ISA Update

[ata]

Hi All:

November 2
ISA found in a Fraser River Chinook and chum, in addition to the coho reported late last week.
Findings in two Rivers Inlet sockeye smolts confirmed by lab in Norway.

Information flooding in daily - we have a lot to learn about this disease and what it means to Pacific salmon and those of us who rely on them. Working hard to sift through it all.

Many thanks to Senators Maria Cantwell, Mark Begich, and Lisa Murkowski for their fast response!
http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=334647


Stay tuned...

Dale
ATA

[John Murray]

Thanks for your excellant letter to the Vancouver sun.Sorry if I got the papers title wrong.Its onFishWrap.Way to go.

[mydona]

Is the ISA virus the same as the IHN virus? They sound the same described as "flu like". Fish farms in WA have just killed 600,000 trying to prevent the spread. I googled IHN virus and see that BC has had reports of the same 6 days ago! and after a little more google I see a reference to the VHS virus?? Are these all the same with a different name so that it won't look like a MAJOR out break? Some of the stories in the Vancover Sun claim "A third B.C. fish farm was put under quarantine" "27 fish farms in B.C., including 14 in the Tofino area began conducting IHN tests","Another company, Grieg Seafood, put its Ahlstrom Point farm, near Sechelt, into voluntary quarantine last week after routine tests by Fisheries and Oceans found a low positive result for IHN in the company's coho salmon.

The company is waiting to see whether the tests are confirmed before deciding on the next step A little more google and I see that there are more stories dated early May.
Guess I answered my own question - Nope they aren't the same. From a quote ""The initial tests also included screening for the presence of the ISA and VHS viruses and the bacteria which causes BKD. Both screening and confirmatory tests were only positive for IHNV ." But I'm not deleting this post

[mydona]

And the fish flu spreads. This time they get to sell the infected fish. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013 ... gency.html

[Trnaround]

On first glance that seems to be good for the fish farmers but is it really? Now the conversation is " are you sure that what they are feeding these is healthy and are you sure this isn't an infected fish you are eating?"They certainly won't label the infected ones,why because nobody would eat them. I think they made a big PR mistake.

[Clinkerboy]

To see what we are faced with here in B.C. look at this www. salmonconfidential.ca

[Trnaround]

Clinkerboy, thanks, unbelievable, outrageous, what can you say.

[fssem1]

very informative, thanks 4 the info.

[ata]

Hi All:

Attached was ATA's early response to the issue. Unfortunately, we still don't know much more than we did at that time. And while it makes sense that governments would use caution not to alarm the public before they know the extent of a problem, it's really frustrating that Canada is not more transparent about what they're doing to investigate the question. At least we'd get some assurance that it mattered to them, eh?

One thing that surfaced recently is that ISA was isolated in some of the GE modified salmon. Not surprising, since ISA has been quite an issue for East Coast salmon farmers as you read in the story above. However, a huge problem is that the GE developers were aware of this finding, but didn't tell FDA prior to its 2009 veterinary committee hearing on GE salmon. Guess they just didn't find it relevant. Wonder how a modified salmon reacts to various diseases - same, different, some of both? Hmmmm....

Now it's really important to put disease into context. Humans and fish are fending off disease 24/7 - that's just biology. ISA might even be a naturally occurring disease on the Pacific Coast that we hadn't seen in the past, simply because we haven't looked for it. But the agencies need to suss that out and let us know the verdict - natural disease, or farmed-raised?

I see one good thing here... it's a reminder of what's important. Fish need clean, abundant habitat to avoid stress and reduce their susceptibility to disease. Logic would suggest that it's also a good idea to avoid planting dozens of fish farms along their migratory paths, which tend to be breeding grounds for a host of parasites, bacteria, and viruses, all just waiting to hop aboard unsuspecting, transiting fish. Let's continue to urge the governments to investigate the ISA findings, and also to take a more fish friendly attitude towards the policies governing land and water use.

Fish worship is NOT wrong...

Dale
ATA

[Drew]

http://www.salmonconfidential.ca/ Pretty revealing documentary there, thanks for the link.

The video is pretty representative of the relationship between the government and food and drug industries in our country as well. In essence looking out for the well being corporations and not for the well being of citizens.

[curmudgeon]

Amazing story there. I like the quote: "We...are the Department of the Wild Salmon."

[Trnaround]

Getting back to the Nov 2 2011 letter, in which they had 6 months to identify ISA in BC by the National Aquatic Animal Task Force, did that ever happen?

[ata]

Hey, Trnaround...good question!

Folks have been awfully quiet. Your question reminded me that it's time to check in and see what's what, so I've sent an inquiry.

This link takes you to the latest update that I am aware of. In the file that pops up, you can link to the National Aquatic Animal Task Force website, where they show the number of ISA tests conducted, by month, through Jan 2013.

http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/documents/ISA ... -14-12.pdf

Thanks for asking!

Dale
ATA

[Trnaround]

Thanks Dale, by the results up to January 2013 it looks like zero ISA positives from their sampling. I wonder if they were able to get samples from BC as they were mandated to do.

[ata]

Maybe I'll get more detail with the response to my inquiry. The sampling data is a bit frustrating, since it doesn't even give location by state/province. Still, I'm sure there are privacy policies governing what goes online and can appreciate that. Would at least be nice to know the answer to your basic question about whether or not the data includes both the US and BC.

dk

[Drew]

Maybe I'll get more detail with the response to my inquiry. The sampling data is a bit frustrating, since it doesn't even give location by state/province. Still, I'm sure there are privacy policies governing what goes online and can appreciate that. Would at least be nice to know the answer to your basic question about whether or not the data includes both the US and BC.

dk

You could ask the biologist from that documentary, she is pretty active on her facebook site. http://www.facebook.com/alexandra.morton.311