Another outbreak of infectious salmon anemia confirmed

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed the province's second outbreak of infectious salmon anemia this year.

This latest outbreak of ISA, which can kill fish but is not harmful to humans, has occurred at a Cooke Aquaculture facility in Hermitage Bay, the CFIA confirmed on Tuesday.

Preliminary lab results tested positive for the virus at the facility on Nov. 26, and it was placed under quarantine the following day.

About 350,000 salmon are affected by the outbreak, and may be ordered destroyed.

The provincial government said strict biosecurity protocols remain in place at the site.

In July, 450,000 salmon were destroyed following an ISA outbreak at a Gray Aqua facility on Newfoundland's south coast, causing a loss of $10- to $13-million in sales.

'No cause for concern'

Fisheries Minister Derrick Dalley said the situation is under control.

"[There's] no great cause for concern," he said.

"This is an expected process in aquaculture that occurs in sites around the world."

Liberal fisheries critic Jim Bennett said this outbreak shows the need to change the province's aquaculture practices.

He said instead of keeping the fish in cages in the ocean, they should be raised in land-based tanks to help contain infections.

"If you were to take all of the money that's being spent by the federal government through CFIA and add it to all the money that the province is spending in development, clearly we should be able to have closed containment," he said.

Five years ago, more than two-thirds of Chile's farmed salmon had to be destroyed because of ISA.