Minimal risk to wild salmon from viruses on farmed B.C. salmon: DFO

Photo: The Canadian Press

Spawning sockeye salmon make their way up the Adams River in Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park near Chase, B.C. Monday, Oct. 13, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says nine pathogens from farmed salmon in British Columbia's Discovery Islands pose a minimal risk to wild salmon, based on its scientific assessments.

It says the department will consult with seven First Nations on the islands, which are near Campbell River, before deciding whether to renew the licences of area fish farms before they expire in December.

Meetings with the First Nations, which have raised concerns about three salmon farms, are expected to begin in October.

Jay Parsons, the department's director of aquaculture, says the risk of the viruses transferring from farmed to wild stocks in the Fraser River is less than one per cent.

The federal government is conducting a series of assessments based on a recommendation stemming from an inquiry into dwindling salmon stocks in the Fraser River.

The Fisheries Department said in December 2017 that a virus called 1HNV also posed a minimal risk to wild salmon and that it is present in the Pacific Ocean environment.