A anti fish farming activist’s campaign that coaxed Sobeys to pull whole Atlantic salmon from its stores in response to concerns over sea lice is an unjustified scare tactic, says an expert in fish health.
Alexandra Morton launched a campaign to get salmon pulled from store shelves.
Morton started buying whole salmon at local grocery stores across the Maritimes and posting images of what she says are salmon infected with sea lice.
CBC reported that when an image was posted to Sobeys Facebook page on Wednesday, the company responded by removing all whole salmon from all 84 of its Maritime stores.
Sobeys spokeswoman Cynthia Thompson says its move was a proactive measure while Sobeys investigates.
Larry Hammell, a professor of aquaculture health management at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown, says the action was not necessary.
“There is absolutely no human health concern associated with them (sea lice)…there is no reason scientifically to remove these salmon from the shelves,’’ said Hammell.
He says since food safety is not affected by sea lice Morton’s campaign amounts to nothing more than fear mongering.
“It’s a scare tactic,’’ he said.
“I have to admit it is a pretty effective one.’’
Have you got half a clue ? Have you ever actually gone fishing and caught anything ? Sea lice are completely harmless , we remove them from salmon and sea run trout that we catch up our rivers all the time ( fresh run fish ) , this happens with fresh run fish because they haven't been in the fresh water long enough for the lice to die ( they need the salt water ) . They are naturally occuring , and live on the scales of fish . Nothing at all like the unsanitary conditions xl foods had that caused ecoli , improper cleaning of tools excetera ..... Ever been anywhere but a grocery store for your food ? the beef cattle ( while alive ) weren't the cause of the outbreak , it was the conditions under which they were processed that caused the contamination , I can't believe the moronic comment you posted , get a life and an education ..