Heart disease found in 5 of 7 open-net salmon farms: study
A new study has identified the presence of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) in the majority of open-net salmon farms in British Columbia's Broughton Archipelago. Researchers are urging the government to reclassify the associated virus, PRV, as pathogenic to better protect wild salmon populations.
Why it matters
The findings highlight ongoing environmental concerns regarding the impact of industrial fish farming on wild ecosystems and biodiversity.
The study found the disease, heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI), in five of seven open-net pen salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago, a group of islands east of Port McNeill on Vancouver Island.
And researchers say the disease-causing virus, piscine orthoreovirus (PRV), can spread into the surrounding waters and infect wild fish.
“We found the occurrence of the disease is much higher than what was thought previously,” said lead author Emiliano Di Cicco.
Open-net fish farms off B.C.’s coast have long been the subject of debate, including the risk of disease transfer from farmed fish in the pens to wild salmon swimming past.
Di Cicco and colleagues published research in 2017 that found the disease in one out of four farms studied at the time. But Di Cicco said they knew it was not just a single occurrence.
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