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[chris gadsden]

Please find enclosed a press update including:

 

"Salmon virus reports prompt federal review" (CBC News, 21st November): http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2011/11/21/pei-salmon-virus-federal-review-584.html

 

"Salmon industry to recover pre-ISA levels within 3 years" (Fish Farming Xpert, 21st November): http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?page_id=76&article_id=93136

 

"Researchers find ISA clues: New clues could help design treatment for the deadly salmon virus" (Intrafish, 21st November): http://www.intrafish.com/global/news/article1261569.ece#

 

"Recall on batch of Bleiker's Oak Smoked Salmon" (Fish Update, 21st November): http://www.fishupdate.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/16596/Recall_on_batch_of_Bleiker_s_Oak_Smoked_Salmon.html

 

"Grave concerns at salmon farm proposal speed" (Marlborough Express, 21st November): http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/6004182/Grave-concerns-at-salmon-farm-proposal-speed

 

"Beauty-spot lochs contaminated by toxic chemicals" (The Sunday Herald, 20th November): http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/transport-environment/beauty-spot-lochs-contaminated-by-toxic-chemicals-1.1135842

 

"Community aquaculture dialogue slated for St. Mary’s Bay" (Responsible Aquaculture, 20th November): http://responsibleaquaculture.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/community-aquaculture-dialogue-slated-for-st-marys-bay/

 

"Scotland’s fish farming: concept to reality" (For Argyll, 20th November): http://forargyll.com/2011/11/scotlands-fish-farming-concept-to-reality/

 

"A dirty industry indeed?" (ReLAKSation, 19th November): http://www.callandermcdowell.co.uk/relaks530.html

 

"Pleading Guilty: "By their deeds shall ye know them"" (The Courier-Islander, 18th November): http://www2.canada.com/courierislander/news/story.html?id=345dc415-53fb-41fb-8dc2-18c06116e485

 

"Marine Harvest has no expansion plans until 2013" (FIS, 18th November): http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?l=e&country=0&special=aquaculture&monthyear=&day=&id=47741&ndb=1&df=0

 

"Can we on the North Island help stop mismanagement?" (The Courier-Islander, 18th November): http://www.canada.com/North+Island+help+stop+mismanagement/5730581/story.html  

 

"Urgent Action: Protect Wild Salmon by immediately addressing the ISAv threat!" (Georgia Strait Alliance, 18th November): http://www.georgiastrait.org/urgent-action-message-form.php?urgent=salmon_anemia

 

"Measures to control sea louse" (FIS, 18th November): http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?l=e&country=0&special=&monthyear=&day=&id=47766&ndb=1&df=0

 

"International focus on sea lice held in Edinburgh" (Fish News EU, 18th November): http://www.fishnewseu.com/latest-news/scottish/7095-international-focus-on-sea-lice-held-in-edinburgh-.html

 

"Scottish salmon production hits six-year high" (BBC News, 18th November): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-15793875

 

"Deep Sea Salmon Farming To Meet Demand" (The Fish Site, 18th November): http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/15948/deep-sea-salmon-farming-to-meet-demand  

 

"Greens fight fish farming bill" (Fish Farming Xpert, 18th November): http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?page_id=76&article_id=93125

 

"Legislation to investigate ISA nears approval" (Seafood Source, 18th November): http://www.seafoodsource.com/newsarticledetail.aspx?id=12964

 

"Is BC an ISA virus suspect area?" (Alexandra Morton, 17th November): http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/alexandra_morton/2011/11/is-bc-and-isa-virus-suspect-area.html

 

"Can wild salmon coexist with farmed?" (Seafood Source, 17th November): http://www.seafoodsource.com/newsarticledetail.aspx?id=12947

 

"Another two fish farm escapes this autumn" (Fish Farming Xpert, 17th November): http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?page_id=76&article_id=93098

 

"The dark side" (Terrace Standard, 17th November): http://www.terracestandard.com/sports/134081443.html

 

"That Salmon Sushi Roll Might Have a Big Hidden Price Tag: View" (Bloomberg/Business Week, 16th November): http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-17/that-salmon-sushi-roll-might-have-a-big-hidden-price-tag-view.html

 

"New findings of the Cohen Commission: Full, free investigation needed" (Lillooet News, 16th November): http://www.lillooetnews.net/article/20111116/LILLOOET0602/311169992/-1/LILLOOET/new-findings-of-the-cohen-commission

 

"Canadian fish farmers get lift from government" (Seafood Source, 16th November): http://www.seafoodsource.com/newsarticledetail.aspx?id=12934

 

"Cooke officials charged by Environment Canada: Officials to appear in court on December 13" (The Coaster, 16th November): http://www.thecoaster.ca/News/2011-11-16/article-2806265/Cooke-officials-charged-by-Environment-Canada/1  

 

"Begich to Meet with AquaBounty Over GM Salmon" (KMXT, 16th November): http://www.kmxt.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3302&Itemid=2

 

"Wild, farm salmon don't mix" (Terrace Standard, 16th November): http://www.terracestandard.com/opinion/letters/133717123.html
 

 

Including from Ray Grigg in The Courier-Islander:

 

"When charges were laid and the evidence was so damning, why did Marine Harvest initially plead innocence? How does such a plea reflect on its attitude to the law, to the marine environment in which it operates its open net-pens, and to its role as a responsible corporate citizen? If Marine Harvest is capable of flagrant violations of the law and of denying obvious guilt, what other regulations is it capable of neglecting, disregarding or bending to its advantage? Does it perceive itself to be a law unto itself, a corporate body that is responsible only to its shareholders but not to the country or environment that host it?"

 

From The Coaster:

 

"To say that Tuesday, November 1 was a bad day for Glenn Cooke and two other key Cooke Aquaculture officials would probably be a definite understatement.  Cooke, the CEO of Cooke Aquaculture; Mike Szemerda, the Vice President of Cooke Aquaculture, and Randal Griffin, Regional Production Manager of Kelly Cove Salmon were each charged, by Environment Canada (EC), with 11 counts for allegedly violating Section 36 (3) of the Fisheries Act"

 

Nell Halse, VP of communications for Cooke Aquaculture, said that the matter has been a dark cloud hanging over Cooke Aquaculture and the entire aquaculture industry for the past two years.

 

“It’s been a very difficult time for the company and the individuals involved because we take a lot of pride in all the good things that have happened over the last couple of years in the environment, especially our third party certification and our eco label.  We have also built up a good reputation in the communities where we operate. So, this is certainly not a good time for us, people are quite devastated by this, but we cooperated fully with the EC investigation over the past two years."

 

From Van Andruss writing in Lillooet News:

 

"Significantly, the Cohen Commission has extended formal session to hear evidence on the anemia virus in wild salmon, scheduling a two-day hearing for mid-December. US scientists have been alerted to initiate their own inquiry, not waiting on a sluggish Canadian government to respond.  As Alexandra Morton says, at least someone needs to be free to look at this!"

 

And from Alexandra Morton writing to the World Organization for Animal Health:

 

"Can you advise on what exact steps we should take to better understand if ISA virus is in BC waters and how we can best protect this region from the type of epizootic that occurred in Chile? I feel there is a valid urgency to address whether preventative measures should be initiated. Reports on the Chilean experience where some people thought ISA virus was present, but it was not confirmed and then became a serious epidemic serve as a warning."

 

 

Note that the Cohen Commission in Canada will convene a two-day hearing in mid-December to hear evidence on ISA – no date has been announced yet (details online here).  And note: "The commission has reopened public submissions until the end of added evidentiary hearings to deal with new information on disease testing. Submission will now close at 5 pm PT on the last date of those added hearings in December 2011": http://www.cohencommission.ca/en/submissions/PublicSubmissions.php  

 

Read the official reports from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on the second case of ISA in coho salmon in the Fraser River - online here

 

Read the report from the OIE Reference Laboratory on the positive samples in Fraser River chinook and chum – online here

 

Read the first official report of the European strain of ISA in sockeye salmon in Rivers Inlet on the Central Coast online here

 

Read "Positively Negative - How the CFIA Failed to Defuse ISA in BC".

 

For more background on the global spread of ISA read "ISA: Diary of Disease Disaster" and "Fish Farmageddon: The Infectious Salmon Aquacalypse" – online via:  http://www.wildsalmonfirst.org/fish-farmageddon-infectious-salmon-aquacalypse

 

 

Best fishes,

 

Don

 

 

[chris gadsden]

 Government agencies failing to protect wild salmon
  By Ruby Berry, Vancouver Sun November 22, 2011   Recent reports of the presence of the deadly ISA virus in B.C. wild salmon seem to have alarmed everyone except those meant to be taking care of the wild salmon.

Rather than taking immediate measures to determine the extent of this threat, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency leaped to discredit the findings and assure international markets that all is well in Canadian waters. Unfortunately, their claim rests on inconclusive evidence and degraded samples.

Instead of launching an emergency investigation into this potential disaster, the federal government has announced a million dollar grant to the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance for international advertising. It appears that the health of B.C. waters, and the wild salmon is not the priority of the federal government after all.

Ruby Berry Georgia Strait Alliance, Nanaimo


Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Government+agencies+failing+protect+wild+salmon/5748331/story.html#ixzz1eRndk2KD

[Sandy]

This is my main concern. You would think that DFO and CFIA would have at least made some token announcment, but instead, their PR handlers get their collective jollies by siding with The Fish Farm industry AND reward them as well. They wonder why they are not trusted?

Its all about being impartial, that's all they have to do to gain our respect, or most of us at least. Industry is just that ,they will try to get away with whatever they can, you cannot blame them for that. As for the virus? Industry should not even have any say. The Government Agencies are the ones who are responsible for investigation and reporting to WE the public their findings in a reasonable and impartial timeframe.

Boils down to trust!

[StillAqua]

Its all about being impartial, that's all they have to do to gain our respect, or most of us at least. Industry is just that ,they will try to get away with whatever they can, you cannot blame them for that. As for the virus? Industry should not even have any say. The Government Agencies are the ones who are responsible for investigation and reporting to WE the public their findings in a reasonable and impartial timeframe.

We just have to let CFIA do their thing. It takes time to do the proper science. They have no vested interest in fish farms and they shut down businesses all the time for food pathogen problems. I would imagine one problem is that there aren't many wild salmon around to sample right now. We'll get an update at the Cohen Commission in December.

[chris gadsden]

Salmon virus is not the problem that some claim
  By Mary Ellen Walling, The Daily News November 23, 2011   Re: 'Ottawa failing to act as required on ISA problem' (Your Letters, Nov. 22)

It's unfortunate that Ruby Berry at the Georgia Strait Alliance hasn't updated her information on the work that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are doing to follow up on two inconclusive tests for ISA in British Columbia widely publicized by Simon Fraser University.

Contrary to what she says, significant follow-up testing has taken place showing that these samples were in fact, negative for ISA. Further testing was done on other samples as well, all proving negative. Some samples collected as part of the follow up investigation were too degraded to be tested - but many were not, and the testing has shown that those initial results were in fact, false.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, along with the DFO is now, as a result, also reviewing sampling programs to ensure that their monitoring is robust and accurate.

Our farmers are continuing their sampling program as well - a program that has tested nearly 5,000 fish, and found no ISA in British Columbia salmon farms.

Mary Ellen Walling Executive Director B.C. Salmon Farmers Association

[chris gadsden]

Received today.

See http://alexandramorton.typepad.com for my response to the Minister of Fisheries' letter to me this morning regarding the ISA virus

Cohen Inquiry has reopened their website for comments from the public and are reopening on ISA virus Dec 15, 16 http://www.cohencommission.ca

[StillAqua]

Received today.

See http://alexandramorton.typepad.com for my response to the Minister of Fisheries' letter to me this morning regarding the ISA virus

This is the kind of stuff that turned me off Alex Morton's rhetoric.

So the Norwegian lab says with regard to the additional samples Alex sent them for ISA testing: "Based on my experience with both assays a reasonable answer to this question is that we are not detecting any of the known ISA viruses from Europe (or from eastern North America)."

But Alex interprets that in her reply to the DFO Minister as: "Yesterday I received yet another set of positive ISAv results for salmon of the Fraser River".

No you didn't Alex...the Norwegian lab is saying the test is giving false positives.

[shuswapsteve]

This is my main concern. You would think that DFO and CFIA would have at least made some token announcment, but instead, their PR handlers get their collective jollies by siding with The Fish Farm industry AND reward them as well. They wonder why they are not trusted?

Its all about being impartial, that's all they have to do to gain our respect, or most of us at least. Industry is just that ,they will try to get away with whatever they can, you cannot blame them for that. As for the virus? Industry should not even have any say. The Government Agencies are the ones who are responsible for investigation and reporting to WE the public their findings in a reasonable and impartial timeframe.

Boils down to trust!

Boils down to trust?  That's amazing.  Well how much trust do you put into people that hold a news conference and announce that ISA is present in BC waters and call for an end to open net pen aquaculture, but admit a month later that they were not surprised by the DFO/CFIA results?  These people present at the announcement go on to say, a month later, that more rigorous protocols are needed and that perhaps the preservation techniques used were not sufficient.  However, these samples were sufficient enough for an announcement back in October.  We later find out that many of the samples yielded inconclusive results because they were too poorly preserved by these “trusted people”.  Lastly, we also find out that Dr. Fred Kibenge, the director of the Atlantic Veterinary College (the one who received the original samples), told Dr. Routledge that the results were not conclusive and that further testing was needed to confirm if ISA was present.  He said that his lab has no control over how a client uses test results once they have been released to them.  Yes, very trustworthy people indeed.

It was the CFIA and DFO that retested the samples – not the aquaculture industry.  These results were posted on the CFIA website and in the media.   Those original samples were also retested in Norway (independently) by Dr. Nylund.  The federal government is now reviewing the whole process which includes the handling and preservation of samples and the testing procedures at AVC and in the DFO lab in Moncton.  That is the responsible thing to do.  On the other side of the coin, you have people that only wish to rush to judgement and are not that concerned with providing you with reliable and defensible information.  Perhaps the people from that announcement at SFU back in October might want to do their own review and sole searching.

[alwaysfishn]

Boils down to trust?  That's amazing.  Well how much trust do you put into people that hold a news conference and announce that ISA is present in BC waters and call for an end to open net pen aquaculture, but admit a month later that they were not surprised by the DFO/CFIA results?  These people present at the announcement go on to say, a month later, that more rigorous protocols are needed and that perhaps the preservation techniques used were not sufficient.  However, these samples were sufficient enough for an announcement back in October.  We later find out that many of the samples yielded inconclusive results because they were too poorly preserved by these “trusted people”.  Lastly, we also find out that Dr. Fred Kibenge, the director of the Atlantic Veterinary College (the one who received the original samples), told Dr. Routledge that the results were not conclusive and that further testing was needed to confirm if ISA was present.  He said that his lab has no control over how a client uses test results once they have been released to them.  Yes, very trustworthy people indeed.

It was the CFIA and DFO that retested the samples – not the aquaculture industry.  These results were posted on the CFIA website and in the media.   Those original samples were also retested in Norway (independently) by Dr. Nylund.  The federal government is now reviewing the whole process which includes the handling and preservation of samples and the testing procedures at AVC and in the DFO lab in Moncton.  That is the responsible thing to do.  On the other side of the coin, you have people that only wish to rush to judgement and are not that concerned with providing you with reliable and defensible information.  Perhaps the people from that announcement at SFU back in October might want to do their own review and sole searching.

Great job on informing us on how to assess if people are trustworthy......   However the point you forgot to mention is how the same folks that are are saying that ISA doesn't exist, are the same people that are associated with a government and an industry that is determined to expand fish farming.

Things like sea lice, ISA, pollution and other potential harms to wild salmon are a reality and because they are either difficult or impossible to control, the next best tact is to explain them away.  In their enthusiasm to convince the public that there isn't a problem, could they perhaps be withholding some information, or misrepresenting facts??  

Many of us believe a better way to measure the trustworthiness of someone is to first evaluate their primary objective in life. DFO/government and the fish farming industry want to expand fish farming....   Alexandra Morton only wants to ensure the survival of the wild salmon.

[Bassonator]

Received today.

See http://alexandramorton.typepad.com for my response to the Minister of Fisheries' letter to me this morning regarding the ISA virus

Cohen Inquiry has reopened their website for comments from the public and are reopening on ISA virus Dec 15, 16 http://www.cohencommission.ca

I hear Ms Morton is a shoe in for this years Joseph Goebbels Award for constructive journalism. 

[StillAqua]

......   However the point you forgot to mention is how the same folks that are are saying that ISA doesn't exist, are the same people that are associated with a government and an industry that is determined to expand fish farming. ....... In their enthusiasm to convince the public that there isn't a problem, could they perhaps be withholding some information, or misrepresenting facts??  

Can't argue with a conspiracy theory......can't disprove it either.

[Dave]

Someone please bring me up to speed as to which conspiracy theory we are discussing now.  Sorry, there have been so many I lose track

[chris gadsden]

Rafe and Damien talk about fish farms and wild salmon.

http://thecanadian.org/k2-video/item/976-rafe-damien-evotv-part-2

[Every Day]

Someone please bring me up to speed as to which conspiracy theory we are discussing now.  Sorry, there have been so many I lose track

Im lost too   
It'll all subside and disappear soon enough... only until they find something else they think is wrong though...

[alwaysfishn]

Im lost too   
It'll all subside and disappear soon enough... only until they find something else they think is wrong though...

..... or until the wild salmon are all gone.