Submitter: Wild Game Fish Conservation International
Community: Olympia
Date Submitted: December 18, 2023
Summary:
Given the expert testimony during the ISA / ISAv hearings it would be wise to remove open net Atlantic salmon feedlots from wild Pacific salmon migration routes.
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Submission:
Given the expert testimony during the ISA / ISAv hearings it would be wise to remove open net Atlantic salmon feedlots from wild Pacific salmon migration routes. The detection of ISAv in wild Pacific salmon and farm raised Atlantic salmon as well as detection of HSMI in farm raised chinook salmon support the need for these feedlots to be moved immediately as to not rish infection to wild Pacific salmon and their ecosystems.
Considerable research into the impacts of ISA, ISAv and HSMI and other salmon diseases on wild Pacific salmon must be undertaken by Canadian and American scientists.
At the same time, effective rapid response strategies must be developed in preparation for one or more salmon disease outbreaks that would likely impact wild Pacific salmon.
Given the problematic nature of open pen salmonb feedlots, they should never be sited in wild salmon miration routes, they should be monitored for diseases and other issues that could impact wild Pacific salmon and a rapid response strategy should be implemented when disease outbreaks occur.
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