01, 2011, 04:27:10 PM »

They hire people to take the flack for big bucks to protect their asses I mean big paycheck. That's "shirking responsibility 101" and an of course having any integrity is a death sentence.
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chris gadsden

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Re: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon
« Reply #83 on: November 01, 2011, 07:04:38 PM »

"B.C. wild-salmon advocates worried about European virus strain" (The Vancouver Sun/Times Colonist/Montreal Gazette/The Province etc, 1st November): http://www.vancouversun.com/news/wild+salmon+advocates+worried+about+European+virus+strain/5636089/story.html

 

"Another Pacific Salmon Found with Infectious Salmon Anemia" (International Business Times, 1st November): http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20111101/another-pacific-salmon-found-with-infectious-salmon-anemia.htm

 

"Salmon Feedlot Practices" (Legacy, November): http://issuu.com/steelhead-salmon-society/docs/legacy1111

 

"Surprise? Farmed fish virus found in wild Pacific salmon" (The Spokesman-Review, 1st November): http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2011/nov/01/surprise-farmed-fish-virus-found-wild-pacific-salmon/

 

"Dear Dr. Marty, Part II" (Salmon Nation and the DFO, 1st November): http://salmon-nation-and-the-dfo.blogspot.com/

 

"Salmon egg producer questions AquaBounty's claims" (Intrafish, 1st November): http://www.intrafish.com/global/news/article1259963.ece?lots=comnews&mobile=#

 

"Alaska vil ikke ha lakseoppdrett - Folk i USAs nordligste stat lurer på hvorfor canadierne ikke gjør noe for å stoppe innporten av fiskesykdommer fra Europa" (NRK, 1st November): http://www.nrk.no/kanal/nrk_sapmi/1.7856184?mid=519

 

"We need answers from Canada about fish virus control plans" (The Juneau Empire, 31st October): http://juneauempire.com/opinion/2011-10-31/my-turn-we-need-answers-canada-about-fish-virus-control-plans

 

"Salmon virus doesn't mess around, why does Canada?" (Alaska Dispatch, 31st October): http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/salmon-virus-doesnt-mess-around-why-does-canada

 

"Salmon virus found in more fish" (King 5 News, 31st October): http://www.king5.com/video/featured-videos/Salmon-Virus-Found-In-More-Fish--132965803.html

 

"Dear Dr. Marty, Part 1" (Salmon Nation and the DFO, 31st October): http://salmon-nation-and-the-dfo.blogspot.com/2011/10/dear-dr-marty-part-1.html

 

"Infectious Salmon Anemia discovered on BC coast" (Redwire, 31st October): http://www.redwiremag.com/site/redwire/features/community-news-infectious-salmon-anemia-discovered-on-bc-coast/

 

"Begich hands out 'Frankenfish' buttons in campaign against genetically engineered salmon" (The Associated Press/The Republic, 31st October): http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/4efddd99377a4d0c8a66a04d06171762/AK--Modified-Salmon/

 

"Begich's Halloween howl to senators: Slay the 'frankenfish'" (Anchorage Daily News, 31st October): http://www.adn.com/2011/10/31/2148052/begichs-halloween-howl-to-senators.html

 

""No Frankenfish" button becomes Alaskan senator's Halloween treat" (The Hill, 31st October): http://thehill.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/190831-qno-frankenfishq-button-becomes-alaskan-senators-halloween-treat

 

"Alaska fishing rep scolds Canada as virus found in another wild salmon" (Anchorage Daily News, 31st October): http://www.adn.com/2011/10/31/2147603/alaska-fishing-rep-scolds-canada.html

 

"Open letter to Dr. Gary Marty" (Salmon Warriors, 31st October): http://salmonwarriors.blogspot.com/2011/10/open-letter-to-dr-gary-marty-fish.html

"Plan of action must be in place to battle salmon virus" (The Olympian, 31st October): http://www.theolympian.com/2011/10/31/1858729/plan-of-action-must-be-in-place.html

 

"Mainstream makes money in Canada, Marine Harvest not so much" (Fish Farming Xpert, 31st October): http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?page_id=76&article_id=92891

 

"Shades of Green: The Arrival of Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus" (The Common Sense Canadian, 31st October): http://thecanadian.org/k2/item/1129-shades-of-green-the-arrival-of-infectious-salmon-anemia-virus-ray-grigg

 

"Fish Farm Myths – a growing list" (Fish Farm News and Science, 30th October): http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2011/10/fish-farm-myths-growing-list.html

 

"Infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus in wild Pacific salmon" (Moon Willow Press, 29th October): http://moonwillowpress.com/ecologue/?p=527

 

"BC government denies obvious at Cohen Commission" (The Cascade, 28th October): http://ufvcascade.ca/2011/10/28/bc-government-denies-obvious-at-cohen-commission/

 

 

Including from Alexandra Morton in today's Vancouver Sun, Ottawa Citizen, Calgary Herald, Province etc:

 

"This is hugely significant. We now have two cases, from 600 kilometres apart, from different species and two different generations.  What are the chances that two tests on this coast should come back positive? It's a very alarming development.  That means to me that this European disease can affect wild Pacific salmon.  I think someone should be testing coast-wide right now."

 

And from Mary-Ellen Walling of the BC Salmon Farmers Association:

 

"We are certainly concerned and we are anxiously waiting for the results of their findings. What we have to do is just have confidence in the CFIA and their processes."

 

 

Watch King 5 News featuring an interview with Dr. James Winton – online via: http://www.king5.com/video/featured-videos/Salmon-Virus-Found-In-More-Fish--132965803.html

 

 

Read the official reports from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on the second case of ISA in coho salmon in the Fraser River - online here

 

The first official report of the European strain of ISA in sockeye salmon in Rivers Inlet on the Central Coast is also available online here

 

For more background on the global spread of ISA read "ISA: Diary of Disease Disaster" and "Fish Farmageddon: The Infectious Salmon Aquacalypse": http://www.wildsalmonfirst.org/fish-farmageddon-infectious-salmon-aquacalypse

 

 

Best fishes,

 

Don

 

 

BwiBwi

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« Last Edit: November 03, 2011, 11:05:35 AM by BwiBwi »
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troutbreath

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Re: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon
« Reply #85 on: November 02, 2011, 06:28:24 PM »

For the younger readers this disease sounds like something from out of space. But for us that have been around for awhile, you already know it's been a disaster in other countries. They say they identified it in 1984. No doubt it was around before that. I remember reading about it way back and thought is it worth raising salmon and wiping out your local fish.

Nothing wrong with any kind of farming if it's done right.
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Easywater

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Re: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon
« Reply #86 on: November 03, 2011, 02:01:27 PM »

Interesting article in the Province today: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Canada+trusted+identify+deadly+salmon+virus+senators/5652096/story.html

Alexandra Morton, an outspoken salmon researcher, on Wednesday revealed test results from a Prince Edward Island lab that allegedly show ISA in a chum and chinook salmon as well.


The US doesn't trust DFO to report the issue honestly, for some reason.

“We should not rely on another government —— particularly one that may have a motive to misrepresent its findings —— to determine how we assess the risk (infectious salmon anemia) may pose to American fishery jobs,” the senators said.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which is both in charge of promoting and regulating salmon farms, has dismissed concerns about the virus.
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alwaysfishn

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Re: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon
« Reply #87 on: November 03, 2011, 02:58:28 PM »

Imagine how easy DFO's job would be (and how government could cut that department's budget) if there were no wild salmon. They could promote the ?$** out of the salmon farms up and down the coast because there would be no conflict. The prices of farmed salmon would certainly rise if there were no wild salmon to compete with.

We have never trusted the salmon farmers to look out for the wild salmon and because of the conflict of interest DFO has on the issue, it's impossible to trust them to look after wild salmon..... 

Thank goodness for Morton!
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Dave

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Re: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon
« Reply #88 on: November 03, 2011, 03:49:15 PM »

  Here's another interesting read, shamelessly cadged from another fishing site just as concerned about this issue:

Bulletin Of The European Association Of Fish Pathologists (2002)
Volume: 22, Issue: 5, Pages: 311-318
ISSN: 01080288
Find this paper at:
openurl.ac.ukWorldCat®Google ScholarEdit library access links Abstract
The emergence of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) in several countries outside Norway and frequent new outbreaks of the disease within Norway, strongly suggests that there are natural reservoirs for the virus, probably in fish occurring in the coastal waters. Both in Norway and Canada fish farmers have claimed that there could be a possible connection between wild herring (Clupea harengus) migrating through fish farms and an outbreak of ISA in the same farms. It has also been claimed that wet feed made from herring could contain the ISA virus and, hence, transmit the disease to salmon (Salmo salar). Both these claims are "mythical" in that respect that they are not based on any scientific study or verification that the ISA virus may propagate in herring. Hence, the aim of this study was to challenge herring with the ISA virus, check for virus replication and see if the virus could be transmitted from challenged herring to disease-free Atlantic salmon. With the help of RT-PCR it was shown that the herring became infected with the ISA virus after bath challenge. A drop in haematocrit towards day 20 followed the infection. One salmon that was challenged with filtered homogenate made from ISA challenged herring died. However, most of the salmon survived, but they were positive in the RT-PCR test. It is concluded that the ISA virus is able to propagate in herring and that the herring may be an asymptomatic carrier of the virus.
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Easywater

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Re: Lethal virus from European salmon found in wild BC salmon
« Reply #89 on: November 03, 2011, 04:15:59 PM »

There was some interesting info in a link posted above: http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/infectious_salmon_anemia.pdf

Decontaminating wastes, including wastewater, from slaughter facilities and fish processing plants prevents infections from this source.

Dumping of the internal organs of potentially infected fish into our waterways doesn't sound like a good idea.
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