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What's under the surface?

» Salmon virus detected in BC waters, non-governmental study says

Aaron Guillen
Staff Reoorter

ear the beginning of

January, the Virology
Journal, an open-access, peer-
reviewed journal focusing on the
viruses of animals, plants, and
microbes, discovered that there
is evidence behind the notion
of a deadly virus in provincial
waters—and it very well may be
found in the grocery store.

A multitude of researchers
are blowing the whistle on
what they believe is the next
big travesty set to hit BC in the
near future. After many tests,
“fragments” of the infectious
salmon anaemia virus (ISA),
a disease of Atlantic salmon
known to affect fish farms, have
been found in the province. Out
of a sample size of over 1,000
types of fish, 79 were found to
match the similar European
form.

The first-known of these

: particular viruses began

: spreading and causing havoc in
: Norway around the ’s5os. Since

: then, it travelled across the

: Atlantic to Chile, reaching a

: peak by 2007. An estimated two
: billion were lost in the Chilean

: farming industry due to the

: rapid spread of ISA. Dramatic

: drops in fish count called for

: declines in production, resulting
: in the laying off of countless

: workers from their jobs.

With only a portion of the

: puzzle completed, the group

: of researchers at Virology

: Journal wanted the remaining
: few pieces to be filled in by the
: government.

Among those making

: these demands are BC locals

: Rick Routledge, a statistics

: professor at SFU, and Alexandra
: Morton, a marine biologist for

: the Raincoast Research Society.

: Morton is passionate about what

: documentary film released in

: 2013 titled Salmon Confidential,
: Morton went to great lengths

: to attempt to reveal what is

: happening behind closed

: doors, with the ultimate goal of
: bringing sufficient information
: to the public in time to save BC’s : a
: salmon.

: virus, but we found fragments.

: We are not the only scientists

: to detect ISAV in British

: Columbia, but we are the only

: non-government team to detect
: the virus and the only ones to

: publish on it,” explained Morton
: on her blog.

: Association has used the fact

  

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: pressing the government for the
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: up of what is killing BC’s wild —: ieee @ dle eS
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“We never found the whole

Image by @AshNathens via twitter

: that the research team has only
: found fragments of the virus

: against them.

: “We have great concerns

: about the methodology and

: the ethics of the researchers

: involved, given their history of
: reporting false positives with

> respect to ISA. None of the

: results reported in this paper

: have been confirmed by an

: outside lab,” commented Jeremy
: Dunn, the Executive Director of
: the Association, in a January 8

BC Salmon Farmers press release.

 

Improving public safety in New Westminster for 2019

» New Westminster Police Department reveals new strategy

 
 
 
 

Mercedes Deutscher
News Editor
Mi news@theotherpress.ca

Ihe New Westminster Police
Department (NWPD)
released a new plan on January
8 that aims to improve public
safety over the next four years.
This plan builds upon
a similar plan that was
implemented in 2012, which
resulted in the hiring of 23
new officers for the NWPD.
“This strategic plan
represents a promise to the
community of New Westminster
as we continue to do everything
that is possible to keep
everyone safe and secure,”
said Dave Jones, NWPD Chief
Constable, in a press release.
There have been several
reasons to implement a new
plan, including the increasing
population within the city,
a greater number of offices
being built or rented, and a
rising number of business
licences being issued. The
NWPD has also been placed
under some scrutiny for their
spending, with residents
questioning how much benefit
the NWPD is providing the
community for what they cost.

“This planning process

: took into account the key

: trends shaping the future

: of our community. Traffic

: and property crime, issues

: related to mental health and

: addictions, and preventing

: criminal activity, all remain top
: of mind for New Westminster

: citizens,” wrote Jones in the

: introduction of the plan.

The plan includes three

: overarching objectives, with two
: or three sub-goals within each.

The first of these objectives

: is to reduce crime and to improve
: public safety. The NWPD
: hopes to accomplish this goal

: through the means of improving
: safety for drivers, raising

: police presence in public, and :
: increasing focus on serious crime :
: and repeat offenders, rather :
: than minor and petty crime.

The second of these

: objectives builds on the

: increased presence in the

: community, as well as improved
: communications with major

: forces in the city. This will be

: accomplished through increasing }
: communications—both

: internally and externally—

: building lasting relationships
: inthe community, and

: working closely with other

 

: Involve more effectively utilizing
: available resources. This will be

: done through better training

: involving technology and

: interpersonal communications.

:
2 elle ae ate re
: pu einae

: nearby police jurisdictions.

Image via www.nwpolice.org

As an aside within the
: plan, New Westminster mayor
: Jonathan Cote wrote: “...We
: are all very proud of the past
: and current successes of the
: NWPD, and we're grateful for
: the exemplary service they

: provide to New Westminster’s

: citizens around the clock. Their
: commitment to public safety is
: a key factor in making our city

: a great community now, and

: we're confident in their pledge

: of service going forward.”

The third of these objectives