Grigg column contained inaccurate information
Mary Ellen Walling, Courier-Islander, Friday, July 22, 2011
Mr. Grigg's column of the July 15 regarding ISAv and claims by campaigners is an example of incomplete information being used to create fear and uncertainty.
He spends hundreds of words to create circumstance - but here's the reality. Despite thousands of fish being sampled and tested in BC each year, ISA has not been found here. This is extremely important to our salmon farmers, who want to see their fish and the environment they operate in remain healthy.
Because it is so important to them, there are many operational policies in place to prevent and monitor for any incidences of foreign diseases.
The importation of salmon material has been seriously restricted by local farmers who have developed their own broodstock programs on their own accord. The small percentage of eggs that are imported are under strict regulations: including limiting sources to countries that have never seen ISA, as well as quarantine and testing programs before they're ever used.
Fish on our farms are monitored constantly and tested regularly. That includes the follow-up testing of any of the few fish that die on site as well. The bottom line is that - as has been reported publicly for many years - our fish are healthy with very low mortalities. As farmers dependent on harvest, having healthy fish will always be a priority to us.
Making sure that all information is available to readers in a balanced and intelligent manner is important when you're dealing with complex scientific topics such as this one. We're hopeful that the Cohen Commission will enable just that - encouraging public debate in a way that presents the information rationally and evenly.
For those who would like a more rounded view of this topic, here's some more information: http: //www.salmonfarmers.org./respondingintrafishscanbcremainisafree-zone.
Mary Ellen Walling
Executive Director BC Salmon Farmers Association
RESPONDING TO INTRAFISH'S "CAN BC REMAIN AN ISA-FREE ZONE?"
BCSFA, January 26, 2009
With outbreaks of ISA – infectious salmon anaemia – detected in Chile and most recently in Scotland, ISA is a Hot Topic.
Infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) was first detected in the 1980s. The USDA describes the virus as similar to flu, and like the flu, there is not currently a cure for ISA. Although it is a serious disease for the affected salmon:
- ISA has no human impacts
- ISA poses no food safety concerns
British Columbia Actions
British Columbia has NEVER detected ISA in farmed salmon. We know this because the salmon are routinely monitored for viruses. And we are working hard to keep it that way. Other measures have been put in place to help avoid accidental introduction of ISA in BC. Specific actions that help protect our farmed fish from ISA include:
- The salmon industry does not import live fish including broodstock into the province. This reduces the risk of introducing the disease to BC.
- In BC, we have an Atlantic salmon import policy which has been in effect since 1992 which only permits the importation of eggs. This is a federally regulated policy.
- All imports must comply with the Fish Health Protection Regulation managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- No eggs are being imported from regions of the world where ISA is endemic. The last import of eggs was from Iceland in November 2007 and November 2008. Iceland is free of ISA.
- All imported eggs are surface disinfected and tested at the hatchery of origin and when they arrive in BC are quarantined and monitored for 5 months. The fish continue to be tracked until they are ready to transfer to a saltwater site as smolt at which time they are tested again.
In BC we also have:
- An established biosecurity program to prevent disease introduction and spread
- A high degree of cooperation between producing companies
- Government inspectors screen for ISA under the BC government’s Fish Health Audit and Surveillance Program. Click here to read more: http://www.al.gov.bc.ca/ahc/fish_health/fhasp.htm
- BC salmon farmers operate in the most stringently regulated jurisdiction of any salmon producing nation. Siting regulations mandate clean operating conditions on the farms and farms cannot be sited within one kilometre of each other: this separation reduces the risk of the virus developing or spreading.
For more information, see the Federal Provincial Introductions and Transfer Committee:
http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/intro_trans/transfers_e.htm
