Parasite kills 1.5 million
oysters; financial loss expected to hit $10 million
By Wes
Stewart
The Mi'kmaq
community's oyster fishery has been dealt a crippling
blow by a microscopic parasite that probably arrived
in the Bras d'Or Lakes in the ballast of a ship.
Eskasoni is trying to come
to grips with the loss of 1.5 million oysters over the
winter, resulting in the potential loss of $10 million
in aquaculture operations.
Fifty per cent of the
oysters collected during the spring inventory on
operations in Crane Cove are dead. They didn't survive
the winter after being hit by the first infestation of
the MSX disease - a parasite that attacks the flesh of
oysters - last summer. The parasite is not harmful to
humans.
The disease becomes
active again in spring when oysters come out of winter
hibernation.
"We thought the
(survival) numbers would be a lot better because of
the ice and the cold winter but it looks horrible. And
the oysters that survived don't look great; they are
pretty weak," said Charlie Dennis, CEO, Unama'ki
Institute of Natural Resources.
Normally, the loss
recorded during a spring count of healthy oysters
maturing on trays is five to 10 per cent.
Dennis figures the band
will lose all three million of its oysters, but noted
if a disease-resistant variety can be developed, the
industry may eventually be saved.
Institute oyster
biologist Allison MacIsaac said the chiefs of the five
Cape Breton Mi'kmaq bands, who manage the natural
resources facility, have asked the federal Department
of Fisheries and Oceans to fund a breeding strategy to
develop a disease-resistant strain of oysters.
She said it will take
15 years to develop a MSX-resistant oyster that could
be introduced into the wild.
"It takes a couple of
generations to see how effective we are with a
disease-resistant strain. There are still (affected)
areas of the Bras d'Or Lakes that have not been
identified. It's devastating for everybody."
Dennis said the band
began oyster farming nine years ago with a lot of time
and effort spent to grow the industry.
"Most of our beds are
infected, including our seed collecting areas in
Gillis Cove, the River Denys Basin," he said.
Dennis said five to six
million wild seed oysters are collected annually and
he is hopeful they can cultivate a disease-resistant
strain to be used as brood stock.
He also worries about
the presence of other parasites like dermo that may
have been introduced to the lakes at the same time as
the MSX disease. Dermo kills all shellfish.
The band had hoped to
use the oyster industry to raise economic development
dollars for the community.
"I still believe the
industry has potential, but I'm not sure what will
happen in the future if we can't identify a
disease-resistant variety.
"This has been a
serious setback, but I think we can prevail. They did
it in Delaware," where MSX devastated the industry.
Dennis will be out on
the water next month to see if he can locate some
survivors.
Eskasoni has eight
leaseholders and a First Nations food fishery directly
affecting 50 people. |
