Wharfside September 2014
In this issue
Godfrey Starr: “greatly missed, and fondly remembered”
Godfrey Starr: “greatly missed, and fondly remembered”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Study confirms history of recently discovered fish virus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Rockin’ in the Faroes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Harvest Quality Supervisors focus on preserving top quality product . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Just Ducky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Driving a dynamic safety culture. . . . . . . . . . . 4 Salmon Cannon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Good Neighbours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Howie Meeker golf tournament . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Grizzly Bear photo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Salmon BBQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Did you Know? The surface waters of the Atlantic Ocean are saltier than the Pacific Ocean.
Trivia time! What does the common brand name “WD-40” stand for? Answer on Page 4
Comments about this Newsletter? Please email comments, articles and ideas to Ian Roberts, Communications Manager at ian.roberts@marineharvest.com
Godfrey Russell Starr July 14, 1960—August 16, 2014 With deep sadness I have to inform you of the passing of Godfrey Starr on August 16, 2014. Godfrey was Percy Starr’s oldest son. He was affectionately called “Plum” and was a gentle soul who was a soft-spoken man with a great sense of humour. Plum was a master fisherman and an ace fish processor, and he could split salmon like a machine and loved to do the same job every day, for years! He worked for many seasons at the Klemtu processing plant right from the beginning in the mid-1980s, until he retired about four years ago.
Plum was definitely one of the gang and he never missed a day unless the sockeye was running. Always thinking of others, he would take his dad’s gillnetter out and catch fish for everyone who couldn’t get out on the water themselves. Plum was an integral part of the community. He will be greatly missed, and fondly remembered. I know that we all will certainly miss him. Steve Sainas, Processing Manager, Klemtu
Study confirms history of recently discovered fish virus A new study, published in the international peer-reviewed Journal of Fish Diseases, reports on extensive fish virus research and confirms that the recently identified fish virus (piscine reovirus) is a benign virus that has long been present in fish in the Pacific Northwest. The study, titled Piscine reovirus in wild and farmed salmonids in British Columbia, Canada:1974-2013 (G. Marty, D. Morrison, J. Bidulka, T. Joseph, A. Siah, 2014), reports on the results of thousands of fresh and historical salmon tissue samples tested to understand more about the presence of piscine reovirus (PRV) in the Pacific Northwest. The study concludes that PRV is present in many species of wild-sourced
and farm-raised salmon. The earliest positive result, identified in a wild-source steelhead trout from British Columbia, was from 1977 and predates the start of salmon farming in British Columbia. Importantly, the study confirms that the fish that carry PRV did not show any signs of disease, such as heart and skeletal muscle inflammation. The 2013 research follows a legal challenge launched by salmon farming critic Alexandra Morton. It was alleged by Ms. Morton that PRV was very recently introduced to B.C. by the salmon farming industry, and that the virus was the causative agent of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI).
Despite extensive testing, HSMI has not been found in any fish (farm-raised or wildcaught) in the Pacific Northwest. “We are happy to see that in B.C. piscine reovirus appears to be a harmless virus that’s commonly found in fish in the Pacific Northwest,” says Clare Backman, a biologist at Marine Harvest Canada. “While the serious allegations by Ms. Morton were without factual basis, we felt it was important to acquire greater knowledge about piscine reovirus.” The collaborative study includes researchers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Centre for Aquatic Health Sciences, and Marine Harvest Canada.
Rockin’ in the Faroes On August 5, five members of American rock group Twisted Sister arrived at Marine Harvest’s office in Hellunum in the Faroes Islands to find out where sushi comes from. Managing Director Hans Jakùp Mikkelsen welcomed them and took them for a tour of the smolt production facilities and a site visit to Oyndarfjørður. The band stayed for a sushi lunch and great conversation with Marine Harvest staff. “They stayed with us for four hours, and seemed to enjoy it,” says Mikkelsen. “They were very interested to know how sushi salmon is made.” Twisted Sister is a New York band, most famous for their mega hits “We’re Not 2
Gonna Take it” and “I Wanna Rock”. They came to the Faroes to play at the annual MarineHarvestCanada.com
summer festival in Klaksvik and were taken by the beautiful nature, Mikkelsen says.
Harvest Quality Supervisors focus on preserving top quality product Ron Donovan has been with Marine Harvest’s harvest crew since 2006 when he quickly became a crew supervisor. Throughout his career, Ron’s attention to excellence has focused on proper handling of fish post-mortem and those steps that will ensure the product’s high quality is maintained from the ocean through to the consumer. Cory Lopez By Gina Forsyth
The addition earlier this year of a second Harvest Quality Supervisor position is “very much a forward thinking move for our department. It’s aimed at increasing all aspects of quality control as we are expanding harvest volumes,” says Jason Stalker, Harvest Manager. “These positions key us up well for the future.” “Handling the fish before, during and after harvest is our last chance to ‘get it right’ and lock into the fish the freshness that our customers expect. This close attention to detail includes meeting or exceeding harvest expectations by preserving salmon quality, subjecting the fish to minimal stress, and paying strict attention to temperature control and general harvest operations,” comments Jason.
Cory Lopez also began his Marine Harvest career in 2006 as a Farm Technician in both Klemtu and Broughton areas. He has always played a significant role in fish handling as one of the key operators of the Polar Star work boat, evolving the region’s harvesting and fish transfers. His new area of responsibility, as of August 2014, involves a consistent focus on ensuring the fish are stunned and bled correctly and humanely, and that there is as little stress to the fish as possible by eliminating aggressive handling. Ron and Cory come to the table with different backgrounds. Ron is teaching Cory
Leading the way with cooperative guidance to farm site staff and contract services provider as well as continually improving post-mortem operations in the department are Ron Donovan and Cory Lopez, both of whom report to Jason.
about quality issues that can be managed on the boat, such as measuring harvest fish for quality control purposes which include temperature and pH (to monitor the effects of stress), and vessel loading procedures which includes chill-down times. Meanwhile, as a complement to Ron’s work, Cory reinforces the importance of fish husbandry and handling practices to the contract boat employees and farm site staff; for example, avoiding fish stress by ensuring the fish are not overcrowded. “There’s a large amount of information sharing and knowledge exchange going on between Ron and Cory,” says Jason, “and that contributes to consistent harvesting throughout each cycle at every farm and in every geographic area.” “The addition of Cory and Ron - who are the key links between the harvest vessel and farm site staff - makes for a great team,” Jason adds.
Ron Donovan MarineHarvestCanada.com
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Driving a dynamic safety culture
By Dan Pattison, Health & Safety Coordinator
Achieving full safety compliance can be overwhelming, and workers know it’s tough to remember the seemingly endless, yet critical, rules and regulations in place to keep workers safe and aware of hazards. For this reason, in 2008, the Campbell River production area appointed dedicated farmers to ensure safety remained the highest priority. The idea was simple; a ground up safety
team that meets each quarter to discuss methods and cross reference safety items. In 2014, the Safety Task Force (STF) is still in effect and is a staple to the area. The current goals of the STF is to audit each other’s farms once per quarter, achieve knowledge on area and company concerns while filling roles as leaders on safety by means of additional training. Representatives encourage valuable safety meetings, promote the BrainSafe culture, complete site specific risk assessments, near miss investigations, and have even performed full-scale emergency drills. Members will commonly set goals based on safety compliance and training, helping them earn more and gain a higher sense of value to the company. Detailed
internal audits are the keystone to the STF and site scores are tallied up at year end. Awards and bragging rights go to the site with the highest compliance. “With preparation and teamwork, our STF team works to promote a higher safety culture so at the end of the day we are making our area safer for everyone” - John Ilett, Okisollo Manager / 2014 STF team leader.
Just Ducky Ducks Unlimited Canada was pleased to have Marine Harvest as title sponsor of its 15th annual fundraising golf tournament held at the beautiful Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community. We also entered a team – which did quite well! Marine Harvest was represented at the 2014 Ducks Unlimited tournament by (l-r) Brad Marsili, John McCormic, Joel McGee, and Fabian McCarty (with Greg Sawchuck, DU President, Comox Chapter)
Ducks Unlimited Canada and Marine Harvest Canada signed a memorandum
of understanding in April, 2013, to work together to protect important wildlife habitat. The partnership allows for information, education and equipment sharing, cooperative investigation and consultation, and technical assistance to increase the capacity for restoration of wetlands in and around the Georgia Basin.
Greg Gibson (MHC biologist) took this photo last month while travelling on the ocean. This grizzly bear was enjoying a plentiful return of wild salmon in a nearby creek. MarineHarvestCanada.com
Answer: Water Displacer, 40th formula.
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Salmon Cannon
Good Neighbours Sayward Futures Society was thrilled to receive a barbeque from Marine Harvest’s Freshwater Transport Manager, Paul Kendrick. The Society will use the barbeque
for different community and fundraising events in Sayward. Pictured are (l-r): Larry Wachs, Paul Kendrick, Heather Wachs (SFS President) and Elaine Sanderson.
A “salmon cannon” video has been doing its social media rounds. If you like seeing fish fly, check it out on “Whooshh Innovations” YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=wSBS2F9VXaE&app=desktop
Marine Harvest was proud to be Silver sponsor of the Howie Meeker golf tournament in support of BC Special Olympics.
Marine Harvest golfers joined Special Olympics athletes for a fun round of golf at Storey Creek Golf Course in August.
BC Special Olympians dropped by our office to say “thanks” to Marine Harvest for being a major sponsor for over 10 years. Pictured is (l-r): Ian (MHC), Reise, A.J., Matthew, Jody, Martina, Patricia, Samantha, and (front) Izzy (athletes), Megan (MHC)
MarineHarvestCanada.com
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Port Hardy processing staff (with Marine Logistics Coordinator, Roger King) were in full force cooking up a big donation for Port Hardy’s “Filomi Days” this summer. Big thanks to (l-r): Roger King, Ronita Prasad, Matt Miller, Erin Klatt, Marnie Godmaire, Karen Tobin, Kathy Baker & Pam McDermott
Can you believe it, summer is nearly over! Greg (MHC biologist) took this photo lastand month travelling on the ocean. This grizzly bear was So Gibson don’t wait! Join us for one last salmon barbeque helpwhile raise over enjoying plentiful of charities wild salmon in a nearby creek. $30,000a in supportreturn for local this summer season! Charity
Date
Location
Serving Time
Mt Washington Ski Club
Done!
27-Apr-14
Comox - Marina Park
9 am - 4pm
St Joseph’s Hospital Foundation
Done!
23-May-14
Courtenay - Driftwood Mall
10 am - 2 pm
Campbell River Christian School
Done!
24-May-14
CR - 250 Dogwood St
11 am - 2 pm
Campbell River Beacon Club
Done!
25-May-14
CR - Robert Ostler Park
11 am - 12:30 pm
Campbell River Head Injury Support Society
Done!
28-May-14
CR - Spirit Square
2 pm - 4 pm
North Island Relay for Life
Done!
31-May-14
Pt McNeill - NISS Track
6 pm - 6 am
Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre
Done!
6-Jun-14
PH - 7250 Market St
11 am - 2 pm
Habitat for Humanity (Campbell River)
Done!
14-Jun-14
CR - Spirit Square
noon - 2 pm
Black Creek Community Association
Done!
21-Jun-14
Black Creek - 2001 Black Creek Rd
4 pm - 9 pm
CR Hospice Society
Done!
28-Jun-14
CR - Dick Murphy Park
11 am - 1:30 pm
Willow Point Lions Club
Done!
28-Jun-14
CR - 2165 Isl Hwy
6 pm - 7:30 pm
BC Professional Firefighters Burn Fund
Done!
1-Jul-14
CR - Robert Ostler Park
noon - 1:30 pm
Salmon Kings Swim Club
Done!
5-Jul-14
CR - Centennial Park
4 pm - 8 pm
Filomi Days
Done!
19-Jul-14
PH - downtown
11 am - 4 pm
North Island (“Harvest”) Food Bank
Done!
16-Aug-14
Pt McNeill - town centre
11 am - 1:30 pm
Vancouver Island Mountain Sports Society
Done!
23-Aug-14
Courtenay - Mt Washington
noon - 3 pm
Volunteer Campbell River
6-Sep-14
CR - Spirit Square
11:30 am - 2 pm
SPCA - Paws for a Cause
7-Sep-14
CR - Nunns Creek Park
11 am - 12:30 pm
Greenways Land Trust
20-Sep-14
CR - Spirit Square
Lunch
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