SALMON DISEASE SPREADS IN SCOTLAND
THE contagious viral disease, Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA), recently took hold of its sixth farm in the West of Scotland, with three more farms under suspicion. The disease was first confirmed at Loch Nevis in May, which was the first case of ISA in the European Community, having been identified before in Canada and Norway only. The government has enforced a comprehensive and strict programme of eradication, including compulsory slaughter of infected farms.
Salmon farmers in Shetland are having to be extra vigilant following a warning by the Scottish Office to watch for the symptoms, and are asked to report any suspected outbreaks immediately. Atlantic Salmon is the only fish species known to be susceptible, however, other species can be carriers. This means that all farms in the area of an affected farm will be placed under strict movement controls, as well as intensive testing and surveillance.
Local salmon farmer Mr Julian Pajak, Manager of Lakeland Unst Ltd said he was, "not optimistic we can keep it out of Shetland farms." It is not possible to insure a farm against the possibility of being infected with ISA, which means a complete loss. Further, in the event of infection by ISA, and following compulsory slaughter of all infected farms, there is no package of compensation available from the Government at present. Lord Sewel, Scottish Office Fisheries Minister, met recently with the Scottish Salmon Growers Association to discuss provision of compensation for affected farms, with the result that a formal submission for compensation is now on its way to the government.
Commenting on the issue of compensation, Mr Pajak said, "if we were faced with going out of business, naturally we would be keen to secure compensation of some kind." He also added that, in light of the governments compensation packages for the BSE crisis, he was aware that these circumstances have not always enjoyed the best kind of compensation.
Unexplained fish mortality or suspicion of a notifiable disease must be reported to the Marine Laboratory on 01224 876544.
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