More oyster licences on P.E.I. placed under quarantine

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it has placed more P.E.I. sites under quarantine following the discovery of a parasite that affects oysters. 

The presence of multinuclear sphere X, or MSX, in Bedeque Bay was confirmed after harvesters noticed in June that some of the oysters were unhealthy or dead. The CFIA was notified and began an investigation to determine if the parasite had spread to other areas. 

"Several additional sites have been placed under quarantine as part of our traceout activities," a spokesperson for the CFIA confirmed in an email late Friday.

A further update posted to the P.E.I. Aquaculture Alliance's website said that samples from three of 10 sites the CFIA tested were positive for MSX. 

The alliance emphasized that the results are presumed but not confirmed to be positive and will require further genetic testing.

"All leases that were linked to the movement of oysters from Bedeque Bay in 2023 and/or 2024 have now been placed in quarantine," the alliance's statement says. "Those leaseholders have been contacted by CFIA and given instructions on managing their activities under quarantine. All activities on those [leases] need a permit from CFIA.

"Moving forwards CFIA, in partnership with other Federal and Provincial agencies, will continue to conduct targeted sampling based on movements of oysters from these infected areas. They are also investigating a mortality reported in the Mill River area, on a public bed."

Neither the CFIA nor the aquaculture alliance would share the locations of the oyster leases, citing privacy concerns. 

The CFIA said it continues to work with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the province to establish a zone in Bedeque Bay that "will provide the necessary controls and permitting for movement of products outside of the area to enable the industry to function, while still protecting oyster populations outside of the affected area." 

MSX doesn't pose a threat to humans, so the affected oysters are still safe to eat. But the parasite can slow the growth of oysters and kill some of them.

The new presumptive positive results are not the news P.E.I.'s multimillion-dollar oyster industry hoped to hear. 

MSX wiped out oyster stocks in Chesapeake Bay, between Maryland and Delaware, in the 1950s. It had never been spotted north of Maine until 2002 when it was detected in Cape Breton — where it has affected the industry ever since.

Some restaurant owners told CBC News on Friday they're doing their best to inform diners that the oysters are safe to eat, and that sales don't appear to have been affected.

But they are concerned about the parasite's impact on the local oyster supply in the years ahead.