Update: Aug. 16.
Mainstream Canada has announced that the Millar Channel fish farm is now empty. The fish, infected with the IHN virus,were taken to a rendering facility.
Mainstream Canada is developing a plan for cleaning and disinfecting the farm site, as per the requirements of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
“This is an unfortunate incident, but we are pleased with how smoothly the depopulation procedure went considering the situation,” said Fernando Villarroel, Mainstream Canada’s managing director.
On Friday, July 27, the IHN virus was detected after routine monitoring at one of Mainstream Canada’s Tofino-area smolt farms. The detection was reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which quarantined the site.
On Tuesday Aug. 7, CFIA reported that the presence of the virus had been confirmed, and issued anorder to depopulate the site.
Original story from Aug. 10.
Mainstream Canada has been ordered to dispose of 400 tonnes of infected Atlantic salmon from its Millar Channel farm, which is located northwest of Tofino.
On July 27, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered the farm quarantined after samples tested positive for the infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus.
The Millar Channel fish will be transported to West Coast Reduction in Vancouver, where they will be processed at high temperature for pet food, according to WCR chief financial officer Ridley Bestwick.
“We cook the fish at 90 degrees [Celsius] for 30 minutes,” Bestwick said. That exceeds the minimum recommended 15 minutes at 60 degrees, he added. “All of our products are tested for safety by independent labs.”
By law, salmon byproducts cannot be used for aquaculture feed, Bestwick said, and the rendered products that are used for pet food must be stored separately from aquaculture feed stock.
Bestwick said the Millar Point fish would be barged directly to WCR subsidiary Island Processing Co., at Duke Point.
“The Island plant will be used as a biosecurity checkpoint,” he said. “From there, it will be transported to Vancouver on vacuum trucks. Our trucks are disinfected after each shipment.”
Ahousaht First Nation Chief Councillor John O. Frank said any First Nation whose traditional territory falls along the transport route will be advised.
“Last time around, that’s something we totally forgot,” Frank said. “We don’t want to ruffle any feathers in anybody’s territory. I can only imagine, if I had sockeye running upriver, I’d be champing on the bit, too.”
Last May, Mainstream transported tens of thousands of IHN-infected salmon from its Dixon Bay farm to Port Alberni, for composting at the Earth Land and Sea facility. Local First Nations, not to mention officials from the City of Port Alberni, were angered when they first heard about the operation through anti-aquaculture activists.
Frank said the May experience was a steep learning curve. While he believes the actual transport and disposal operation was conducted within all environmental guidelines, it was a public relations disaster. For this operation, Frank said Ahousaht would be more involved on the ground, particularly in the area of on-the-water security. In May, activists were able to enter the quarantine zone.
“We will probably get our own team out there to handle the matter,” he said. “We want to make sure everything is being done according to the laws of the land.”
Mainstream spokeswoman Laurie Jensen said the Millar Point fish are about six months old, weighing an average of 400 grams each. Jensen said CFIA has provided extra signage to designate the quarantined area to prevent trespassing by activists while the site is being depopulated.
“We just hope people will be respectful. We’re asking people, please stay away from the farms and do not dock on the cages,” Jensen said.
Activist Bonnie Glambeck, of Friends of Clayoquot Sound, said the latest IHN outbreak comes as Mainstream Canada seeks approval for a new aquaculture site on Plover Point on Meares Island.
“Our concern we have, from our perspective, is that these fish were not vaccinated against the disease,” Glambeck said. “There is an effective IHN vaccine on the market that is being used on the East Coast [of Vancouver Island], but they aren’t using it here.”
Glambeck said as part of the Plover Point approval process, Transport Canada would require all Mainstream fish to be vaccinated.
“But they’re not using the vaccine yet, even though they’ve promised to use it if Plover Point goes through.”
Jensen said Mainstream is testing the vaccine at several of its East Coast farms.
“It’s still being evaluated, but we will certainly consider it for new smolts,” Jensen said. “If this one doesn’t work, it will be perfected.”
In one published test of the vaccine, Apex-IHN, manufactured by Novartis Animal Health, juvenile salmon vaccinated with the product showed a slightly lower weight gain over 12 months, versus a control batch of fish. Jensen said she was not aware of the study, but added it would not likely deter Mainstream from vaccinating their fish, especially after the most recent IHN outbreak.
“What’s important is, does it work?” Jensen said. “It’s better to save the fish than to worry about whether it affects their growth. That’s a conversation we’ll be having with our Fish Health Team.”
On Wednesday, aquaculture opponent Alexandra Morton said she had not looked into the Millar Channel infestation yet, but the IHN outbreak is very much on her mind.
“We did some sampling of the dying mackerel and herring in Alberni Inlet. One of the hot spots has been China Creek Marina,” Morton said.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada has determined that the fish died due to heavy upper layers of fresh water in the China Creek and Somass River estuaries. Back in May, however, Morton warned that the disposal of Dixon Bay fish on a plateau above China Creek Marina, could lead to the transfer of IHN virus particles into the ocean below.
“The fact that they’re swimming in circles is disturbing,” Morton said.
However, Morton’s concerns have yet to be proved out. Testing, she said, would take several weeks.
Frank said the Mainstream fish farm partnership is important to the Ahousaht people, and he has seen vast improvements in fish farming methods and technology since the industry came to the West Coast. He believes that, by partnering with Ahousaht, the company has expanded its knowledge base and improved its economic potential.
But when Mainstream is forced to cull an entire generation of farmed fish, it has a direct effect on Ahousaht, Frank said.
“If one farm loses fish, the other farms have to subsidize it, and if it’s more than one farm, at the end of the year, it’s a major loss of revenue to Ahousaht,” Frank said.
“We have to be on top of everything in our territory, including the fish farms. We especially don’t want to jeopardize our wild stocks and our clam beds.”
Jensen said the depopulation would likely begin over the weekend.
