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[aquapaloosa]

Morton’s latest error: dishonesty or ignorance?

http://salmonfarmscience.com/2012/06/26/mortons-latest-error-dishonesty-or-ignorance/

[Easywater]

So, she used a picture from the Internet to make her point - you can't refute the facts outlined that the disease is affecting salmon.

From the Q1 profit statement for the company in question "Marine Harvest":

"For Marine Harvest Canada, the 2011 profit was affected by exceptional customer
claims and discards at harvesting totalling NOK 67.7 million due to the parasite Kudoa thyrsites.

They are admitting right in their company information that they are having a major problem with this disease.
About C$11 million in farmed Atlantic salmon had to be discarded because of it.

As well, we are not sure that she had the wrong pic.
At the bottom of the Wiki post, it says "Probably Henneguya zschokkei" - it may or may not be kudoa.

More bad news:
"in their first quarter report, 2012, Marine Harvest suggests there will be no dividend paid to shareholders this year"
“The world's largest fish farmer, Marine Harvest, said first-quarter operating profit fell sharply even as harvested volumes were ahead of plan as salmon prices fell.”

Mainstream/Cermaq not doing too well either:
While Cermaq reported an EBIT of NOK 101 million, their BC operations reported a negative EBIT pre fair value of NOK 1.6 million, despite “certain cost reduction programmes.”

The beginning of the end:
We are risking all for an industry that is not only failing, it is failing most dramatically right here in BC.
The Chilean divisions of Marine Harvest and Cermaq are escalating and that is what is driving global farm salmon prices down.
The huge 2007-2010 ISA epidemic in Chile significantly raised the price of farm salmon enormously worldwide.
Everyone stocked their farms as fast as they could hoping for a few years of high prices, but the Chilean banks pushed Chilean operators to restock rapidly and so everyone was caught with too many fish in their pens.
British Columbia is the region of greatest loss to the Norwegians using coastlines around the world to grow "their" fish.

[shuswapsteve]

It is not kudoa.  Salmonfarmscience is correct and Morton is wrong.  The white structures are Henneguya salminicola and it is a common parasite found in wild salmon off our coast.  When I saw the photo in Morton's blog I knew I had seen those white structures recently, but couldn't remember right away what it was until I looked back at my past correspondence.  Someone brought me a sample of wild sockeye awhile ago and saw this with my own eyes.  I wasn't completely certain what it was so I asked some fish health professionals (not Dr. Marty) who deal with this regularly.  I sent them the sample and they confirmed it as Henneguya salminicola.

On this photo and interpretation, Morton is busted - plain and simple.

[alwaysfishn]

What I can't understand is why the feedlots aren't more forthcoming with the diseases they are growing?  Don't they realize that the public will always assume the worst and when the public assumes the worst, it's bad for the feedlot's business?

Morton's science is all the public is being given access to. We can only guess at what dirty little secrets the feedlots are keeping.

[shuswapsteve]

The only one not being forthcoming in this case is Ms Morton.  Here's why....A photo with a description gets posted on her blog and is called Kudoa when it clearly is not.  Check where the photo came from.  If Morton is going to go on the offense here and blame fish farms over this then she needs to get her facts straight.  You should be demanding better from her.  Don't you think you deserve at least this much?

Morton's science is all the public is being given access to?  Incorrect.

In this particular case, the science is there but Morton either chose to ignore it on purpose or was totally oblivious to the fact.  It's not the fish farms fault.  The funny thing is that people like you and me have access to this sort of information.  You have had access to it for at least the last 2 years now.....

http://www.cohencommission.ca/en/pdf/TR/Project1-Report.pdf

In addition, you have access to a thing called the "internet" where this information is readily available:

http://jcm.asm.org/content/35/11/2815.full.pdf
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/species/disease/pdfs/fishdiseases/henneguya.pdf

Although I admire your efforts to try and salvage something out of this the fact remains that Morton was wrong about this.  I am astonished that she would try to pull this stunt.  She needs to print a retraction to try and save some credibility.

[Easywater]

The picture in question has been removed and replaced with a different picture.

That's the only retraction/correction required in this case.

[Dave]

The picture in question has been removed and replaced with a different picture.

That's the only retraction/correction required in this case.

I disagree.  This is not the first time Ms. Morton has posted misidentified pictures.  Early on when she started her "sampling program" she posted a photo of a Harrison River sockeye but called it a coho. To me, that lack of professionalism is disgraceful.

How can a biologist do that? And how can her followers continue to believe her?  Hell, they even give her money to continue this folly.

[chris gadsden]

I disagree.  This is not the first time Ms. Morton has posted misidentified pictures.  Early on when she started her "sampling program" she posted a photo of a Harrison River sockeye but called it a coho. To me, that lack of professionalism is disgraceful.

How can a biologist do that? And how can her followers continue to believe her?  Hell, they even give her money to continue this folly.

And we will continue to support her, must send some more funds especially with the pluck business being so good.

[troutbreath]

I disagree.  This is not the first time Ms. Morton has posted misidentified pictures.  Early on when she started her "sampling program" she posted a photo of a Harrison River sockeye but called it a coho. To me, that lack of professionalism is disgraceful.

How can a biologist do that? And how can her followers continue to believe her?  Hell, they even give her money to continue this folly.

Dave, a person has maybe one too many glasses of dandilion wine and lets slip with the wrong name on the net. Stuff like that happens all the time. Do you remember everyones name?

[Terry Bodman]

Oviously, Troutbreath, you are not a Morton fan. I am. The only people who don,t make mistakes are those who do nothing. She continues to have my support.

[Dave]

Why do you support her Terry?  I'm not trying to pick a fight as I respect you and your opinions way too much, but perhaps you can add another dimension to this topic?

[dnibbles]

Morton's comments to a co-worker of mine who is very knowledgeable on all things fish health related: "Of course I think there are many unanswered questions relating to this research, but I could never say that in front of them" them being her followers. Paraphrased, and second hand, but it backs up my personal firsthand experiences with her as a master of media manipulation.

Sadly, she continues to focus attention away from what I feel are more pressing, acute pressures on salmon populations: harvest rates, habitat degradation, and the decreased productivity that is causing these issues to have such a dramatic effect in causing observed declines. And her followers tend to lump those who disagree as "industry apologists", when in fact I think we all want to see the same thing in the end; lots of fish.

[Dave]

Welcome to this debate dnibbles.

[alwaysfishn]

Welcome to this debate dnibbles.

You guys need all the support you can get......  

Do you get a chance to see the CTV news article that was just broadcast a few minutes ago on how the feedlots are selling their virus infected product to unsuspecting consumers?

[dnibbles]

Nope, was busy watching Global talk with Peterman about the declining productivity of sockeye salmon coastwide (i.e. not limited to the "hot zone" of the BC coast).

If I did see that piece on CTV, I would probably be frustrated right now as they tend to interchange the terms "Virus" and "disease", even though those two things are very different. Viruses are everywhere, but it's the expression of those viruses (i.e. disease) that concerns us primarily with respect to declining salmon populations.

Alex should get out and buy some nice T-bones, and see if she can find any viruses on them.