alexandra morton

In answer to the controversy around Salmon Confidential

Salmon Confidential from Twyla Roscovich on Vimeo.

Even before we went public with the bio-political documentary Salmon Confidential that is sweeping across North America, into Ireland and Norway with over 150,000 views, someone bought a website with a very similar name, salmonconfidential.com. This website is completely anonymous, but states on it’s home page:

This blog has one purpose:
To provide a factual counterpoint to bogus claims and misinformation being spread via the “Salmon Confidential“ documentary film created by Twyla Roscovich and Alexandra Morton.
The film is riddled with errors, false claims and incorrect assumptions which must be corrected. This blog will provide facts and realities which bust Morton’s myths about salmon farming in her latest film.

I have ignored this website for some weeks because I don't believe in answering to people who hide their identity, however, many people have asked for my response, so here it is, point-by-point.

The film’s biggest fib
http://salmonconfidential.com/the-films-biggest-fib

Anonymous blogger: writes that while my samples of Harrison River salmon tested positive for a segment of ISA virus in one test, that the second lab report was negative for the virus. Therefore, she or he goes on to say I am duping my audience, when I ignore the second test and tell people the fish were positive for ISA virus.

My response: The second test required a complete sequence of living virus as it is an attempt to keep the virus alive outside the fish and culture it. If the virus is broken into pieces it cannot be “cultured”. In this case lab did not find an intact, full-length sequence of the virus. They reported finding pieces of virus that matched European strain ISA virus. Thus the PCR tests signaled a sequence match and positive result, but the virus could not be cultured. This does not mean the virus was not present. In Canada, ISA virus has to be “cultured” to be “confirmed.” This is not the case in other countries where much more proactive efforts are underway to get rid of it, or at least control it, because it has already caused so much damage. Canada currently has the most lax ISA virus response I know of in the world, even allowing a company to grow a novel, virulent (deleted) variant form for 6 months in farm salmon in Nova Scotia.

A vet’s perspective
http://salmonconfidential.com/a-vets-perspective

When Dr. Gary Marty, the BC farm salmon vet, states ISA virus has not been confirmed in British Columbia, that means the virus has not been cultured, ie captured alive and grown in a lab, outside the fish. But this does not mean, the virus is not in BC. There are strains of ISA virus that no one has ever been able to culture (HPRO), this strain could be in BC and it would never be cultured, and thus never "confirmed" according to Canada's standards. I am limited to sampling fish from supermarkets, which have been dead a matter of days. This is not optimal, ISA virus has only been "cultured" from freshly dead infected farm salmon. While, the labs I send samples to have never found an intact ISA virus sequence that could be sequenced, the pieces they have found do match known ISAv sequences. You cannot get ISA virus sequence several 100 base pairs long without the virus being present.

Anonymous blogger says: Dr. Marty reports that 100 fish scientists in Idaho don’t think ISA virus is in BC.

My response: Not one of those 100 fish scientists contacted me to view the data. They made this decision without reviewing the evidence that causes me to believe several European ISA virus variants are in BC. They based their scientific opinion on hearsay.

Anonymous blogger says:Dr. Marty says his sister was insulted when we suggested skinny farm salmon purchased in Superstore could have been diseased, because she is slender.

My response: I did not mean to offend Dr. Marty's sister, but here is the evidence to date. Skinny farm salmon in supermarkets are infected with the piscine reovirus, and the published literature reports stunting is a symptom of the disease associated with PRV.

“Infected fish are physically stunted, and their muscles are so weakened that they have trouble swimming or even pumping blood.”

I have not seen any reporting from Dr. Marty on examination of these emaciated Atlantic farm salmon for sale at times in BC supermarkets. In the film he does point out that sick fish don't eat and fish that don't eat would become skinny.

Dead fish in a parking lot http://salmonconfidential.com

Anonymous blogger says: it is wrong to sample farm salmon in a parking lot.

My response: I try to get fish samples for viral testing into proper storage as fast as possible. If I am on a riverbank I take the sample there. If I am in a fish boat I take the sample there. If I have just walked out of a store into 20 degree weather, I sample immediately in the parking lot. I cannot risk tissue degradation. The fish are not removed from their Styrofoam trays. The plastic covering is slit, the samples taken and put into a cooler.

It is true these fish have been handled by an unknown number of people, but none of them should be infected with the European salmon viruses I am testing for. I would much prefer to sample farm salmon right from the feedlots, but I am not allowed to do that, so I do this instead.

Misquoting Miller
http://salmonconfidential.com/misquoting-miller

Anonymous blogger: attempts to discredit Salmon Confidential, suggesting that Dr. Kristi Miller’s testimony was edited to put words in her mouth. The issue is with the following statement, (McDade, was my lawyer).

Mr McDade: What you found is some sort of new virus? Your leading suspect was salmon leukemia virus?
Dr. Miller: Yes, it was.
Mr McDade: And if, in fact, that’s the case, this, in fact, may be the smoking gun for the 2009 declines?
Dr. Miller: It could be the smoking gun.

Anonymous blogger, contends that Miller was not referring to Salmon Leukemia, but rather to a “different virus, salmon parvovirus.” The reality is that salmon parvovirus and salmon leukemia virus are thought to be the same virus, Miller certainly considered them to be the same virus at the time of her testimony. When DFO discovered and named salmon leukemia virus in the 1990s as it spread through the salmon feedlots on the Fraser sockeye migration route, they never sequenced it or photographed it. This means it cannot be traced today. When a disease resembling the farm salmon disease cropped up in the dying Fraser sockeye, Dr. Miller could not compare it to any sequence or photographs because the DFO researchers who named it in the 1990s never produced these important references. So Miller had to redo all the science on it and give it a new name. One day, perhaps she will be free to publish on the link between salmon leukemia virus and salmon parvo virus, but unfortunately she has not to date.

All films require editing, however, the integrity of the testimony was preserved.

Anonymous blogger says: the film should have included Dr. Miller's attempt to soften her "smoking gun" statement the next day saying:

“when I agreed with Mr. McDade that what I really meant was that this could be a major factor. Not the major factor, because I also agree with others that there is no single major factor.”

Remember when you read her words, that this woman scientist works for a government now world renowned for muzzling its scientists. Just Google “Canada muzzle scientist” there are many articles, including this one that specifically mentions Dr. Miller: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16861468 I believe the film accurately captured the testimony by Dr. Miller.

Skewering sacred salmon http://salmonconfidential.com/skewering-sacred-salmon

Anonymous blogger: claims wild salmon populations in BC are on a natural boom and bust cycle and because I don’t have a Dr. in front of my name no one should hear me out.

My response: When the CFIA and DFO confiscated the first-ever publicly reported ISA virus positive samples found in BC, they gave them to Mrs. Nelle Gagne for confirmation testing. Mrs. Gagne does not have a Dr. in front of her name and yet she testified at the Cohen Commission to counter to the findings of Dr. Miller, Dr. Kibenge and Dr. Nylund. Her resume submitted to the inquiry states: 1997- PhD. Molecular and cellular biology. Laval University, Québec. Paused after 5 years. Canada is resting their entire opinion on whether ISA virus is in BC or not or not on a scientist who does not have a “Dr.” in front of her name.

Whoever they are goes to argue BC wild salmon populations are fine and to suggest otherwise is a “scary story.”

My response: First of all, the Cohen Commission was called and $26 million spent to investigate why three consecutive years of closing the Fraser sockeye fishery did not slow the steep decline in those stocks. Clearly the federal government thinks there is a serious problem.

Second, the graphs Anon shows do not appear to account for the enormous commercial fisheries that went on previous to now. Historically, the stocks that returned to spawn were the survivors of large commercial fisheries.

Here is what commercial salmon catches for BC look like since salmon feedlots appeared on the major wild salmon migration routes in the early 1990s (along eastern Vancouver Island and the mainland)

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/omfd/reports/4-sector/commercial-fishing.pdf

Another blog site built to also refute me is showing a graph that depicts growing salmon catches, however, this data must include Alaskan and western Pacific (Russia) fisheries because clearly commercial catches are not going up in BC. There are no salmon farms in Alaska or Russia

http://blog.farmfreshsalmon.org/?p=303

In a scientific paper where the authors do identify themselves they report wild salmon go into steep decline where ever there are fish farms.

Dramatic Declines In Wild Salmon Populations Linked To Exposure To Farmed Salmon

Busting the myths
http://salmonconfidential.com/busting-the-myths

Anonymous blogger is correct, sockeye have been dying before spawning in the Fraser River since the 1940’s. However, this mortality was closely tied to high water temperature. Anon goes on to wonder why sockeye have been entering the river too early since 1995 and “have low energy,” and decides they must have died of exhaustion.

My response: This breezy analysis completely misses the SCIENCE paper by Dr. Miller, reporting that early river entry is threatening the survival of Fraser River sockeye and that this behaviour is limited to salmon carrying a specific genomic profile. This genomic profile is reported elsewhere to be related to salmon parvo virus. The salmon dying are carry a distinctive genomic profile indicating their immune systems are fighting a virus, not exhaustion. "Functional analysis raises the possibility that the mortality-related signature reflects a viral infection"

When the immune system profiles in the dying sockeye matched the characteristics of salmon leukemia Miller asked to test farm salmon, based on the DFO reporting that salmon leukemia was common in farm salmon on the Fraser sockeye migration route. Miller’s request was denied. Why?

If millions of Fraser salmon have been dying annually since 1994 from a virus amplified in salmon feedlots on the migration routes of the Fraser sockeye, the resulting lawsuits could be enormous. Millions of dollars and ecosystem viability and integrity have been lost with these precious salmon. What Miller discovered, was extremely uncomfortable for other scientists, government and the industry that raises farm salmon on the Fraser sockeye migration routes.

It is important to recognize that Justice Bruce Cohen recommended salmon farms cease to operate in a narrow section of the Fraser sockeye migration route unless DFO can show documented proof by 2020 that the farms are having less than minimal impact. (Cohen Final Report Recommendation #19)

Anonymous blogger says salmon farms take up very little space in even the narrowest channels

My response: This would be a valid point if they kept their pathogens inside those feedlots, but they don’t. Dr. Kyle Garver of DFO testified during Cohen, that during a viral outbreak a single salmon farm could produce 65 billion infectious viral particles an hour and the maps depicting this release filled the entire Fraser sockeye migration routes off Campbell River.

Harrison Sockeye do pass salmon farms

The science reports Harrison sockeye (the one run of Fraser sockeye that are increasing) have not been found swimming through the narrow channels off Campbell River, where Cohen recommends salmon farms cease to operate.

Anonymous blogger: points out that they do pass salmon farms sited in Puget Sound, WA.

My response: Yes, the Harrison sockeye do pass salmon farms as they round the southern tip of vancouver Island, but the farms are over 60km away.

Here’s the difference:
1 – the declining sockeye runs travel north past Campbell River and they pass right along several salmon feedlots in Okisollo Channel which is less than .5km in places.

2 – the healthy sockeye run passes salmon feedlots that are 60 km away, while swimming through the Strait of Juan de Fuca that is over 25 km wide at the point closest to the salmon feedlots.

The difference in the dilution is exponential, the number of virus particles per liter of water in Okisollo is going to be many, many times higher than in Strait of Juan de Fuca. To suggest the exposure is the same for both runs is weak argument.

Pink and Chum Salmon from the Fraser River are increasing since salmon farms

This statement needs a lot more detail, for example, where do these runs migrate, are they more or less susceptible to the pathogens in the salmon feedlots? When I wrote about the relationship between the decline of the Fraser sockeye and salmon farms, there were many factors – the two different migration routes and corresponding differences in survival, the mortality related genomic pattern in only the dying sockeye suggesting a virus that shared characteristics with a known farm salmon pathogen occurring in exactly the region of concern. And finally, DFO and industry’s refusal to allow Miller to examine farm salmon to see if there is a match. My point has always been that this situation needs an honest and forthright, scientific examination. It is good news the pink and chum salmon are thriving, but to throw out there in the face of other declines, that this means that salmon feedlots are not having critical impact on other salmon stocks is only a theory and an outlier given the response in wild salmon populations to the introduction of salmon farms around the world.

Miller’s paper did not pinpoint farm salmon

My response: Yes, it is true that Dr. Miller did not pinpoint the salmon farms as the source of the virus that appears to be killing vast numbers of Fraser sockeye, but she was not allowed to investigate this. Based on her findings, Miller requested the opportunity to test farm salmon, but this request was denied. DFO refused to allow her to look at the farm salmon, so she cannot report whether a virus from farm salmon is killing wild salmon or not.

Anonymous blogger links to a paper http://www.int-res.com/articles/dao/19/d019p147.pdf in an attempt to say salmon leukemia occurs naturally in wild salmon.

My response: Read the paper, it says wild salmon sampled in the same region as the infected farms were also infected with the same virus as the farm salmon. This does not inform us on whether it occurred naturally or not or whether those wild salmon were infected by the feedlot salmon.

AIDs and Salmon Leukemia

My response: they are indeed both retrovirus. Retroviruses are rare in salmon. Retroviruses are defined as “potent disease agents”, there are retroviruses that cause tumor growth and are linked to leukemia in other animals, such as cats http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrovirus

Anonymous blogger: makes the case that 100% of wild salmon exposed to salmon leukemia were not infected.

My response: All I can suggest is read the literature:

“Ten weeks after exposure, *Plasmacytoid leukemia was observed in all of the sockeye salmon and chinook salmon, on of ten Atlantic salmon and none of the rainbow trout” (Michael Kent and Sheila Dawe DFO, Experimental Transmission of Plasmacytoid Leukemia of Chinook salmon Cancer Research 50, 5679s-5681s)

DFO published in a Cancer Research journal that a leukemia causing virus was capable of moving from farmed chinook, into wild salmon, and they never asked the salmon farmers to cull those fish. When Dr. Miller DFO reported that it looked like the Fraser sockeye dying in the river before spawning, were fighting this virus, DFO prevented her from testing the farm salmon and prevented her from speaking to the media. These are the facts.

*Plasmacytoid leukemia is the disease, Salmon Leukemia virus it the pathogen and marine anemia is what the fish farmers called it.

DFO knew Salmon Leukemia was infecting wild salmon and did nothing

Here are some quotes.
“The results showed marine anemia to be widely distributed throughout the major salmon farming regions in BC... intensive aquaculture may have facilitated the emergence of marine anemia [the fish farmer name for salmon leukemia]” (Stephens et al 1996 Canadian Vet. Journal)

“Evidence supporting the hypothesis that marine anemia is a spreading, infectious, neoplastic disease [tumor-causing] could have profound regulatory effects on the salmon farming industry” (Stephen and Ribble 1995 Canadian Vet. Journal).

It would be interesting to know what “profound regulatory effects” Dr. Stephens had in mind, because there is no record of any such response to this epidemic.

Summary

I feel Salmon Confidential is a fair representation of a rapidly evolving situation as we knew it at the time of making the film. I have learned more about the viruses, since then and I am even more concerned as there is suggestion that they could be appearing in herring as well.

If any have further questions, I will do my best to answer them. Make a comment below, but know that I do not often answer people who hide behind fake names. It is very important that the debate about whether European viruses are spreading from Atlantic salmon feedlots into the Pacific and whether they are causing wild salmon populations to decline to be open and transparent.

I feel so strongly that Atlantic salmon infected with a viruses that all the evidence suggests is Norwegian and causes fish to weaken to the point they can't swim, should not be put in ocean net pens on the biggest wild salmon migration routes in BC, that I have personally filed a lawsuit against the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Harvest. This virus, PRV is noted as spreading like "wildfire."

I have put everything on the line because the science I am engaged in, the scientific community who are dealing with these viruses, the repressive nature of our current government and what I am seeing for myself in the wild salmon of BC all point to the need step up and separate wild and farm salmon immediately and that means, farm salmon must be removed from the ocean.

Stop infected farm salmon

On May 7, 2013, Ecojustice filed a lawsuit on my behalf against the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Harvest for the transfer of juvenile Atlantic salmon infected with the piscine reovirus (PRV) from their hatchery in Sayward into net pens on the Fraser sockeye migration route across from Port Hardy. Now we need your help.

While controversy exists around this virus and its relationship to a disease (HSMI) known to weaken salmon to the point they likely cannot reach their rivers (Garseth et al 2013), the scientific literature is making unusually strong warnings specifically about the virus found in Marine Harvest's fish and the associated disease (HSMI):

“it is urgent that measures be taken to control PRV … due to the potential for transmission to wild salmon populations.” (Palacios et al 2010)

“If the potential hosts are in close proximity, it goes through them like wildfire,” said Lipkin. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/07/salmon-disease-identified

Kristofferson et al 2013, recommends removing HSMI diseased salmon farms to stop the spread of the disease, which may spread 50km from a site.

These are unusually strong and consistent warnings for scientists to make. I think they should be heeded if we want wild salmon.

I am writing to ask if you would consider helping Ecojustice with their legal bills to argue this case. If we win, the salmon farming industry could no longer use EU virus-infected fish. In this long drawn out battle to protect wild salmon, this would be extremely significant to the wild salmon of the eastern Pacific. Most farm salmon are now infected with this virus. Reoviruses do infect humans, though it is unknown if piscine reovirus is capable of this.

If we don't remove PRV - infected Atlantic salmon we can expect to be eating it in wild and farm salmon and we will learn first hand whether it stops wild Pacific salmon from reaching their rivers. But if the answer is yes, it will be too late.

You can donate to Ecojustice please identify that your donation is for this lawsuit.

Or you can donate directly to me, and again identify that you want the funds to go to this.

I will be contacting you every month on specific actions you can take to protect and restore wild salmon to British Columbia. I met and was inspired by many of you on the Salmon Confidential tour.

We can do this! We are thousands strong. If you have any ideas please let me know. In closing, this quote is from a scientific paper on HSMI in farm salmon:

“At a time when humans are being encouraged to eat fish to help combat … coronary disease, it seems somewhat ironic the heart disease seems to be such a problem in the fish themselves.”(Ferguson et al 2005)

Putting diseased farm salmon in BC waters is not OK - going to court..again

On May 7, I launched a lawsuit against the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Harvest in the Federal Court of Canada for the illegal transfer of diseased Atlantic salmon into net pens on the Fraser sockeye migration route. The Minister appears to have acted without authority, exceeding his jurisdiction, when he gave Marine Harvest’s vet the final decision on whether diseased Atlantic salmon could go into the public waters of British Columbia.

 

FOR MEDIA: www.salmonconfidential.ca/lawsuit

In March 2013, Marine Harvest transferred ~500,000 Atlantic salmon smolts known to be infected with piscine reovirus from their Dalrymple hatchery into a net pen on the Fraser sockeye migration route across from Port Hardy.

The infected Atlantic smolts were poured into a boat from the freshwater hatchery on land and transported out to the ocean net pens.

For ten years scientists in Norway could not figure out why farm salmon were increasing dying of a heart disease they called Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation (HSMI).

Scientists reported that Atlantic farm salmon with HSMI lay on the bottom of the pens, on their sides, their hearts so “soft” and “flabby” the fish were unable to swim. They warned that "biosecurity" was important to try and stop it from spreading, but clearly they failed, because the disease has spread throughout the coast of Norway.

“At a time when humans are being encouraged to eat fish to help combat a range of conditions including coronary disease, it seems somewhat ironic that heart disease seems to be such a problem in the fish themselves.” (Ferguson et al. 2005)

When 19 scientists, from Norway and the US, co-authored a paper in 2010 identifying the piscine reovirus as the most likely cause of this disease, HSMI had spread to over 400 farms in Norway. The 19 scientists issued very a clear warning that piscine reovirus must be contained to protect wild salmon.

“it is urgent that measures be taken to control PRV … due to the potential for transmission to wild salmon populations” (Palacios et al. 2010) In a popularized version of this paper one of the authors states: “If the potential hosts are in close proximity, it goes through them like wildfire,” said Lipkin. Science Wired.

Piscine reovirus in BC Atlantic farm salmon
As a participant in the Cohen Commission into the Decline of the Fraser Sockeye I had access to the provincial feedlot salmon health records. Although piscine reovirus was never mentioned during this inquiry, I read the provincial vet, Dr. Gary Marty’s report of HSMI-like symptoms in Mainstream salmon in 2008.

“This pattern of inflammation has also been described with Heart and Muscle Inflammation in Atlantic salmon reared in Europe, but this disease has not been identified in BC salmon.” (08/29/08, AHC Case:08-3362 Download HSMI case #08-3362 copy.pdf (1761.0K), page 2 3rd paragraph from bottom)

I decided to check whether Dr. Marty's observations meant piscine reovirus had reached BC in the millions of Atlantic salmon eggs brought into BC by salmon farmers. I took samples of BC farm salmon sold in BC supermarkets, sent them to two labs and found piscine reovirus was not only in BC – it was common in farm salmon raised here!

Atlantic salmon from Vancouver supermarket with PRV

After, I released my results on PRV, Dr. Gary Marty responded in the media that he had too found this virus in 75% of BC farm salmon. He told us it was not in wild salmon.

In 2008, Dr. Marty took samples of wild juvenile salmon caught between Knight and Kingcome Inlets and tested them for piscine reovirus in 2010. In this paper he reports all tests were negative negative. (Saksida et al 2012)

I went back to the same area in 2011, sampled juvenile young wild salmon swimming past the Marine Harvest's salmon feedlots in Tribune Channel and Fife Sound. Those fish tested positive for piscine reovirus. It was heart-breaking to find this Norwegian virus in the salmon of the area that I call home. These were the salmon populations that had launched my 20 year battle to protect wild salmon from salmon feedlots. If there was no piscine reovirus in 2008, but it was present in 2011, one has to ask, is it spreading like “wildfire” as scientists working with the virus had warned?

DFO is completely out of the loop and denies piscine reovirus is in BC. Shameful given the resources and expertise in that organization.

“Government of Canada scientists have not confirmed the presence of this virus in Canadian fish, despite extensive monitoring and testing," he said.”

DFO is no longer believable, denial is their only response to Atlantic salmon viruses in BC waters and this lawsuit is to stop them from allowing private Norwegian companies from putting diseased salmon into ocean pens. The NDP Party in BC is in the middle of a campaign to be elected and keep saying they want to work with DFO towards a sustainable aquaculture industry - this does not bode well for any who need or want wild salmon to thrive.

Most disturbingly, a 2013 Norwegian paper suggests wild salmon infected with this virus may not have the energy to swim home to their rivers. What kind of insanity is this? Why would DFO take such risks with a resource as precious as wild salmon? (Garseth et al. 2013)

Salmon have to be supreme athletes to survive, they cannot tolerate heart disease

Considering that the Pacific Salmon Commission reports that up to 90% of the Fraser sockeye that enter the lower Fraser River, don’t make it up river past the rapids, this fish farm virus should have been closely examined by the Cohen Commission. But government scientists kept their mouths shut. (Lapointe et al. 2003)

When the BC government farm salmon vet found an exotic virus known to spread rapidly, that weakens salmon to the point they may not be able to reach their rivers, in the majority of the Atlantic farm salmon on the migration route of BC’s biggest run on wild salmon which are mysteriously unable to swim upriver - this should have triggered an immediate critical evaluation of the situation by DFO.

There should have been extensive screening of all the salmon feedlots, farm and enhancement hatcheries and of the salmon dying in the rivers just before spawning. Fisheries and Ocean Canada should have tested Pacific wild salmon to find out how this virus impacts them. Dr. Kristi Miller should have been tasked to inform this critical situation by reading the immune systems of infected fish using the powerful technique called “genomic profiling.” She could tell us if this virus is destroying the hearts of wild salmon.

But instead the detection of this Norwegian virus was kept completely silent, not even the Cohen Commission was informed. When I released my results DFO denied it exists and the Provincial vet argued it is not a problem. The Pacific Foundation , Sport Fishing Institute , the Steelhead Society the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC – all remained mute. Apparently it is OK with everyone to just let this happen despite all the warnings. I cannot believe NO ONE responded! If you are a member of one of these organizations, perhaps you could support them in stepping up to acknowledge and deal with this situation. The only reason this has been allowed to happen is because everyone is complicit with their silence. This recent article in the New York Times seeks to ridicule my efforts and so the damage continues. Not many want risk public humiliation and so Marine Harvest and the others just keep getting away with what they can to serve their shareholders as they are mandated to do. They can say and do as they like.

GRIEG SEAFOODS PRETENDS THAT EATING THEIR FARM SALMON SAVES WILD SALMON

I don’t have any reason to believe this is an isolated event, I think infected farm salmon are common. The difference was this time I was tipped off that ~500,000 Atlantic salmon smolts had tested positive for the virus, before entering the ocean. I tried to stop these fish from entering the ocean, but was ignored. DFO did not even answer my letters.

Marine Harvest is very familiar with the potential for this disease to kill salmon as they list it as the second largest "cause of mortality" of their farm salmon in the world.

Screen shot from Marine Harvest ANNUAL REPORT 2012

British Columbia is the 2nd biggest region for losses for Marine Harvest.

Screen shot from Marine Harvest ANNUAL REPORT 2012 (note MH's only Canadian feedlots were in BC in 2012)

Is Marine Harvest losing salmon in BC to heart failure? Anyone out there know, and brave enough to talk about this?

Everyone is afraid to stand up to these Norwegian companies using BC waters to raise “their” fish and this is why I am taking the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Harvest to court with Ecojustice. I don't think it is OK, I don't want all of us have to eat wild fish infected with farm salmon viruses and to risk losing wild salmon.

The Law

This is a Judicial Review of the federal aquaculture license granted to fish farmers to transfer infected Atlantic salmon from their freshwater hatcheries into their marine net pen sites. We are challenging the notion that the Minister of Fisheries has the authority to disregard the law under the Fisheries Act, put diseased farm salmon in ocean feedlots and allow that disease to infect wild salmon.

Specifically Section 56 of the Fishery (General) Regulations states that the Minister may not issue a licence to transfer fish that have: “any disease or disease agent that may be harmful to the protection and conservation of fish”

Similarly, the federal Finfish Aquaculture Licence issued to each farm salmon states:

“The licence holder has obtained written and signed confirmation, executed by the source facility’s veterinarian or fish health staff, that, in their professional judgement:

(i) mortalities, excluding eggs, in any stock reared at the source facility have not exceeded 1% per day due to any infectious diseases, for any four consecutive day period during the rearing period;
(ii) the stock to be moved from the source facility shows no signs of clinical disease requiring treatment; and
(iii) no stock at the source facility is known to have had any diseases listed in Appendix IV; or
(iv) where conditions 3.1 (b)(i) and/or 3(b)(iii) cannot be met transfer may still occur if the facility veterinarian has conducted a risk assessment of facility fish health records, review of diagnostic reports, evaluation of stock compartmentalization, and related biosecurity measures and deemed the transfer to be low risk.

Schedule IV diseases include: “Any other filterable agent either causing cytopathic effects in tissue culture or is associated with identifiable clinical disease in fish.”

Definition of filterable agent: a former name for bacteriophage, virus, or other submicroscopic noncellular microorganism. (Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry)

So this newly minted aquaculture licence states that a fish farm company is not allowed to put diseased fish into ocean net pens unless the company vet says it is "low risk". It does not even bother to say - low risk to whom? Wild salmon? The people who depend on wild salmon? The whales, bears, eagles, sea lions, forests and everything that lives in those forests?

HSMI is an identifiable disease and piscine reovirus is filterable agent associated with it. The scientific community tracking it as it spread through Norway has warned us that it spreads like "wildfire" (see last sentence of this article).

Proceedings
This legal proceeding is going to be slow, because this is Federal Court. If I win, I might be able to move forward with getting an injunction to remove these diseased fish from the biggest wild salmon migration route in BC the water at some point in the future - months from now. In the meantime, the young wild salmon pouring out of the rivers of eastern Vancouver Island, the Fraser River and Knight and Kingcome Inlets right now are being exposed to these diseased feedlot salmon, to a virus that spreads like wildfire. Then the adult salmon that return to BC this fall will be exposed to this feedlot, and many others, and so will potentially carry the virus into the nursery lakes and rivers throughout BC as they attempt to swim upriver to spawn. Juvenile salmon rearing in those lakes will be exposed to Norwegian feedlot piscine reovirus and the virus will have the opportunity to spread like wildfire in these lakes. The infected salmon feedlots are far away from these lakes and so the people who depend on these salmon have no idea of the disease transaction that took place. While British Columbians risk all, European shareholders might profit from this situation, if these diseased Atlantic salmon live long enough to be harvested in 18-24 months. The public who fish wild salmon exposed to this feedlot get to eat the virus, in the wild salmon.

While this case is federal, the provincial government holds the Licence of Occupation for this salmon feedlot - a lease agreement that rents them the seafloor below the pens so Marine Harvest can drop anchors to hold this diseased facility on the Fraser sockeye migration route. The Province of BC could terminate these agreement in 60 days with no compensation to the company, if it was in the public interest.

If you are interested, let your provincial candidates know right now! Then let the new Provincial government know.

Meanwhile:

Thank you to Jeff Jones, who helped me understand the law pertaining to the transfer of these diseased Atlantic salmon

Thank you to Greg McDade for his wise counsel

Thank you to Erling Olsen for making the first contribution to my legal bills

Thank you to Ecojustice for working so hard to launch this.

Thank you for standing with the wild salmon, I hope we can make a difference to the wild salmon of British Columbia.

If you want to help pay the legal bill to stand up to Marine Harvest and the Minister of Fisheries you can do so here

Dear Candidates, don't hide behind me stand up for wild salmon - the people will love you!

NEW YORK TIMES - MAY 2, 2013

 

SIGN THE PETITION ASKING BC POLITICAL PARTIES TO GET SALMON FEEDLOTS OUT OF WILD SALMON MIGRATION ROUTES

BREAKING NEWS! NDP BREAKING RANKS TO STAND UP FOR WILD SALMON.

"Simons drew the first applause of the evening in responding to a question about protecting wild salmon".

“With the salmon farm circumstances, we know that there is enough science to tell us that the migratory routes should be free of fish farms because of the danger they pose,” he said.

http://www.coastreporter.net/article/20130503/SECHELT0101/305039962/-1/sechelt/candidates-illustrate-differences-in-party-platforms

If you want government to protect wild salmon from salmon feedlots - you can comment on this article at the link above and you can "like" it. The candidates need to hear from you on this, wild salmon need you to speak up right now, because the province of BC holds the key, they can terminate salmon feedlots one by one with 60 days notice, no compensation to the companies, and transition the few workers that are in the industry if it is in the public interest. The candidates need to know if you are interested.