CHARLOTTETOWN — A federal official has confirmed that a parasite threatening Prince Edward Island's world-renowned oyster industry has likely spread to a majority of the bays and rivers around the province. Kathy Brewer-Dalton, a director with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, told a provincial legislative committee today that testing of the Island's waterways has yet to be completed. But she says the extensive spread of the MSX parasite was not a big surprise, based on previous scientific studies.
Still, the agency's regional veterinarian officer, Danielle Williams, says that when MSX was detected for the first time in July in Badeque Bay, she was hopeful the disease could be contained. Those hopes were dashed when officials started detecting MSX in other places, most notably a remote waterway far from Badeque Bay, where oysters are already dying from the disease. The two officials stressed that the full impact of the parasite remains unknown because the disease and the way it spreads are not that well understood.
Williams says the Island's wild and farmed oysters have yet to experience a "generalized mortality spike," but that could change in the months and years ahead. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2024.
The Canadian Press.
