The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Wednesday announced out of more than 4,000 wild salmon samples tested last year, all tested negative for infectious salmon anemia (ISA).
As part of the 2012 wild salmon disease surveillance initiative in British Columbia, 4,175 wild salmon were tested for ISA and either infectious haematopoietic necrosis (IHN) or infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN). The samples were collected from British Columbia waters, processing plants and enhancement hatcheries as part of the initiative.
The surveillance initiative is led by the CFIA in partnership with many organizations, including the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Province of British Columbia, First Nations groups, the aquaculture industry and the fishing and processing industry.
In 2013, the program is expected to test 5,000 samples.
The CFIA is also finalizing an evaluation of on-going farmed salmon testing activities in B.C. Next steps for on-farm surveillance will be communicated in the fall of 2013.
