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The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) is questioning why both the Canadian government and the New Brunswick provincial government are not being more transparent about the presence of deadly diseases and the escape of farmed Atlantic salmon within the aquaculture industry, but the industry points out that both the escape of salmon from a Grand Manan fish farm in January and the detection of infectious salmon anemia (ISA) at a farm in February have been reported as required. However, information about the names and locations of the farms with ISA and about the escape of fish is not being released to the public. When there is a disease outbreak or escape of fish in Maine, though, such information is released.
According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) website, ISA was confirmed in farmed salmon on February 25 at an undisclosed New Brunswick location. There has been no other public notice or information from either level of government, according to the ASF. Although this was reported as a non‑virulent strain, ASF has learned that a second recent ISA incident has occurred in New Brunswick, one that is suspected to be deadly to salmon.
"The CFIA website posting is inadequate, leaving many questions unanswered which could lead to further speculation, whether warranted or not," says Jonathan Carr, ASF's executive director of Research and Environment. "Virulent forms of ISA can spread quickly in the dense populations among salmon held in great numbers in open‑net pens. It can spread in surrounding waters and can affect not only wild Atlantic salmon but other species as well." In Maine, ISA outbreaks in the past had led to the state ordering the removal of 1.5 million salmon in Cobscook Bay in January 2002 to control the disease. Following the establishment of ISA management measures, an infectious case of ISA has not been detected at Maine fish farms since 2006.
Concerning the ASF's charges, Pamela Parker, executive director of the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association, responds, "As far as I am concerned, the Atlantic Salmon Federation is crying wolf -- a tactic they use far too often." She states, "Both the suspected case of ISA and the escape event were reported publicly, as per the regulations. I'm not exactly sure how ASF thinks that anyone is keeping people in the dark."
Parker says that the February update on the CFIA website clearly states that the virus strain is non‑pathogenic ISA. "This is actually quite common. Fish health vets routinely monitor for ISA and report their findings to the provincial veterinarian and to our regulators, and CFIA publicly reports on all testing results C that's transparency."
According to Parker, in March one cage was proactively removed when a preliminary diagnosis indicated a positive diagnosis for ISA. The company did not wait for confirmation of a final diagnosis. This was reported to both levels of government, and the removal was carried out following approved standards of practice. "Aggressive testing continues on that farm, and all tests are coming back negative," she says, adding that CFIA and the province continue to provide oversight. CFIA will post information on this case as soon as their testing is complete.
The New Brunswick Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries confirms that in the March ISA case the farm voluntarily removed a cage of fish, which were market-sized salmon. For the February 15 ISA case, no further actions were required due to the fact that this strain of ISA did not cause infection or mortality. The department's response notes that it is not permitted to identify the farms or the locations, in accordance with privacy regulations. However, other fish farmers were informed about the detection of ISA.
According to the department, the avirulent form of ISA that does not cause fish mortality has been detected from time to time since 2007; however, the department has not seen a case of virulent ISA since 2007. Concerning the risk to other fish farms, the department states that the farm with the potentially virulent form of ISA is under quarantine and strict biosecurity measures have been in place to mitigate any potential risks.
Parker points out that farmed salmon go into the water disease free; ISA is carried by wild fish in this region. It is up to the farmer to monitor the health of their stock and to take action when they are sick. "That's what happened," she says. "The system worked, and it was all publicly reported."
Escape of salmon
Concerning the escape of over 51,000 farmed salmon from a pen site off Grand Manan, which was discovered on January 28 and was caused by the extreme weather, Carr states, "I have been informed that the farmed salmon were stocked in 2013, which means that they were near market size and over six kilograms when they escaped. If they do survive and make it into the rivers this year to spawn, there is a high risk of genetic introgression, which scientific studies have proven weakens the gene pool and could compromise the future survival of wild Atlantic salmon. This is information that the public needs to be made aware of."
According to Carr, escapee salmon have been detected annually over the past 23 years in the Magaguadavic River, and 99% of those fish could not be linked to any reported net‑pen breach of containment events, so he believes that few escape events have been reported. Escapees have outnumbered wild salmon in all but four years.
The Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, though, states that it has provided support to groups like the Atlantic Salmon Federation to help with their river monitoring program to ensure any potential breaches are collected at the fish ladder and sent to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for disease screening. The department has also engaged the ASF and other groups on improvements to the governance structure for breaches of containment.
Parker points out that preventing escapes "is a top priority for Atlantic salmon farmers. Salmon farmers do not want to lose a single fish. Their fish are their livelihood. The recent escape event was the result of extreme weather and was reported immediately."
"Mr. Carr and the ASF are well aware that current regulation requires the reporting of fish escapes of more than 100 fish. Our farmers are in fact going above and beyond that. In 2014, we changed our code of containment, and our farmers are now voluntarily reporting all escapes or suspected escapes from our farms. Confirmed escapes are then communicated by the regulator to several non‑government organizations, including the ASF." The Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries confirms that stakeholders including the ASF as well as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, St. Croix International Waterway and the State of Maine were informed of the breach on February 2. However, the department is not permitted to identify to the public the name of the farm or the location.
Carr maintains, "There needs to be more transparency and accountability within the government and salmon aquaculture industry. Code of containment practices must be improved to minimize risk of fish escape and incidents of disease, and these codes need to be put into legislation and enforced. As long as salmon are grown in sea cages there will always be escapes, and diseases such as ISA and parasites such as sea lice will continue to be an issue because it's impossible to control the surrounding environment. The obvious solution is the transition of the aquaculture industry to land‑based closed containment operations, where escapes and sea lice cannot occur and any disease outbreak can be contained."
But Parker responds, "The regulations overseeing salmon farming are rigorous. They are being followed. The system is working. There is more transparency in salmon farming than any other food producing sector. Mr. Carr is simply attempting to create an issue where one does not exist." |
