Western Norwegian salmon farmer Bremnes Seashore has detected ISA (infectious salmon anemia) at one of its production sites.
On Saturday, August 5, PCR samples were taken, based on autopsy findings. Two out of 15 samples have tested positive for the viral disease ISA.
Bremnes Seashore has implemented immediate measures to prevent possible spread of the disease. Further measures on the site will be carried out in consultation with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.
“There are 900,000 fish at the site and the average weight at the moment is 2.1 kilos. We have not been given a decision to release from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, but we anticipate an early decision on culling,” Einar Eide, CEO of Bremnes Seashore, told Salmon Business.
The disease has been detected at the worst possible time, right in the middle of the best feeding and growing period of the year.
– How quickly must the fish be slaughtered?
– We do not know. It’s all about welfare of the fish, and we need to look at how fast this can happen. But anyway, the fish are at a lower weight than we thought. They will not be full slaughter size, for sure.
– How big will the financial loss be?
– It’s hard to say. The production loss is the biggest, but we’ll try to keep other fish going. But it’s inevitable it will be tens of millions [NOK], due to lost production and early harvesting.
