Friday, May 13: Salmon Farming - Net Loss and Risks to Puget Sound

“The conditions of traditional salmon farms 

can only be compared to a floating pig farm”

(UBC biologist Daniel Pauly, October 2015)

The more you know

the better you do.

Frankenstein of Fish (movie not yet rated)

What better date than Friday the 13th of May to show a film on the risks to Puget Sound which net pen salmon farming brings. The film will be shown Friday the 13th of May at 7pm, at the Angus Dei Luther Church (10511 Peacock Hill Ave NW Gig Harbor). It is free to the public, and anyone who is concerned over the political pressures being put on agencies by large and well financed corporations to green light these operations, and what they bring with them, should attend. If you're not too afraid of getting out on Friday the 13th, you will find it to be time well spent. And, it's free.

Grade School Lessons from Lesions

(from Monterey Bay Aquarium site

discussing risks of net pen farming

in open waters)

A better world through antibiotics, pesticides and genetically engineered salmon - or is it?

Industrial production of any species, like an elementary school, is a breeding ground for bacteria. Once one child gets sick, almost everyone gets sick. The response? In the past, a prescription of antibiotics was given and all was well. But now, bacteria resistant to most antibiotics is posing a threat. In the marine environment, concentrated populations - whether salmon or shellfish - begin to present the same opportunity for bacteria to spread. One fish gets sick in the pen, they all get sick. The response? Antibiotics thrown into the water with the feed. The result? Bacteria becoming resistant to not only antibiotics applied, but also bacteria which the natural defense systems of wild and native species are unable to fight off, resulting in issues such as the lesion seen above. Pesticides are used to fight off sea lice, which become pervasive in the closed environment net pens create and then spread to the native species in waters these farms are located in.

No, that's not the kind of shot

the shellfish industry is now talking about.

Has your oyster been immunized?

It's just a phage we're going through and no, we don't know what the next problem will be, but $500,000 will help with the old one.

Salmon "farmers" are not the only ones interested in controlling the environment. Shellfish farmers are also an industrial group which uses the marine habitat having problems they feel should be dealt with through modern medicine. In the case of oysters, Food Safety News recently wrote about a number of vibrio bacteria threatening the economic health of the industry and the health of those who consume oysters. In 2008, Vibrio tubiashii was blamed for the deaths of oyster larvae in hatcheries. The cause of death then evolved into ocean acidification being the problem. After hundreds of thousands were spent on monitoring and filtering equipment for the industry, Vt is again being described as the problem larvae are having. The USDA has awarded $500,000 to commercialize of a "cocktail" of bacteriophages to deal with Vt., this following a $99,000 award in 2013.  Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus, both present threats to human health if contracted and are both naturally occurring bacteria. The former is pervasive in Puget Sound during warmer summer months and the latter having been found present in recent years. Vv is prevalent in the warmer Gulf waters during the summer and causes death in ~50% of those who contract it and is expected to become a growing problem as the waters of Puget Sound continue to become warmer. Both Vp and Vv forms of bacteria are contracted primarily from consuming raw oysters.

No, that's not a hot dog

you want to eat.

"Fear can drive people away from a product"

No kidding.

Oysters dipped in a bacteriophage soup

As noted in Food Safety News, $500,000 is now available to see if "bacteriophages" are able to be commercialized to control Vt, and perhaps other forms of bacteria causing the shellfish industry economic hardships. How those will be administered is still unknown, but in Seafood Safety News, Bill Dewey, with Taylor Shellfish, suggested a "live seawater oyster-holding system with the phages in it" as one possibility. Whether there would be a risk of the concentrated phages being discharged into the waters of Puget Sound, and what risk to native species there may be, was not discussed.

Better fish through

genetic manipulation.

The Frankenstein of fish.

Big fish cause big problems which Puget Sound cannot afford.

Friday the 13th of May you are invited to see a film on net pen salmon farming and all it brings with it. Whether it be sea lice having to be dealt with through the application of pesticides or bacterial infections dealt with through the application of antibiotics or possibly bacteriophages, the waters and habitat of Puget Sound with its native species are far more important than the profits of a few.

Vibriosis: Washington's Department of Health Proposes Becoming Proactive to Protect the Health of the Public

Vibrio parahaemolyticus:

the $10,000,000 bug.

 

Better late than never

After failed years of trying to decrease the number of reported cases of vibriosis caused by oysters harvested from Washington state's water, the Department of Health has decided to become proactive. They should be congratulated. Now, instead of waiting for people to become ill and then retroactively closing harvest areas, they will now require harvest areas to close if temperatures reach levels they deem warm enough, detailed in their recently released Vp Control Plan.

Note: Comments on the VP Control Plan will be taken through February 25. To submit comments on the plan, click here.

“We’re excited about the change."

Bill Dewey, Taylor Shellfish

 

A rule even the shellfish industry likes?
Anyone involved in trying to regulate the shellfish industry is fully aware of their being "troubled" over regulations which impact their operations. But in this case, Bill Dewey with Taylor Shellfish was quoted in the Skagit Valley Herald as saying, "We're excited about the change." If it works as anticipated, the estimated 11,000* people who contracted vibriosis from Washington oysters will also be excited, for those who do not contract the disease in the future.

*The Skagit Valley Herald noted 76 reported cases of vibriosis occurred last year. According to the Department of Health, the Center for Disease Control estimates there are 156 unreported cases for each reported case.

The $10,000,000 bug
Using figures developed by the Center for Disease Control, the DOH has estimated vibriosis creates a $10,000,000 medical expense annually for those who contract the disease. This figure includes hospitalization and appointments with doctors. DOH anticipates a dramatic drop in that expense - if the plan works as they hope.

The cousin nobody wants

is now in Puget Sound.

A cousin nobody wants lurking in the shadows
DOH deciding to become proactive will have benefits far greater than preventing cases of vibriosis from Vp. A cousin to Vp in the Vibrio family of bacteria carried in oysters is one far more deadly, Vibrio vulnificus. Until now this bacterium was only a significant problem in oysters harvested from the warmer Gulf Coast waters, so much so that California banned their import during the warm summer months. Until 2 years ago it was not felt to be anything oysters from Puget Sound's cooler waters would carry. But that changed in December of 2013 when DOH issued a report confirming that Vv had been found in Washington oysters. As temperatures continue to rise and waters continue to warm, the reality grows that Vv will show up in more and more oysters harvested from Washington and become a far more significant problem than vibriosis.

Is a thermometer really an added expense to complain about?
Some are concerned the added cost of a thermometer, and its having to be calibrated to ensure accuracy, is an expense some shellfish growers may not be able to afford. Perhaps those shellfish growers should ask the families of those who have become ill with vibriosis, or worse, whether a thermometer is really an expense to complain about.

Vibriosis: Reported Illnesses Close Eld Inlet - Vibrion vulnificus found in Washington oysters

[Update 9/14: Vibriosis traced to oysters from Henderson Inlet has resulted in closure to commercial harvesting of oysters from that bay. Henderson Bay and Burley Lagoon have been closed to harvesting of all shellfish due to paralytic shellfish poisoning.]

[Update 9/7: Vibriosis traced to oysters from Peale Passage have resulted in additional cooling restrictions to be put in place for oysters harvested from that growing area. In 2013 it was closed September 19.]

 

Reported Cases of Vibriosis Close Eld Inlet

Eld Inlet has been closed to the commercial harvesting of oysters due to reported cases of vibriosis contracted from oysters harvested from that body of water. Warming water temperatures and increased consumption both play a role in the contraction of vibriosis from Washington State oysters.

Vibrio vulnificus detected in Washington State oysters
Of greatest concern is the warmer water temperatures will begin to create an environment in which the more deadly - and natural - bacterium Vibrio vulnificus becomes as common as it has in the Gulf of Mexico and now in Chesapeake Bay. Florida alone has reported 3 deaths in 2014 from the more deadly form of Vibrio. Last year Vibrio vulnificus was detected in Washington oysters, elevating the level of concern over consumption of oysters harvested from Puget Sound waters.

Tip if the iceberg
As noted last year when vibriosis from oysters harvested from Washington State spiked during the summer:

Dr. Jeff Duchin, Chief of Communicable Disease for Public Health said in a statement, “this is probably the tip of the iceberg. For every case that is reported, an estimated 142 additional cases go unreported.” The bacteria occur naturally in ocean waters and grow more rapidly during the summer months.

Life has risks
Life has risks. Consuming oysters is only one. Being educated of what those risks are and how to avoid them will help ensure those risks are minimized.