Nova Scotia Fisheries Minister Keith Colwell says 600,000 salmon smolts have been killed following an outbreak of infectious salmon anemia at two land-based aquaculture facilities last month.
Colwell says the small, independently owned fish farms are close to each other, but he would not name them or say where they are located.
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He says it was almost a complete loss for one company, but the other lost only part of its stock.
Colwell says there are no health concerns for humans because the virus only affects salmon.
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He said it’s highly unusual to have an outbreak of infectious salmon anemia at a land-based facility.
Colwell says his department will be investigating how the smolts became infected.