Another suspected case of a highly infectious salmon virus has surfaced in British Columbia, but it will take weeks to verify the findings, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says.
The agency has confirmed that a laboratory at the University of Prince Edward Island suspects infectious salmon anemia in a coho salmon from B.C. A Department of Fisheries and Oceans lab in Moncton is validating the results.
Observers of the nearly two-decade-long debate between salmon farmers and their critics say if a potentially devastating European strain of the disease is confirmed, the findings could provide the “smoking gun” environmentalists have long been looking for.
“Presuming that they (the samples being tested) are the same variant of the virus that’s found elsewhere in the world, then I think that would cause serious problems to our salmon farming industry,” said Peter Robson, author of the book Salmon Farming: The Whole Story.
“It would mean that we’ve imported a disease from another country for the first time as far as salmon farming goes.”
The announcement comes at a critical time in B.C.
The Cohen Commission, which is studying what caused the collapse of the Fraser River sockeye run in 2009, said Friday it will hold two days of hearings in mid-December to put details of the virus on record and will hear from new witnesses and receive new exhibits.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans was asked what contingency plans it was developing in the event that federal scientists verify the presence of the virus.
A spokeswoman for the department did not answer directly but said Fisheries is awaiting the Cohen report.
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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