ISA virus prompts salmon harvest on Newfoundland's south coast

Thousands of farmed salmon at an aquaculture site on Newfoundland's south coastare being harvested aftertests showed infectious salmon anemia in some samples.

Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne confirmed Tuesday that five of 35 fish tested in one of six open-pen cages near the community of Gaultois, and operated by CookeAquaculture, had the infection.

He said it's the first time since 2013 that the infection known as ISA has been discovered in the province's aquaculture industry.

Byrne said the infection is naturally occurring, is not harmful to humans,and may have been spread from wild salmon in the area.

"As soon as it was identified, we issued a quarantineorder to that site," Byrne said.

He said the company has decided to harvest all the fish at the site beginning with the 50,000 in the cage where ISA was found.

Byrne said ISA has not been identified in the remaining cages.

ISAlabels not needed

The minister called it a marketing and precautionary move by the company. He explained that the fish can still be sold to consumers because there are no health risks to humans, and added the fish will not need to be labelled as coming from a site infected with ISA.

"There's no labelling required," said Byrne, who noted the affected fish were of marketable size.

Mel Hall, who is withCookeAquaculture, said ISAdoesn't really go away. "It's in the natural environment," he told CBC News."

The discovery comes at a critical time for the industry, which is mired in controversy over plans to develop a massive open-pen aquacultureoperation in Placentia Bay proposed byGrieg Seafarms.

The provincial government has been championing growth in the industrywhich has brought renewed economic life to much of the province's south coast after aserious outbreak of the infection in 2013 left the sector reeling.