alexandramorton.typepad.comalexandra morton

Safe to eat? In Norway DONATE The virus PRV brings out the worst in DFO Today DFO is holding its’ 4th closed-door review on whether the virus PRV is causing disease in BC. They have barred access to several members of the DFO Fish Health Committee, who organized this workshop. At issue is deep disagreement within DFO - is PRV killing wild salmon or not? Some DFO scientists report PRV causes massive cell rupture and heart lesions in Pacific salmon, other DFO scientists report the virus is low risk to wild salmon. PRV is highly contagious and most farm salmon are infected. Industry told the federal court of Canada that they would be “severely impacted” if prohibited from transferring young PRV-infected Atlantic into their farms. Given that the 2019 BC wild salmon returns were the lowest in the history of Canada and that infected salmon farms are sited throughout wild salmon migration routes, the impact of this virus may be critical to whether wild salmon ever rebound on this coast. I sit on the DFO Fish Health Committee and when the representative from MOWI told the committee that there is no evidence that PRV causes disease in BC, I objected, given the scientific evidence. • Massive red blood cell rupture in Chinook salmon – Di Cicco et al 2018 • Moderate heart damage to Fraser River sockeye salmon – Garver et al 2016 • Juvenile Chinook exposed to salmon farms are becoming infected and exhibiting signs of disease – Wang et al in preparation I recommended that the committee hear from veterinarians researching this virus with opposing views. A workshop was arranged. However, the deputy Minister of DFO, Timothy Sargent declared that the First Nation delegates, non –government biologist with the David Suzuki Foundation and myself (author of 4 scientific papers on PRV), were barred from attending, even though we sit on the committee that organized this meeting This is the 4th review of PRV conducted behind closed doors, and the previous three reviews serve as a warning. • An internal DFO science review process -CSAS review – removed comment by a DFO scientist reporting clinical signs of disease in PRV-positive farm salmon in the Cermaq, Venture Point in the Discovery Islands. As a result, the conclusion was that this virus is low risk to wild salmon • A 2nd CSAS review stated there was consensus that PRV is low risk to Fraser sockeye, however John Werring, senior biologist with the David Suzuki Foundation, went public that there was no such consensus . • The Federal Court of Canada instructed DFO had to consult with ‘Namgis First Nation on the evidence that PRV is harming wild salmon. While ‘Namgis brought experts from across Canada reporting how the virus harms Pacific salmon, DFO refused to bring any. Outcome - DFO re-affirmed they would allow PRV-infected farm salmon to continue going into salmon farms in BC. The facilitator chosen for this current DFO workshop on PRV is Dr. Ian Gardner who is not neutral on this issue, having publicly discredited the research reporting impact. DFO has put their integrity at risk, as well as, the survival of wild salmon. This also damages public opinion of the salmon farming industry. I suspect DFO’s behaviour is aimed at preventing First Nations from witnessing the strength of the evidence that millions of PRV-infected farm salmon are a critical risk to wild salmon. Fraser River salmon cannot be expected to migrate up the Fraser River with heart damage and I don't see how this workshop can undo this evidence. Only two scientists with the opinion that PRV is causing organ damage in Pacific salmon were allowed into this workshop and the outcome will be a consensus decision... This consensus will come back to the Fish Health Committee that I am sitting on and so I will let you know if my concern was warranted. I remain outside the workshop in case DFO decides to salvage their reputation and allow me to attend. PRV causes a disease called HSMI that causes Atlantic salmon to become emaciated and lethargic Comments (0) Amending Sea Lice Licence Conditions to Better Manage Sea lice Threshold Exceedences Dear Timothy Sargent: I am writing to you about a MEMORANDUM TO THE MINISTER titled Proposed Enhancements to Sea Lice Management in British Columbia that you appear to have signed with Kevin Stringer earlier this year . This MEMORANDUM TO THE MINISTER recommends that the salmon farming industry Conditions of Licence (COLs) regarding sea louse control need to be strengthen due elevated risk to juvenile wild salmon. It states that the following steps are required to open the existing salmon farming licences and make necessary changes: A conservation concern has to be identified Or industry has to volunteer changes I am writing because you omitted two other options: “A Direct order from the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans” Changing the Discovery Island Licences which are expiring this month Two years ago, before the images of lice-eaten wild salmon in Clayoquot Sound streamed out on the internet, members of your staff were already trying to deal with what they considered a serious threat to wild salmon fisheries. In 2017, they drafted: Amending Sea Lice Licence Conditions to Better Manage Sea lice Threshold Exceedences (see below). They were clearly concerned that current conditions are too weak to make the salmon farming companies reduce their lice loads to meet the government threshold required to protect wild salmon. They list 5 methods to re-open existing salmon farming Licences and strengthen them. Disturbingly, they note that one of the problems they faced is lack of support from DFO science. This is true. Despite dozens of scientific publications on the serious impact of sea lice from BC salmon farms on wild salmon, DFO continues to blame the tiny stickleback and the weather (Nov 21, 2019 meeting with First Nations). I never understood why DFO science remains unresponsive to the scientific the evidence until reading this internal memo. It would appear that as long as DFO science maintains that the salmon farms are not responsible for the devastating sea louse outbreaks on young wild salmon, it is difficult to open the Conditions of Licence to make sea lice regulations enforceable. This is very similar to the DFO science outlier position that PRV is not a disease agent and thus not subject to s56(b) FGR. The specific reason I am writing to you is that this 2017 internal document offers two methods that could have been used two years ago to strengthen the sea louse Conditions of Licence that would have prevented the damage done to wild salmon runs in 2018 and 2019. These were omitted from your Memorandum to the Minister. I want to make sure that you and others are aware of them. Since the Discovery Islands fish farm licences expire every December, new conditions can be inserted immediately to protect Fraser River and other stocks. The 2017 internal document warns that this might trigger a judicial review as ENGOs or FNs “ may have the position that all farms need the same requirement .” Good point, but 2019 is the lowest salmon return in the history of this country and you have a duty to Canadians not to allow these fish to go extinct. A “Direct order from the Minister of Fisheries” A Direct order from the Minister of Fisheries is all that is needed to install enforceable regulations on all BC salmon farms to protect wild salmon fisheries. This should have been brought to the attention of then Minister of Fisheries, Jonathan Wilkinson. As well, now that we know that the sea louse regulations for the farms in the Discovery Islands can be strengthened immediately, that needs to happen, because your own scientists are warning Fraser River sockeye are threatened with extinction. It’s seems simple. If the farm exceeds the limit, impose a fine large enough that it becomes economically critical for the company to deal with it or they lose their license. The new Minister of Fisheries, Bernadette Jordan, needs to know that all we ...