Chile’s salmon farming industry is in trouble again… or not… say the ‘experts’
CHILE
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
The National Marine Fisheries Service (Sernapesca) confirmed the discovery of a new virus – HSMI — in freshwater fish of 10 sea centres in the country.
According to the analysis that was performed, salmon do not have the disease or the virus-associated mortality.
This agent that causes an inflammation of the skeletal and heart muscles was also identified in Norway, Diario Financiero reported.
According to Sernapesca director, Juan Luis Ansoleaga, this viral disease “does not produce major economic and production impacts, given the mortality when it occurs ranges between 1 per cent and 3 per cent.”
This disease is considered to have emerged in Norway, where no control actions are taken even though the virus is widely distributed in both sea and freshwater centres,” the official added.
However, he admitted that “there are aspects of its epidemiology that have not yet been clarified, so there is still uncertainty about the disease and the agent.”
After its detection, Sernapesca will expand the sampling of the sea centres to assess its distribution in the country “in order to obtain more background information on the agent’s situation and eventually on the disease in the national salmon industry.”
It is expected that such data “would allow health authorities to assess the appropriateness of establishing specific measures and to determine the extension of the performance of the sampling,” added Ansoleaga.
Sernapesca established a training programme so that its inspectors are updated as to this viral condition.
The Chilean salmon industry had to face a health, economic and employment crisis in 2007 with the spread of the infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus.
Due to the high mortality and to the significant economic loss faced by the sector businesses, the central government began to implement a change in regulatory matters in order to have greater disease control.
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Remember the “data gaps” issue…
See, it’s not so worrisome in Chile because they have no wild populations of salmon that interact with farmed salmon.
A 1% to 3% mortality in wild Pacific salmon populations, could potentially decimate the last remnants of dieing populations — for example, the Rivers Inlet sockeye runs where ISA (infectious salmon anemia) was reported in the media earlier today.
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“This disease is considered to have emerged in Norway…” seems to be a rather common message these days in the salmon farming industry.
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There’s another Chilean farmed salmon article at the same website, with curious viewpoints.
CHILE
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
The Association of Salmon Industry in Chile AG (SalmonChile) ruled out the idea that the Chilean salmon industry is threatened by the appearance of traces of infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus.
Last week, the company Camanchaca SA detected the presence of the agent in the farm called Chonos, in Chiloé, but the firm made it clear that the strain found is neither fatal nor it causes alterations in the salmon growth process.
Although it has been found that the strain is HPR0, the stock market did not react positively.
The salmon stock index in Santiago Stock Exchange was the one that fell the most with a drop of 10 per cent during the week.
Multiexport Foods shares went back 13 per cent, Invertec Pesquera Mar de Chiloé (Invermar) ones went back 9.6 per cent, those of AquaChile went back 10 per cent, Camanchaca shares went back 8 per cent and Australis Mar went back 6 per cent.
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And so diseases & viruses introduced onto the world’s coastlines due to aquaculture are now just simple “market” issues…
(No need to worry folks, your pension plan is doing OK, but your wild salmon stocks in your backyard… not so good…
no need to worry though…)
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The article continues:
In Norway it [ISA] has been detected in more than 50 per cent of the farms and their health status is optimal. This is not an issue in other salmon producing countries,” he added.
Maybe today’s headlines of ISA being found in wild Pacific salmon might change that bold pronouncement?
Or the fact that anywhere salmon farming has gone, it has pretty much coincided with the last of the last wild salmon runs hitting functional extinction. (i’m sure it’s just mere coincidence…)
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Here’s the telling part of the article:
“In 2008 we were exposed to a huge health crisis, all the outbreaks were caused by ISA HPR 7B and now the cases of strains are those that do not cause the disease or mortality. There is a health plan and mitigation measures in case we face an ISA strain causing the illness and mortality. Control is focused on strains different from HPR0, which are infectious,” said Odebret.
However, he admitted that it is impossible to eradicate the disease.
“We must bear in mind the fact that the eradication of a virus is impossible, but the plans taken by the industry and the authority support the control. An example is that this year we have not had outbreaks of the disease.”
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“…it is impossible to eradicate the disease”
“…We must bear in mind the fact that the eradication of a virus is impossible…”
have we not learned these lessons yet about the chaos that unpredictable viruses can inflict?
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Guess not…
(no need to worry though say government ministries worldwide… and the corporations doing the farming… closely watching their market caps…no need to worry…)