Fish and Wildlife Health

 The CCH has extensive experience in the areas of fish and wildlife health. We have been consulted by municipal, provincial and national agencies to develop research programs, design surveillance systems, provide disease risk assessments, and investigate disease outbreaks. Some examples of our fish and wildlife projects include:

Fish/shellfish health:

  • Risk assessment and ecosystem health in aquaculture and fisheries
  • Framework for sustainable salmon aquaculture in BC
  • Evaluation of the health surveillance program for fish health in BC’s aquaculture industry
  • Risk assessment for the importation of live oyster seed from Guernsey into British Columbia
  • Evaluation of Canada’s ability to meet OIE requirements for shellfish export
  • Developed guidelines for the management of fish health for Yellowtail Kingfish – the foundation for a health program for Australian finfish aquaculture
  • Risk assessment for sablefish aquaculture in British Columbia
  • Coordinator of fish health research for the Science Council of BC
  • Ecology of infectious diseases in Great Lakes fishes: effects of lake management strategies
  • Development of a fish health code of practice for BC
  • Development of a fish health auditing and surveillance database
  • Review of risks associated with live food market for Tilapia
  • Outbreak investigation of deformities in net pen salmon
  • Assessment of proposed protocols for the introduction and movement of fish
  • Assessment of the risks of re-introducing Sockeye salmon
  • Technical Advisor (Health) for Environmental Assessment of the management of BC’s salmon farming industry
  • Consultation on design of fish health surveillance programs for commercial and SEP hatcheries
  • Epidemiologic investigation of Infectious Hematopoetic Necrosis

Wildlife health:

  • Feasibility assessment of online wildlife management resources
  • Bovine tuberculosis surveillance program in British Columbia’s wild cervids
  • Assessment of Michigan State’s policies for the prevention, detection, and control of chronic wasting disease
  • National surveillance of avian inluenza in wild waterfowl
  • Development of a research plan for disease assessment in amphibians at risk in BC
  • Pilot studies on surveillance of wildlife to predict emerging risks to public health
  • Necropsies of wildlife for evidence of toxin exposure and other anthropogenic impacts
  • Risks to native wildlife from camelids in BC
  • Risk assessment regarding chronic wasting disease and the movement of elk from Alberta to Ontario
  • Evaluating disease policy options for the captive breeding of Wood Bison
  • Disease risk assessment for an experimental captive breeding program of Mountain Caribou in British Columbia
  • Assessing the risk of disease in endangered Vancouver Island Marmots
  • Study of the risk of rabies in coyotes and raccoons in order to develop evidence-based policy
  • Examination of coyotes in BC for evidence of heartworm infection