Mr. Smith, There is no Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) virus in the waters of British Columbia
Positive Aquaculture Awareness, March 6, 2012
In his long winded, conspiracy laden, rant to Keith Ashfield (Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada) and the Gerry Ritz (Minister of Agriculture Canada), letter writer Gaye Smith doesn’t seem to be able to take “no” for an answer. That is, “there is no Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) virus in the waters of British Columbia”.
Despite the fact Mr. Smith can’t get his names straight (‘Gary’ Ritz) or acronyms right (‘ASI’) he says he understands “basic biological science”. That is, he says, BC farms Atlantic salmon and Atlantic salmon have been known to host ISA in other parts of the world, therefore BC must have ISA and it must have come from farmed Atlantic salmon.
So, even though 7000+ farmed Atlantic salmon have tested negative for the virus over the past decade, and even though not one wild salmon has tested positive for the virus, and even though the Atlantic salmon was introduced to the Northwest Pacific Ocean a hundred years ago (70 years before salmon farming started in Washington state and BC), Mr. Smith is sure he knows it’s here and where it came from. Really?
As Chair of the now defunct Temagami Stewardship Council (TSC) in Ontario, Mr. Smith has worked hard to protect the Temagami watershed and, in his words, “had accomplished an amazing resume”. Good for him and we applaud the hard work of watershed stewards around the globe.
Perhaps Mr. Smith can apply that same energy he afforded the Temagami Stewardship Council and apply some critical thinking that would help him understand more about the facts regarding ISA and about salmon farming in British Columbia.
