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It was a case that, as the Federal Court put it, had “many red herrings”.
In the end, the judge homed in on the real issue, with a ruling favourable to the long-term survival of the iconic wild Pacific salmon.
Judge Donald Rennie on May 6 rendered the decision on a petition for judicial review that was brought forward by Ecojustice lawyers on behalf of biologist Alexandra Morton.
Morton lives in the Broughton Archipelago, where many fish farms on the B.C. coast are found. |
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In March 2013, Marine Harvest Canada Inc., which has licence from the minister of fisheries and oceans, transferred young salmon or smolts from its hatchery to its Shelter Bay fish farm.
Not too long after in June 2013, the fish tested positive for piscine reovirus (PRV).
Citing expert evidence, Judge Rennie wrote that PRV is the viral precursor to heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI), an infectious disease found in farmed salmon.
“First identified in Norway in 1999, HSMI is now prevalent throughout Norwegian salmon farming operations. HSMI was discovered in Scotland in 2005, and more recently in Chile and Canada,” Rennie noted. |
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