With the recent release of the Cohen Report, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is finding itself in a sticky situation.  Trying to maintain the economic viability of Canada’s fishing industry while ensuring the sustainability of our BC wild salmon; the DFO is stuck at a crossroad.  Currently, an issue that is being highlighted by biologist, Alexandra Morton, scientist, David Suzuki and other marine experts such as Rick Routledge; is the discovery of the ISA virus in BC’s wild salmon. The ISA virus kills the organs of salmon, depletes their immune systems, and often results in the death of the salmon.

In other regions such as Chile, the ISA virus caused 15,000 employees to lose their jobs and caused a $2 billion loss in the fishing industry.  These instances should act as a warning to BC, but why is the Canadian government still allowing this lethal virus to be transferred from farm fish to the wild salmon?  Well ignorantly enough, the DFO has asserted that the ISA virus poses a minimal threat on BC salmon as the number of recorded fatalities from the ISA virus is very low.  Chile, however, experienced a very similar situation in which the ISA virus was originally non-lethal and then suddenly became virulent, killing approximately 70% of the farmed salmon.  I believe that it is imperative that the DFO recognizes the danger of the ISA virus in BC wild salmon and calls for the immediate removal of all open-water salmon farms in BC waters (other sustainable farming practices include closed-containment salmon farms).  If action is not taken quickly, there is a good chance that the BC wild salmon population will cease to exist.

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