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Author Topic: declining BC salmon stock and viruses from fish farming  (Read 3704 times)

sim

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declining BC salmon stock and viruses from fish farming
« on: May 03, 2013, 10:15:20 AM »

See below some info related to Cultus Lake sockeye, which raises more and more doubts on the impact of Fish Farming on BC salmon stocks.

It should be read in light of the revealing "Salmon Confidential" documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM-pkQTGDEU

Quote from film maker Roscovich and A. Morton:
"In 2004 a post doc student working with DFO found ISA virus positive test results in BC salmon.  Of particular concern were the findings in eastern Vancouver Island Chinook & the high percentage of the ISA virus positive test results in Cultus Lake sockeye, which happen to be the most endangered Fraser sockeye run.  For years scientists puzzled over why this stock was doing so poorly, yet this senior DFO scientist neither disclosed the results nor conducted any follow up testing. Dr. Jones withheld these important findings from the Cohen Commission and refused to allow them to be published, they were suppressed
View the DFO testimony, email chain, ISA virus test results & suppressed paper
http://www.salmonconfidential.ca/more-great-videos-educate-youself/dfo-knew-about-isa-virus/?utm_source=BenchmarkEmail&utm_campaign=Salmon%20Confidential%20May%201&utm_medium=email
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like catching, love releasing

alwaysfishn

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Re: declining BC salmon stock and viruses from fish farming
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2013, 10:22:16 AM »

Thanks for posting sim. Appreciate the post and the links
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Disclosure:  This post has not been approved by the feedlot boys, therefore will likely be found to contain errors and statements that are out of context. :-[

Bassonator

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Re: declining BC salmon stock and viruses from fish farming
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2013, 12:25:15 PM »

Woohoo ...more crap propaganda.. ;D
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Take the T out of Morton.

Every Day

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Re: declining BC salmon stock and viruses from fish farming
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2013, 07:25:23 PM »

That's been known about for a while.

ISA was found in Cultus socks, and yes at a very high percentage (from what I remember 100%? Haven't read the link yet). I forget the person I talked to, but I discovered it a couple years ago.

That is why I keep saying to people we have probably always had an endemic strain of ISA in BC. It wouldn't make sense for only one or two stocks of fish to have it, if it was indeed passed by salmon farms. No one ever tested for it because no one cared, and the only reason Morton is testing for it now is because she wants another crutch to lean on to remove salmon farms.

What I find curious is that no one has tested Cultus lake in itself for the virus. It has to be coming from somewhere, unless it is the first case of vertical transmission of the virus.

I'm still pretty convinced that this isn't causing sockeye decline. Pacific salmon don't show any infectious symptoms of ISA, even when infected with highly pathogenic strains. This could in theory change (genetic mutation), but chances are that it won't. At this point ISA doesn't cause death in pacific's, and the fact that Morton is finding dead spawning salmon with it DOES NOT mean it is killing them. They could have well been carrying it their whole life. Until she can show a legitimiate study showing disease in Pacific salmon infected with ISA, and death, I'm not convinced of anything she says - just like I'm more convinced we had an endemic strain of ISA rather than one brought by fish farms.
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