Salmon Flu – Infectious Salmon Anemia virus, ISAv
Infectious Salmon Anemia, ISA was first discovered in salmon feedlots in Norway in 1984. ISA virus was local to Norway, but the feedlot environment of salmon farms caused it to become dangerous to salmon.
Gradually it appeared almost everywhere Atlantic salmon are held in netpens. Nova Scotia has just diagnosed it and the farm salmon are being culled. In 2007, Chile lost $2 billion to an ISAv strain traced to a central Norway hatchery14. There is a non-lethal strain that can attach to Atlantic salmon eggs and move around the world undetected called HPR0. It is known to mutate into more deadly strains in the high density of salmon feedlots.
To date in BC there are 317 ISA virus positive PCR tests from three labs, including 2 DFO labs. While Canada and BC refuse to accept any of these results. However, Chile, which suffered $2 billion in losses to an ISA virus strain traced to Norway, now uses PCR tests in hopes to be able to react fast enough to control outbreaks. One of the labs providing positive results on salmon from BC is the lab that confirmed the highly virulent HPR7b ISA outbreak in Chile. DFO found ISA in 2004, but didn’t tell the public, didn’t submit the study to the Cohen Commission, and only after the information was leaked to Cohen they testified that these results were false. They never explained why they hid these tests.
Testimony under oath recorded by the Cohen Commission that ISA virus is not in BC:
Canada, the Province of BC and the salmon feedlot industry say no indication of ISA virus has ever been found in BC, even though DFO got 115 ISA virus-positive PCR test results.
Dr. MacWilliams - DFO, Fish Health Vet: There has been no indication of ISA or ISAV on this coast in B.C15
Dr. Kent - Oregon State, Cohen Commission: Thanks for clarifying that ISA has not been seen in BC16 (ex-director of DFO’s Pacific Biological Station)
Dr. Marty - Province of BC fish farm vet: And so that gives me a great deal of confidence that we don't have ISAV in British Columbia17.
Mr. Clare Backman Marine Harvest: The level of surveys done in the country of origin and then again, the quarantine and follow-up sampling here in British Columbia has been successful in preventing any exotic disease, including this particular one, ISAV18.
Peter McKenzie - Cermaq/Mainstream: we have over 5,000 tests for ISAV, all are negative, and that gives us an extremely high level of confidence that our industry is free from ISAV19
The ISA virus positive test results for BC and Alaska
Despite the government and industry stance that ISA virus has not been detected in British Columbia, there are now 8 lab reports from 3 different Canadian labs, two of which belong to DFO reporting ISA virus positive PCR tests in over 317 salmon in BC and Alaska. Most of these results have been completely ignored by government with no response to them at all and the ones they have acknowledged they simple call false positives or “negative”.
When two Rivers Inlet sockeye smolts tested positive for European strain ISA virus in October 201120, I felt compelled to keep looking for ISA virus in BC salmon to see how widespread it is. With a dedicated group of volunteers, we started in the lower Fraser River and got positive results there too. Justice Cohen felt the threat of ISAv was so significant he reopened his Inquiry into the decline of the Fraser sockeye. An additional consequence of the recent ISAv findings was that a 2004 paper, co-authored and previously suppressed by DFO, was released reporting 100% ISA-positive test results in the most endangered Fraser River sockeye stock in 2004 (see below). Additionally, Dr. Miller has also found very recent ISA virus-positive results seemingly wherever she has looked, in fish farms, sockeye, and other salmon. Most recently, my colleagues and I have found ISAv in Atlantic salmon purchased from supermarkets in Vancouver, including potentially the most virulent strain known. Canada and BC continue to deny these results have any validity. Here is the data on the BC positive ISAv results.
October 2011, 2 Rivers Inlet sockeye smolts were diagnosed with European strain ISA virus (ISAV seg 8 Probe, ISAV Seg 6 Probe 52 Cts) by the same North America reference lab for ISA virus that diagnosed Chile. DFO refuses to accept those tests. (http://deptwildsalmon.org/results)
November 2011, three Fraser River salmon (chinook, coho and sockeye) tested positive for European strain ISAv (ISAV seg 8 Probe, ISAV Seg 6, 52 Cts). (http://deptwildsalmon.org/results) No government response to these tests at all.
2004 Draft DFO paper reporting 115 ISAv positive results for (a) 100% of Cultus sockeye tested, (b) 55% of chinook salmon caught east of Vancouver Island, (c) 50% pink salmon Forrester I., (d) 15% of Dixon Entrance pink salmon, (e) 21% Estevan Pt. pinks, (f) 13% of west Vancouver chinook, (g) 27% inside East Alaska, (h) 50% of Atlantics. (Cohen exhibit 2045) Canada says these results are invalid, even though some were done by the lab that diagnosed Chile.Download Exh 2045 - 29. CCI001528.pdf (2183.9K)
November 14, 2011 Nell Gagne, DFO Moncton Lab positive in 3 replicates in salmon # 0157
unable to reproduce in subsequent 3 “experiments” Rivers Inlet sockeye (Cohen Exhibit 2043). This result omitted from statements by the Minister of Fisheries that all these tests were negative. (http://deptwildsalmon.org/results)
November 2011 17 25.5% farm chinook from Creative Seafoods, Clayoquot test positive (ISAV-P7, ISAV-P8, ISAV_2010) in the DFO Genomic Lab, Nanaimo, BC (Cohen Exhibit 2053) (http://deptwildsalmon.org/results). No culling, no government response to this.
December 8, 2011 Miller reports ISAv in PCRs on 90 samples of Fraser sockeye collected in 1986 in 67% of Pitt River, 80% of Weaver, 67% of Seton, 63% of Seymour, 81% of Nadina, 50% of Stellako, 50% of Horsefly, 40% of Okanagan, 50% of Upper Horsefly (samples taken in 1986). This raises the possibility ISAv came in with the first shipments of Atlantics, or there is now an endemic strain introduced in the early 1900s, or that it originated here in addition to the European strain reported. (Cohen Exhibit 2054, Miller Lab DFO) (http://deptwildsalmon.org/results) No government response to this.
December 15, 2011 Miller reports 82 ISAv positive PCR tests (ISAV-P7, ISAV-P8, ISAV_Snow) for 2007-2009 samples from Late Shuswap, Chilko, Sproat Lake, Early Summer Shuswap, Great Central Lake, Cultus, Driftwood Narrows, Lower Adams, Harrison, Scotch, Baker Lake, Pinchi Creek, Stellako, Pitt, Quesnel, Dolly Varden Creek , Early Stuart (Sinta), Nadina, Seymour. Miller reports potentially 2 new strains she calls ISA8_2010 and Snow8 (Cohen Exhibits 2060,1, 3 Miller Lab, DFO) (http://deptwildsalmon.org/results)
March 12, 2012 5 Atlantic salmon from Vancouver supermarket test positive for ISAV and Vedder chum salmon (adult female spawner).
The ISA virus in the Vedder chum was sequenced.
Canada, British Columbia and the industry deny these ISAv positive results
Government does not accept any of these results and claims they cannot find the ISA virus in 5000 samples.
Dr. Simon Jones, DFO, referring to the study he co-authored reporting 115 ISAv positive results: And so as is the result of many things that we look at, we determined that that was a negative result and we carried on. (Cohen Commission testimony Dec. 19 pg. 73, line 36)Download Cohen Dec 19.pdf (543.3K)
Hon. D. McRae: The testing that was done in the past has shown there were no positive tests for ISA. For that reason, I am hopeful that we never have a case of ISA on the west coast of British Columbia… .Studies show that sockeye salmon would not get ISA, which is a good sign for that wild stock. (Draft Hansard March 27, 2012, Minister of Agriculture) I cannot find what study McRae is referring to, it would be more correct for him to say past testing found 115 positive ISAv cases.
Minster of Fisheries Keith Ashfield: We can now confirm that, preliminary analysis, using proper and internationally recognized procedures, has found that none of the samples has tested positive for ISA (Nov 10, 2011). “The National Reference Laboratory has completed all testing and analysis of all the samples under investigation and none have tested positive for ISA.22 (Dec 2, 2011) This refers to the 2 Rivers Inlet sockeye. When Minister Ashfield says “none tested positive” in his lab he is ignoring sample # 1057 as reported by Nell Gagne, DFO, Moncton (Cohen Exhibit 2043).
Canadian Food Inspection Agency: In recent years, the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia have tested over 5000 wild and farmed salmon in British Columbia for infectious salmon anaemia. None have ever tested positive23 (http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/news-releases/infectious-salmon-anaemia-testing/eng/1323652434990/1323652434991)
BC Salmon Farmers Association: Another year of healthy fish on BC salmon farms. There were no cases of exotic disease such as ISA (2010). (http://www.salmonfarmers.org/another-year-healthy-fish-bc-salmon-farms)
ISA virus presence– CFIA claim a serious threat to export trade of BC farm salmon
Government statements inform us that if ISA virus is recognized as present in BC, the industry’s largest markets could be closed to BC farm salmon. This raises the question: are countries buying BC farm salmon on the condition of it being ISA virus – free? And are the Canadian and BC governments covering up 317 ISAv positive test results to protect the salmon feedlot industry’s markets, in complete disregard of protecting wild salmon?
Hon. D. McRae: My memory of the time when ISA was first talked about from the lab in P.E.I [Oct 2011 sockeye smolts]… There were lawmakers and legislators in the United States — various states bordering British Columbia — and some legislators in Asia who at that time were speculating and pushing for closing our market share.
It just reminds me, as well, that you do not want to give a nation a reason to close the border to a B.C. product without having all the facts. Again, if we had followed the protocols accordingly, I think it would have been more appropriate in terms of making sure we did not threaten our international markets. (DRAFT HANSARD, March 27, 2012, Afternoon) No one knows what protocols he is referring to.
DR. KLOTINS: …So if, let’s say, we do find ISA in B.C. and all of a sudden markets are closed, our role [CFIA] is then to try to renegotiate or negotiate market access to those countries. Now what it will be is a matter of they'll let us know what the requirements are. We'll let them know what we can do and whether we can meet that market access. If we can't meet it, then there will be no trade basically.22
Response to ISA virus
The international response protocol to ISA virus detection in farm salmon is to cull the fish immediately. This is currently underway in Nova Scotia “ISA Keeps Spreading”. Chile, which suffered $2 billion in losses due to an ISA virus strain from Norway, drafted their response to ISA virus into law, Resolution 2638-08
1- Confirmed sites must empty the site within 15 days
2- A positive PCR confirms ISA, not culturing process used in Canada
3- Offloading, disposal and processing must use specified locations where containment levels are high
4- All broodstock is tested
5- ISA detection in lake-based smolt facilities - “the whole fish stock of that center shall be eliminated”
6- Movement of infected fish has to be via prescribed routes
7- Removal of nets must be in sealed containers
A Pharmaq newsletter (Aug 2011) reports a salmon farming company was fined CH $77 million ($37 million) for not fallowing the farm for a long enough time after an ISA outbreak. They also report a Chilean Member of Parliament requested a lawsuit against the Norwegian companies for compensation for the ISA epidemic. Mainstream, largely owned by the Norwegian government and operating in BC says:
"that it is not an option for us to pay any kind of compensation. We are big in Chile…” Lisa Bergan (Dagens Næringsliv newspaper)
Contrast Chile’s response with this very recent statement in BC Parliament by the Minister of Agriculture:
… depending on where the suspected case of ISA, or the hypothetical case of ISA, was found and its proximity to, perhaps, fish farms or wild salmon rivers, the course of action could be a huge range of actions, I guess, in this case. (Minister McRae March 27 Draft Hansard)
This does not sound at all prepared and does not convey understanding of the consequences of this virus. If the provincial government of British Columbia is going to lease the seafloor under the biggest wild salmon migration routes in the Canada to an industry known to be associated with a virus that can cause $2 billion in damages, there should at least be an awareness of the risks and some suggestion of planning for an outbreak.
Canada refuses to accept PCR tests as confirmation of the ISA virus (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/media/back-fiche/2011/20111108-eng.htm) because the PCR is too sensitive and can lead to false positives. Canada demands the virus be cultured before it is recognized as ISA virus. However, Dr. Kibenge of the OIE reference lab, who diagnosed the Chilean outbreak reports:
I must add that in our experience in Chile it was not very easy to use cell culture as a diagnostic method. In fact, people tried earlier on and most of the cases were always negative. So the principal method in that outbreak was actually real time RT-PCR, it was the most reliable. We could not rely on cell culture. (Dr. Kibenge, Cohen Testimony Dec 15, pg 46, line 13)
Canada’s actions put salmon feedlot industry first, disregarding wild salmon
By not accepting PCR results because they are too sensitive, Canada makes it clear the farm salmon have higher priority than the wild salmon. A decade ago, on October 3, 2003 DFO’s Director General of Science recommended Atlantic salmon be allowed to enter BC from a North Atlantic hatchery that did not meet the Canadian Fish Health Protection Regulations (Cohen Exhibit 1683). That seminal recommendation also placed the industrial salmon producers’ needs above the health of wild salmon. The Canadian Fish Health regulations were designed to protect wild salmon from exotic viruses, such as the European strain of ISAv now being detected and denied by government.
Summary
The federal and provincial governments’ denial of 317 positive PCR tests for ISA virus is not credible. In Chile, results from at least the OIE lab would be accepted as ISA virus. Our government’s own words suggest that a confirmation of the ISA virus in BC would appear to be an insurmountable threat to the salmon feedlot industry. The presence of cancer-causing and/or salmon flu viruses in the farm fish product is not something the market can tolerate or acknowledge. As Minister McRae states, legislators in Asia and the US, the two largest markets for BC farm salmon, were talking about rejecting BC farm salmon if it is ISA virus contaminated.
No one knows what ISA virus will do in the North Pacific. What we do know is that like other flu viruses it mutates readily and has become extremely lethal to salmon in several countries. Miller’s lab found that salmon testing positive for ISA virus demonstrated classic cellular response associated with influenza (Cohen Exhibit 2052).
While the market value of farm salmon is critically low worldwide, BC farm salmon export to China rose from $249,000 in 2010 to more than $3.8 million in 201125 because China decided to reject farm salmon from Norway. BC salmon farms are 98% Norwegian-owned so the same companies that lost the Chinese market in Norway regained it in BC. The price of farm salmon is falling worldwide (Intrafish 2012, numerous articles) so these companies may not be able to survive if, as Minister McRae and Dr. Klotins suggest, the largest BC farm salmon customers do not want ISAv contaminated product.
The federal government is responsible for how salmon feedlots are run, but it’s the Province of BC that rents the industry the seafloor under the pens to anchor their pens. Because the Fraser sockeye migration route was never considered when salmon feedlots were originally sited in BC, (even though tiny salmon-bearing streams were), these inconsistent and reckless decisions have to be revoked. There is no evidence wild salmon will survive the ongoing exposure to high levels of these lethal viruses pouring out of salmon feedlots at a rate of up to 60 billion viral particles and hour (Cohen Exhibit 1529).
Is government being willfully blind to the obvious in order to protect farm salmon trade? The biological, legal and social ramifications are enormous.
If ISA virus is here and being ignored by regulators and if massive numbers of Fraser sockeye have been dying of Salmon Leukemia/Parvovirus from salmon farms for the past 20 years the biological, legal and social ramifications are enormous. It is difficult to understand why DFO and the CFIA never examined whether or not the Salmon Leukemia virus is a danger to wild salmon and humans.
The ISA virus documents brought to light by Cohen make a strong case that the federal and provincial governments are involved in a cover-up. If wild salmon, a beloved national icon, an economic driver in many sectors including tourism and fisheries employment, as well as a food resource, are going to survive, government needs to stop making the salmon feedlot industry our national priority.
Ultimately, we learned in the Cohen Commission that Canada had considered instructing the labs not to test for ISA virus:
Email from: Kim Klotins [CFIA] To: Cornelius Kiley [CFIA] I’m thinking we should also advise all laboratories in Canada to not test any more samples of wild finfish for ISAV from the Pacific Ocean (Canada and US). K Nov. 4, 2011 8:15 am (Cohen Exhibit 2104)
The attitude of the federal government clearly revealed in this internal email chain sent from the CFIA to 8 people within the CFIA. “Con” refers to Cornelius Kiley, Director of the National Aquatic Animal Health at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Concentrate on the headlines – that’s often all that people read or remember… Con
Con,
___________________________________________________________________________________
It is clear that we are turning the PR tide to our favour, - and this is because of the very successful performance of our spokes at the Tech Briefing yesterday, - you, Stephen, Peter and Paul were a terrific team indeed. Congratulations!
One battle is won, now we have to nail the surveillance piece, and we will win the war, also.
Cheers Joe
This email then goes on to list numerous media pieces that reported no sign of ISAv including the Times Colonist, New York Times, Seattle Times, Globe and Mail, Vancouver Sun, Red Deer Advocate etc. (Cohen Exhibit 2110)
In conclusion, I am grateful to Justice Cohen for bringing to light the ISA viral threats wild salmon are facing; without this Commission most of this material would have remained hidden. Now we at least have a chance to recognize what is going on and instruct government on the next steps. This remains a work in progress.
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