BC Salmon Farmers Association Statement on PRV Study
BCSFA, July 16, 2013
A new study led by an anti-farming activist has been published in the Virology Journal which tested for Piscine Reovirus in various samples of wild and farm-raised fish. While the study is interesting in that it attempts to compare BC and Norwegian viral strains, the quality and number of samples used is quite low which means some of the conclusions reached are questionable. As well, the press release issued along with the study makes false claims about what was actually found in the study. It is clear that the purpose of this press release is to mislead the public or to attract attention to her new litigation against the DFO.
“We want to ensure that the public has the correct information,” said Mary Ellen Walling, Executive Director of the BCSFA. “We feel that information that purposefully misrepresents the findings of a study needs to be corrected. First, it is important to note that the study itself showed no evidence that the fish sampled had any disease related to PRV.”
The following are corrections on statements made in the press release:
“Piscine reovirus (PRV) was identified in 2010 as the causative agent of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) in Norway”
In fact, the conclusions in the 2010 paper actually said that the relationship is plausible, not conclusive.
The co-authors show that piscine reovirus is in BC and it came from Norway”
In fact, the conclusions of the study are not that strong. The new paper actually says “the Canadian PRV strains are most similar to the Norwegian PRV strains” and “our work suggests PRV entered both Chile and western Canada recently”
“The newly published paper reports piscine reovirus entered British Columbia from Norway in 2007 ± 1 year”
Again, the conclusions are not that strong. In fact, the paper says “Thus, we believe the most likely time when Canadian isolates diverged from Norwegian isolates was between 2006 and 2008, i.e., around 2007 ± 1.” As well, the authors of the study provide no data from farm fish before 2006 to support this belief.
“The Province of British Columbia does not accept that PRV causes HSMI. There is no published research supporting the province’s theory.”
In fact, there is no published research that HSMI occurs in BC – including in this new study.
It is also worth noting that this work was supported by a laboratory which recently lost its OIE reference status because of problems with the accuracy of the diagnosis it was reporting.
The BCSFA represents salmon farm companies and those who supply services and supplies to the industry. Salmon-farming provides for 6,000 direct and indirect jobs while contributing $800-million to the provincial economy each year.
For more information visit www.salmonfarmers.org
