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Rick Routledge, an SFU fish-population statistician, says he has helped uncover a potentially deadly virus in a B.C. freshwater sport fish.
Two scientists, including one at SFU, have discovered evidence of a potentially deadline virus in Cultus Lake cutthroat trout.
BURNABY, Canada -- A Simon Fraser University fish-population statistician, working in collaboration with non-government organization scientists, has uncovered evidence of a potentially deadly virus in a freshwater sport fish in B.C.
SFU professor Rick Routledge and Stan Proboszcz, a fisheries biologist at the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, have found evidence of the piscine reovirus (PRV) in cutthroat trout caught in Cultus Lake.
Tests conducted by, Fred Kibenge, a virology professor at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island, found evidence of the virus in 13 of 15 sampled fish. Follow-up analyses further confirmed the virus's presence in these fish and identified their genetic sequencing as 99 per cent identical to Norwegian strains.
The virus has been scientifically linked to heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI), a disease that has reportedly become widespread in Norwegian salmon farms and can kill up to 20 per cent of infected fish.
Routledge believes this first ever discovery of PRV in a B.C. freshwater sport fish indicates the virus could be prevalent in B.C.
Many Canadian scientists and interest groups are concerned that B.C. salmon farms pose a serious risk to wild Pacific salmon. Scientists in other countries have specifically raised concerns about the spread of PRV from farms to wild salmon.
"If PRV has been found in a Cultus Lake sport fish it could be contributing to the failure of the lake's sockeye population to return in abundance," says Routledge.
He notes the federal government-mandated Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada has listed the species as endangered.
"The discovery of PRV in Cultus Lake's cutthroat trout also begs the question is it in other related species in the lake, such as rainbow trout, kokanee and Dolly Varden. This latest discovery could also mean that salmon and trout in any lake exposed to spawning salmon returning from the North Pacific must be considered at risk of infection."
Earlier this year, SFU honorary degree recipient Alexandra Morton, an independent biologist who collaborates on fish research with Routledge, reported that lab tests had found PRV in Atlantic salmon sold in B.C. supermarkets.
PRV is the second virus commonly associated with salmon farming that scientists say they have found in wild Pacific salmon and trout. Last fall, Routledge and Morton reported positive test results for the infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAv) in sockeye salmon smolts.
Scientists testifying at the Cohen Commission Inquiry — a federally commissioned investigation of the Fraser River's declining sockeye population — have brought forth highly contested evidence of ISAv in other wild salmon populations, including Cultus Lake sockeye. The inquiry is scheduled to release its findings this fall.
"We discovered during the Cohen inquiry that pathogens are a major concern for B.C.'s salmon," says Craig Orr, executive director of Watershed Watch and an SFU graduate. "Our findings suggest we need to broaden our thinking and concerns for freshwater fish as well."
"There are many examples of devastating impacts of introduced pathogens in human, mammal and marine populations," adds Routledge.
"When small pox was introduced to North America it decimated the aboriginal population, which had not had any previous opportunity to build up a natural immunity to the disease. The potential for this to happen to B.C.'s highly valued Pacific salmon and trout populations must be taken seriously."
Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of UnderwaterTimes.com, its staff or its advertisers.
Reader Comments
6 people have commented so far.I THOUGHT ONE DAY SALMON FARMING WOULD CREATE A PROBLEM I HELP BUILD FISH FARMS IN THE 1980 S ,.THATS BAD NEWS WE ARE SLOWLY DESTROYING OUR FISH, ALL FOR THE THING CALLED MONEY.
comment# 1 - VINNY DESMARAIS · SAKEY CANADA · Jul 20, 2012 @ 1:36pm
I hope something can be done. Its the best fish that one can eat. The taste speak for it self .
comment# 2 - santone6956 · mission . tx · Jul 21, 2012 @ 8:17am
I saw no mention of the danger to humans in consuming infected trout & salmon. Is it unsafe to do so, and what might be the adverse consequences? --wookup@sbcglobal.net
comment# 3 - William C. Pierson · Austin, Texas, U.S.A. · Jul 22, 2012 @ 10:35am
35 of us just visited Montreal, Canada and all ate baked Salmon. Are cooked salmon still be okay to eat? We did not know if what we were served was contaminated. USDA advised that Atlantic salmon is contaminated since last year and not healthy to eat. Why are they still serving it in Canadian restaurants?
comment# 4 - liza worrell · Panama City, Florida. USA · Jul 22, 2012 @ 7:17pm
a fish is a fish
comment# 5 - gene luke · los angeles, ca usa · Jul 23, 2012 @ 1:13pm
http://www.weeac.com/sea-lion-slaughter-bonneville-dam.html So, it appears this virus is causing the majority (20%)of the depletion of the pacific salmon, Sockeyed salmon,cutthroat trout and other species such as rainbow trout,kokanee and Dolly Varden, etc. I see it also states that this latest discovery can mean that salmon and trout in any lake or river exposed to spawning salmon returning from the North Pacific must be considered at risk of infection as well. So why has the US governmental agencies, National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Dept. of Commerce who oversees them, decided to allow the the lethal disposal of California Sea Lions? The sea lions are being blamed for the depletion of the fish where it appears this virus is the culprit??? I also note that there have been Independent scientific teams as well as the US Army Corps of Engineers, who found that Dams have depleted the spawning grounds of these fish, concluding that removal of at least four of the hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake river systems would generate an increase of breeding of Chinook Salmon and Steelhead, and this is part of the main cause for depletion of these species...stagnated breeding pools attributed to these hydroelectric dams, yet the Federal Government will not consider the removal of these dams because they are vested in maintaining them. Conclusion, what we created has caused the depletion. Salmon Farms where the virus originated and the Dams built by us for commerce
comment# 6 - Helen Miklas · New York, USA · Jul 23, 2012 @ 1:34pm