UBC researchers found a new virus in farmed Pacific Oysters that perished during a mass die-off in 2020.
During the die-off, researchers collected 33 dead oysters as well as 26 wild oysters from neighbouring sites. Pacific Oyster Nidovirus 1 (PONV1) was only found in 20 of the dead or dying farmed oysters.
Dr Kevin Xu Zhong, a research associate in the UBC department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS), explained this does not mean the virus was the cause of death.
“We found this new virus. There is no indication it is causing the mortality mentioned in the database, the study, or the reporting.”
Under the Pleasure Craft and Non-Pleasure Craft Sewage Pollution Prevention Regulations, Gorge Harbour has been a no-discharge-zone for boater sewage waste since June, 2000.
Under the terms of the CSSP (Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program), the presence of actual or potential pollution sources, which includes transient boats, warrants a preventive closure recommendation.
In 2012, Environment Canada made a preventive seasonal closure on the west end of the Gorge due to the presence of recreational boats; this was not a pollution event.
In early Dec 2024, there was an illness report on oysters shipped from a Gorge Harbour oyster farm to Vancouver. An illness report goes to Coastal Health, the BC Centre for Disease Control, the Canada Food Inspection Agency and back to the Federally Registered Shellfish Plant. Inspection and testing at the restaurant is done by Coastal Health. In this case, a Michelin star restaurant in Vancouver served only oysters from Gorge Harbour, ie., there were no other oysters involved.
Today, we have 55+ boats anchored out, some with people living in them. And more seasonally moored liveaboards will soon be moving into the harbour.
On January 9, 2025, Max Thaysen and Erik Lyon hosted a hands-on workshop on all things shellfish! This fantastic teaching team chatted harvesting, sustainability, identification, risks and benefits of eating local shellfish, and so much more! This is a field-recording-style episode made possible by Decoda Literacy, the Cortes Island Community Foundation, and the Cortes Island Food Bank. Big thank you to Max and Erik.
Audio by De Clarke; Research & text by Roy L Hales;
There has been a flurry of media stories about the dangers of eating raw oysters lately, but Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) confirmed that there have been no problems with Cortes Island grown oysters. (And there have been no problems anywhere with cooked oysters.) Only one of the 8 emergency closures DF0 listed, in response to Cortes Currents request, is in the Discovery Islands. A DFO notice from December 23 states, “The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has received reports of illness linked to BC Aquaculture Tenure Landfile #1402974” in the Bold Island-Crescent Channel area between Quadra and Read Islands. The other 7 oyster closures pertained to 42 ‘Landfiles’ in the Baynes Sound area across from Denman Island.
Mo Qutob, Communications Advisor with Fisheries & Oceans Canada, emailed that all of the closures he listed were in force as of December 31, 2024.
Editor’s note:Someone pointed out this article is too specific for International readers who, for example, may not even know where Vancouver Island is. There is a lack of specific information.I have written Fisheries and Oceans Canada, pointing out: “Most of The articles I see mention Tidal Area 14 (which is the little stretch of Vancouver Island coast between Comox and Parksville), but when I talk to Cortes growers they mention Baynes Sound, which is only a small part of Tidal Area 14. If it is only Baynes Sound, a lot of growers in other parts of Tidal Area 14 are being negatively impacted for something that is not even in their immediate vicinity. At the moment, a lot of Vancouver Island growers appear to be negatively impacted for something that is not in their Tidal Area.“
There was a 10 hour interval during which Erik Lyon of Rising Tide Oysters, on Cortes Island, thought he was going to reap big profits. Dozens of Californians had fallen ill after eating raw oysters from ‘Tidal Area 14’ in British Columbia. That’s on the east coast of Vancouver Island, between Comox and Parksville. Lyon specifically pointed to Baynes Sound, where there are oyster growers that sometimes ship 20,000 dozen oysters in a week. By way of contrast, he described most Cortes Island growers as ‘little mom and pop operations.’
“We’re a little bit removed from Baynes Sound. We tend to have cleaner water and a lot of the buyers can reliably pick up more product from us when the big guys go down,” he explained.
That’s what seemed to be happening on Saturday, December 13, 2024.
