While one Central Alberta trout farm has commenced moving its stock out to clients’ ponds, another remains quarantined after whirling disease was discovered in Alberta.
Fish at a second unidentified aquaculture facility have tested positive for the disease.
Dan Menard, who owns Smoky Trout Farm north of Red Deer, said Tuesday he has received the go-ahead to stock clients’ ponds. He expects they will be able to move most of the fish out before water starts to freeze over.
“We have been given permission to stock in certain water bodies in the province,” he said.
The trout farm is one of about 40 commercial aquaculture facilities in Alberta that raise fish — in this case rainbow trout.
Smoky Trout Farm was temporally quarantined until testing could be done by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in conjunction with Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP). The quarantine was lifted after no signs of the disease were found.
Whirling disease has a high mortality rate in young fish. Since it was discovered, CFIA and AEP have been trying to track down where it started and how widespread it is in Alberta.
The disease was first confirmed in fish in Johnson Lake in Banff National Park in August. Since then it has also been detected in other locations in the park, as well as in a creek in Rocky View County.
Tammy Jarbeau, a Canadian Food Inspection Agency spokesperson, confirmed on Tuesday that a second fish farm had tested positive. Neither of the farms have been identified.
CFIA’s website shows that the first case of whirling disease at a licensed commercial aquaculture facility in Alberta was confirmed on Oct. 4. A second case was confirmed last Friday. The disease kills fish but is not harmful to humans.
“Additional detections of whirling disease from the ongoing testing does not mean the disease is spreading. Whirling disease may have been present for several years and the ongoing sampling will help determine the extent of the distribution and the most appropriate disease response,” Jarbeau said in an email.
Another Central Alberta fish farmer, Jack Fraser, who owns Fraser Trout Farm and Hatchery in the Lacombe area, said that his farm, where he has about 100,000 trout, remains under quarantine. He said earlier that it wasn’t 100 per cent confirmed his fish tested positive for the disease.
He said he has not heard anything further from the CFIA or AEP and he cannot sell any fish until he does.
barr@www.reddeeradvocate.com