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[HEALTH] · Canada · 7 sources

Part of situation: British Columbia salmon conservation and aquaculture (2 clusters)

British Columbia salmon farms show higher rates of viral heart disease

Atlantic salmon heart and skeletal muscle inflammation piscine orthoreovirus Broughton Archipelago aquaculture

A peer-reviewed study published in the journal Aquaculture indicates that heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) is more prevalent in British Columbia's farmed Atlantic salmon than federal data suggests. The research, conducted in the Broughton Archipelago, found that the virus responsible for HSMI, piscine orthoreovirus (PRV), is escaping from farms into surrounding waters.

Researchers from the Pacific Salmon Foundation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the University of British Columbia sampled fish at seven open-net-pen farms between October 2021 and March 2023. Of 749 fish examined, 50 were diagnosed with unambiguous HSMI. PRV was detected in approximately 90 per cent of all sampled fish.

The study, part of the Broughton Aquaculture Transition Initiative, involved farms overseen by the Mamalilikulla, ʼNa̱mǥis, and Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis First Nations. Findings showed the disease appeared at five of the seven farms, with elevated rates at Sargeaunt Passage and Swanson Island. Scientists noted that controlling HSMI alone may not protect wild salmon unless PRV replication is also managed.

Entities

Broughton Archipelago · Fisheries and Oceans Canada · Mamalilikulla First Nation · Pacific Salmon Foundation · University of British Columbia

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

Sources

Federal diagnostic rules may be masking outbreaks in farmed salmon [lakecowichangazette.com]
Federal diagnostic rules may be masking outbreaks in farmed salmon - Victoria News [vicnews.com]
Federal diagnostic rules may be masking outbreaks in farmed salmon - Port Alberni Valley News [albernivalleynews.com]
Federal diagnostic rules may be masking outbreaks in farmed salmon - Goldstream News Gazette [goldstreamgazette.com]
Federal diagnostic rules may be masking outbreaks in farmed salmon [oakbaynews.com]
Federal diagnostic rules may be masking outbreaks in farmed salmon - Parksville Qualicum News [pqbnews.com]
Federal diagnostic rules may be masking outbreaks in farmed salmon [sookenewsmirror.com]