In May, Mainstream reported outbreaks of Infectious Haematopoietic Necrosis virus (IHN) on two of their open net-cage salmon farms in Clayoquot Sound. Both farms were culled, and the diseased fish of marketable age were sent to market. IHN is endemic to wild Pacific fish, and at low concentrations is not deadly to them. However, salmon farms amplify diseases, and much like in a crowded hospital, pathogens that are normally not an issue can become deadly.

Dr. Kristi Miller, Head of the Molecular Genetics section at the Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), found Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus (ISAv) on 2 other Clayoquot Sound salmon farms late last year. Both of these diseases are highly contagious and can cause mortality in wild and farmed salmon.
 
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) began a two-year coast-wide surveillance program this spring to assess how widespread these diseases are in British Columbia.
 
A July 2011 internal memo to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada stated that decisions on all new salmon farm applications should be postponed until the recommendations of the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Fraser River Sockeye Salmon have been made. However, the memo goes on to specifically recommend an exception for the Plover Point application.
 
Expansion of fish farms in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve is strongly opposed by many groups including Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations.
 
"It would be reckless to increase the number of fish farms in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the midst of so many disease outbreaks", said Friends of Clayoquot Sound campaigns director Bonny Glambeck. "With Cohen's findings not yet released and CFIA in the midst of a viral survey, this is not the time to be expanding salmon farming in British Columbia waters."

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