June 3, 2012
Dear Mr. Alf-Helge Aarskog, CEO Marine Harvest:
corporate@marineharvest.com
There are serious viral issues with salmon farming in British Columbia that are being suppressed here in Canada that your shareholders should be informed about.
We have found Norwegian Piscine Reovirus associated with HSMI, as well as, the Infectious Salmon Anemia virus mutations HPR5 and HPR7b in fresh Atlantic salmon purchased in British Columbia, Canada markets. Both of the HPR5 and HPR7b mutations of ISA virus have caused large mortalities in salmon. While the BC Salmon Farmers Association and Federal Government Canada deny these viruses are present in BC – it is hard to explain their presence in fresh Atlantic salmon in the markets – someone’s farms must be infected with ISAv and PRv. Are you informed about the potential risk of an ISAv outbreak in BC and the strong negative reaction that the people of British Columbia will have to this?
There is a sequence of events you should be aware of:
• In 2003 Marine Harvest requested Atlantic salmon eggs from an Icelandic hatchery that did not meet Canada’s Fish Health Protection Regulations. Permission was granted.
• In 2009, Marine Harvest began requesting multiple tests for ISAv from the Provincial farm salmon veterinarian, Gary Marty and never imported eggs from Iceland again.
• In 2010, Marine Harvest, Cermaq and Grieg signed a Memorandum of Understanding to share information about viruses with each other, while at the same time they told the Province of BC they would no longer participate in government health audits of their fish.
• In 2004, Fisheries and Ocean Canada got ISAv positive tests in 100% of the most endangered Fraser sockeye stock (Cultus Lake) and never revealed this to the Stò:lō Nation, or the Cohen Commission into the Decline of the Fraser Sockeye
• Your public relations manager for British Columbia, Mr. Clare Backman testified under oath at the Cohen Commission that:
The level of surveys done in the country of origin and then again, the quarantine and follow-up sampling here in British Columbia has been successful in preventing any exotic disease, including this particular one, ISAV. (Cohen Commission, testimony Sept. 7, 2011, page 37)
• And yet we are getting positive results for Norwegian Piscine reovirus in nearly 100% of the Atlantic salmon we have purchased in supermarkets and positive tests for ISA virus.
In a recent survey over the past few weeks of your salmon feedlots in BC, I found many are empty (red squares). I understand the price for farm salmon is so low you might not want to restock, but there are reports of large numbers of dead Atlantic salmon being moved to dumps and there are the growing number of lab tests suggesting the presence of highly virulent strains of ISAv.
The picture below is young wild salmon taken today from outside one of your feedlots – Glacier Falls – near my home. These juvenile wild salmon are suffering from sea lice – a problem Canada denies, but you are familiar with this in Norway and everywhere you operate. Eleven years after I noticed sea lice infestation on BC juvenile salmon near salmon feedlots, seven years after Marine Harvest signed an agreement with several BC environmental companies, and a few weeks after that arrangement collapsed the young BC wild salmon are still being harmed. This is not progress for the people of British Columbia who depend on wild salmon.
Amid rumours of culling, viral outbreaks, quarantined farms and biosecurity risks I watched this eagle grab a dead Atlantic salmon off one of your farms today ,
carry it away,
where several eagles fought over it
and dropped it, leaving behind tissue samples.
While we are not permitted access to “your” salmon, we can buy them in the supermarkets and we are sampling those.
One or more of the Norwegian companies raising Atlantic salmon in BC appear to have ISA, and we are looking for that company.
Is it Marine Harvest?
When salmon farmers talk about “biosecurity” it has become clear to us that you are talking about protecting your fish, not protecting the wild salmon of British Columbia and that is not acceptable to many. The risk to wild salmon is great. Ocean currents spread disease because you use nets to contain your fish. When you move your dead and diseased salmon to dumpsites they can contaminate areas. When you sell fish from a disease outbreak you move viruses into new regions with lakes and rivers, even eagles spread sickness from your salmon feedlots.
With all the empty farms and rumours, Marine Harvest Canada looks like a company in retreat from disease. I am determined to find out why you have so many empty farms, why boats are undergoing disinfection, why composting plants are filling with the stench of culled Atlantic salmon. Thousands are signing a petition to supermarkets that sell BC farm salmon because they don’t want to eat your viruses. The Norwegian Piscine reovirus causes heart failure in salmon, it is a durable virus and can be washed down the drain wherever your fish are sold. It could only have come here in Atlantic salmon eggs. Influenza viruses such as ISA are considered a dangerous family of viruses with frightening ability to mutate. Every country that gets it is trying to get rid of it. There is no reason to think BC is going feel any differently. For some reason Canada seems to think ISA can be hidden, they are refusing to follow up on reports in farms, rivers, lakes and supermarkets, but as more and more labs find it Marine Harvest might wish they had behaved differently. I know there is a sense of regret that ISA was not taken more seriously in the early days of the $2 billion Chilean outbreak. Influenzas are traceable and the Chilean outbreak was traced to a hatchery.
So Mr. Alf-Helge Aarskog, we will continue tracking the European viruses that no one in BC will admit are here, because wild salmon are the people’s fish in British Columbia and of course we see them as a much greater priority than the profits of your shareholders. Your job is to protect the interests of your shareholders. My intention, though not a job, is to protect the wild salmon of a coast that I call home and love. May I suggest you be completely honest with your shareholders. There are big problems brewing in British Columbia with viruses you are very familiar with, best that you inform them today of the risks.
I am writing to put your shareholders on notice that British Columbia, Canada is the only region in the world where Marine Harvest is raising Atlantic salmon amongst abundant wild Pacific salmon. You can expect a much stronger reaction here to an ISA virus epidemic than anywhere else in the history of Marine Harvest.
Comments
9 responses to “Dear Mr. Alf-Helge Aarskog, CEO Marine Harvest:”
Really Ms Morton, your claims are becoming more outlandish by the week. Strict bio security measures are always in effect at the farms. As for your comments about disinfecting of boats the boats are constantly disinfected between fish moves and between farm sites. Your suggestion that Marine Harvest has ISA is really just proof of your sorry ability as a scientist. You have no ability because your sole function is to spread lies and false statements regarding farmed salmon. You are a disgrace to the other biologists registered in BC. Your constant name calling and character assassination on your blog of other more qualified biologists and even PhDs is a breach of the BC registrar of professional biologist code of ethics. You are becoming more and more desperate by the day. Your loosing ground rapidly and it shows. Anyone with any common sense knows that if the diseases you claim are present actually were they would be listed on both CFIA and OIE websites. Funny how you claim they were confirmed but the same labs you claim confirmed them don’t show any such confirmation. Aquaculture is growing worldwide and you a fighting a battle you will not win.
Wow Amanda that was quite a rant, I hope you feel better now because it’s about time you and others like you got your heads out of the sand. How can it be that every country in the world that has salmon farms has these diseases except the west coast of Canada. The vireses are on the east coast of Canada and that has been accepted. What is it so differant about the west coast. Is it because it is the last stand for the fish farms? The big corporations denie there is a problem and refuse to let independent testing (somthing to hide?). The provincial and Federal goverments are both working for the big corporations so can’t be trusted eather. It is said the truth will set you free. In this case the truth will set the west coast free of fish farms.
@Amanda – Since you brought up the issue of ethics…
How ethical is it for you to claim that your bio security measures are effective? In fact, lobbying by the fish farm industry has gutted any monitoring by independent, outside biologists. Your credibility is tainted by the fact that you have a financial stake in the industry.
Yes, aquaculture is growing worldwide. The result is the destruction of habitat and the introduction of disease. You have no more ethics than the shrimp farmers in Mexico that destroy mangroves. They, too, are killing our oceans. Your only motive is profit. If it weren’t for ethical scientists, you’d be laughing all the way to the bank while we wondered what happened to our native stocks.
Do you honestly think that name calling is going to give you credibility? Name calling is bullying and you and other fish farmers are trying to bully Alexandra and others into silence. If anything, you should be concerned with your own reputation.
I wouldn’t eat a farmed salmon if you paid me and I will do whatever it takes to make the world realize how you pollute for the sake of profit. We may not have the big $$$ backing us up but never under estimate people power.
btw – Do we get to sue you for feeding the people with salmon who have tumours? Disgusting!
Eat wild salmon over farmed salmon!!!
No more a rant than this blog. Ms Morton claims one of the companies has ISA and insinuates it is Marine Harvest. Funny thing about ISA though it KILLS Atlantic salmon. So how does Ms Morton explain that MHI doesn’t have massive fish die offs in its pens ? She cannot because her claims are false. How does an activist use salmon steaks as depicted in the picture above to test for disease ? You don’t. Disease is tested for in internal organs and the gills both missing in grocery store salmon. Further to that there is cross contamination in a grocery store scenario with various species being packaged in the same workspace. There is no proof of where a particular package of salmon originated or if it even came from Canada. As for my rant as you call it check out the BC registrar of biologists webpage and read the code of conduct. Ms Morton violates it regularly and as for name calling just read the Salmon are Sacred FB page and see the name calling from a site of which Morton is one of the two administrators. Ms Morton is nothing more than a sensationalistic fear monger. Follow her if you must but I follow real science and that is a scenario Ms Morton is severely lacking in. Why is it it is only the West coast of Canada Ms Morton is so determined to remove salmon farming from ? Because of the threat to Alaska Commercial fishermen ? A threat that doesn’t even exist to begin with but exists only in Alaska commercial fishermen’s minds. I find it strange Ms Morton isn’t concerned about salmon farming in her homeland the USA. Why ?? She retains US citizenship but never comments on the failure of US runs of wild salmon to materialize such is now happening in Alaska with some chinook (king) runs. Why ?
Thanks for the follow up Amanda
But you are missing the point. The point being that the goverment of canada is allowing the aquaculture industry to ignor the law and is helping them to cover up what they are realy doing to the enviroment. Bill C-38 has been designed to help industries like aquaculture, mining, oil/gas, forestry and others to make profits over protecting the enviroment. Who is a bioligist or what country you came from or name calling dosn’t matter if the wild enivroment is lost. All people need to work together to save our enviroment against Bill C-38 and big corporations. The aquaculture industry is only the first, there are many more battles on the horizon.
Amanda: you seem think because Ms Morton has a US connection, her work must be benefitting the Alaskan fishery. You also indicate salmon farms are a BC issue only.
To me,these people don’t appear to be happy campers and there is no Alaskan fishery connection that would justify their actions!
http://www.openfile.ca/halifax/halifax/text/over-100-groups-protest-open-net-pen-salmon-farming
There are Ms Mortons fighting for their communities survival, wherever these operations set up shop. This industry destroys the resources that have sustained our local communities/families for generations!
And the only reason they might not be effective is because Ms Morton, Anissaa Reed and one other party took it upon themselves to deliberately ignore bio security measures during the IHN outbreak. Ms Morton calls herself a scientist yet no professional would deliberately violate bio security measures and a quarantine put in place by CFIA a world recognized authority. Yet they did why ? It could be interpreted as a deliberate attempt to actually spread the disease farm to farm.
I didn’t indicate it is a BC only problem. I said Ms Morton only seems to be concerned about BC and not her homeland the USA. She up until recently regularly praised the Alaska state commercial salmon fishery till three BC NGO’s raised the question of the harm Alaska’s hatchery fisheries are doing to wild stocks. She has been linked to groups who regularly slag BC aquaculture in Alaska. Funny thing is those Alaska hatcheries hold their “wild” salmon in the same farm pens BC aquaculture uses for one year and feed the same feed. Funny she’s never had a problem with that has she ? There is in fact an aquaculture department in the Alaska state government.