A salmon farm in Culloden Point, past Saltery Bay in Jervis Inlet on the Sunshine Coast, has received preliminary positive results indicating an outbreak in the infectious haematopoietic necrosis (IHN) virus.
The farm’s owner, Grieg Seafood BC Ltd., received the results the evening of Wednesday, August 1 after an analysis conducted by an independent laboratory. The results were immediately reported to Canadian Food Inspection Agency who is currently undertaking further sampling that will confirm whether or not the virus is present.
In the interim, the farm at Culloden Point has been put under quarantine as a precautionary measure.
The company has checked the health of stocks at all of its farms on numerous occasions. More than 1,500 fish have been individually assessed and no other incidents of IHN have been detected.
Testing is a routine and crucial step in monitoring the health of farmed fish stocks. Outbreaks are fairly rare but not uncommon. This past May, the virus was detected at a Mainstream Canada facility in Dixon Bay north of Tofino, requiring the culling of over 560,000 fish from that farm to prevent further spread. Another outbreak took place in the area just last week.
Back at the Culloden Point farm, the scope of the damage, if any, is yet to be determined. “We are working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to ensure this situation is addressed as quickly as possible, and to minimize any possibility of further occurrences through strict biosecurity protocols,” said Grieg’s managing director Stewart Hawthorn. The facility has a stock of approximately 316,000.
“While we are disappointed about this result and will manage it proactively, it’s important to note that this early detection and action is evidence of the effectiveness of our monitoring system and our responsible approach to fish farm management,” he added. “It is a normal part of farming to experience health challenges from time to time when producing natural food.”
IHN virus has no impact on human health or wild fish, which have a natural immunity to it, but it can affect Atlantic salmon which are not immune. The incurable virus has the ability to be transferred between fresh and saltwater fish and can persist in the water for a prolonged period of time. A commercial vaccine is available but treatment is typically impractical given its expense.
