After its detection of infectious salmon anemia (ISA) at its hatchery located in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, Mowi Canada’s Northern Harvest Smolt Limited will cull 450,000 juvenile Atlantic salmon.
The company reported a suspected detection of ISA at the hatchery on 27 March, and it confirmed in a 28 April press release that eight parr, or older juveniles, tested positive for pathogenic ISA, and six fish as positive for non-pathogenic ISA.
“In response to this confirmation, and in keeping with best practice, NHSL is culling all 450,000 juvenile Atlantic Salmon that were raised with these positive fish,” the company said in a press release. “The investigation is continuing with further sampling. Should further fish be confirmed ISA-positive through sampling, additional measures may be announced.”
The culled fish will be converted into biofuel at a local conversion plant in the province. The Northern Harvest hatchery will undergo disinfection after the cull is completed to “ensure any presence of ISA is eradicated,” according to its statement.
“An enhanced program of additional testing and monitoring will continue at the facility with the involvement of regulatory authorities after the cull,” it said. “The facility will remain in a state of quarantine until the quarantine is lifted by regulatory authorities. The cull, disinfecting process, and continued monitoring activity will be conducted per standard operating procedures approved by regulators.
Under Canadian regulations, Northern Harvest, which was purchased by Mowi in 2018, is required to conduct frequent testing and report any detection of ISA within 24 hours. It plans to resume normal operations as soon as possible, though the cull will affect its farming timeline, the company said.
“NHSL will now proceed with making revisions to its production planning, and remains committed to continuing productive operations in Stephenville, and throughout Atlantic Canada,” it said.
The company is already behind schedule in production after the company suffered a mass die-off of salmon last year, after sustained high water temperatures resulted in the deaths of around 2.6 million Atlantic salmon between late August and early September at 10 Northern Harvest farms in southern Newfoundland.
Photo courtesy of Northern Harvest
