Salmon virus could spread to Washington from British Columbia – The Seattle Times
Farming salmon in the Northwest must end
Editor, The Times:
It is shocking to read that a deadly exotic disease from Europe has now been reported in wild Pacific salmon in British Columbia and could spread to Washington and Alaska. [“Infectious virus detected in wild Pacific salmon,” page one, Oct. 18.]
Infectious salmon anemia (ISA) is a fish-farm flu, which is a listed disease requiring notification to the World Organisation for Animal Health — like bird flu, swine flu, rabies and mad-cow disease.
How this lethal disease was allowed into North Pacific waters is a lesson in madness and greed.
Norwegian companies now control 92 percent of salmon farms in British Columbia and recently spread ISA to the South Pacific in Chile — resulting in $2 billion in losses.
In the North Pacific, there is even more at stake, with wild salmon feeding bears, orcas, fishermen, eagles and wolves. Wild salmon are absolutely priceless, yet the Canadian government is putting this all at risk for short-term corporate profits.
Farming Atlantic salmon in the Pacific is clearly illogical and against the laws of nature. The only sensible solution is to immediately slaughter all the Atlantic farmed salmon stock on the Pacific Coast and let wild salmon have free passage. It is heartening to see the removal of dams in the Pacific Northwest — now it is time for the salmon farms to get out of the way.
— Don Staniford, Sointula, B.C.
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