Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
1095. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the actions his Department is taking to control the spread in the marine environment of the deadly contagious bacterial disease Salmonid Rickettsial Septicaemia (SRS) that has reappeared in Irish organic salmon farms in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16995/23]
View answer1096. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the scientific evidence to support the assertion in the Connacht Tribune on 24 March 2023 by the Marine Institute that Salmonid Rickettsial Septicaemia (SRS) "poses no risk to human health"; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16996/23]
View answer1097. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to a statement by the multinational salmon farm company Mowi in its 2022 fourth quarter (Irish section) Stock Market Report that "Earnings were significantly impacted by issues with SRS, as in Scotland, following a record-warm summer" and "Harvest volume was 720 tonnes gutted weight, down from 1568 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2021 due to the biological issues", to supply a list of all Mowi and other farms in Ireland that were infected with Salmonid Rickettsial Septicaemia (SRS) in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16997/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1095, 1096 and 1097 together.
Under Regulation (EU) 2016/429, operators of fish farms are obliged to report the presence, or suspicion of the presence, of listed diseases to the Competent Authority. The Competent Authority in the case of fish health in Ireland is the Marine Institute. Salmonid Rickettsial Septicaemia (SRS) is not listed as a notifiable disease in EU regulation and there is no requirement for salmon farm operators to report outbreaks of the disease to the Competent Authority. No reports of SRS were made to the Marine Institute in 2022. However, the Marine Institute is aware that a number of salmon farms were affected by SRS to varying degrees in 2022.
I am advised by the Marine Institute that Piscirickettsia salmonis, the bacteria that causes SRS, grows optimally between 15°C to 18°C but growth is retarded above 20°C and below 10°C. Due in part to this thermal range, there is no indication that P. salmonis or other rickettsia-like organisms of fish cause disease in humans or other mammals. SRS was first reported in Chile in the 1980s and has been widely recorded in Norway, Scotland, Canada and Ireland since this first report. During this period there has been no reports of human illness associated with P. salmonis.
The Marine Institute recognises SRS as a significant fish health challenge for the Irish salmon industry. In general, controlling the spread of contagious bacterial diseases in marine environments is a complex and challenging task that requires coordinated efforts from multiple stakeholders including state bodies, fish farmers and the research community. Therefore, to assist salmon farmers to control SRS the Marine Institute is engaging with industry and academic partners to develop more rapid and reliable diagnostic tools as well as the potential development of new vaccines for SRS for use in the Irish setting.
