Grieg Seafood to cull almost 1 million farmed salmon

A company developing a massive aquaculture operation in southern Newfoundland is delaying its first transfer of farmed salmon because of concerns over a notorious virus.

Grieg Seafood Newfoundland said in a statement this week a problem was detected during what it called "routine sampling" of fish that had been scheduled to be transferred from its Marystown facility to cages in Placentia Bay.

One sample showed infectious salmon anemia, better known as ISA. A further 295 samples showed no other incidents of ISA, a virus that can infect wild salmon.

"Grieg Seafood Newfoundland will not risk introducing the virus into the environment," the company's statement said.

"As a result, Grieg Seafood Newfoundland regrets to say that almost 1 million fish scheduled for sea transfer this summer unfortunately will be culled."

Company officials were not available for an interview.

ISA was present but was determined not to be the causeof a massive salmon die-off in 2019 in cages at a Northern Harvest operation.

Grieg says it is on track to transfer about three million fish to the sea in the summer of 2022. Harvesting is expected to take place in 2023 and 2024.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador