In a technical briefing was held by phone-in only Dr. Kristi Miller of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
They confirmed for the first time that the disease Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation (HSMI) was diagnosed in farmed Atlantic salmon in a farm in the Johnston Strait area of British Columbia.
This is a very important finding because the virus associated with this disease, piscine reovirus (PRV), is widespread in the salmon farming industry with 70-95% of farmed Atlantic salmon testing positive.
Dr. Gary Marty published a paper in 2014 that reporting that HSMI does not occur in BC.
"no fish had lesions diagnostic for heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI)" Marty et al 2014, Journal of Fish Disease
This work is now in doubt
The co-announcement between the Pacific Salmon Foundation and Fisheries and Oceans Canada has significant ramifications and raises the concern that farmed salmon are putting wild salmon at disease risk.
Marine Harvest lists HSMI as the #2 leading cause of death of their salmon (page 37)
Download Marine Harvest annual General 2012
See previous post on interviews with Norwegian scientists on PRV and HSMI