VICTORIA -- Human and mechanical errors are said to be the cause of hundreds of trout deaths at a Vancouver Island University (VIU) facility in Nanaimo in December.
According to VIU, a "series of errors" led to the deaths of 377 trout housed in the facility on Dec. 5. Following the deaths, reviews of the facility and its procedures were launched by the university to be examined by the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC).
Shortly after the deaths occurred, VIU decided to temporarily decommission the facility until the errors that lead to the deaths had been completely determined and reviewed.
On Dec. 20 and 21, the university moved approximately 1,500 trout from their facility to a Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo.
The university says that the fish transfer was successful, and that the process was approved by both the university's Animal Care Committee (ACC) and the DFO's Pacific Regional Animal Care Committee.
The roughly 1,500 fish will remain in the DFO facility until further notice from the university.
"VIU is taking this incident very seriously and is working in cooperation and close consultation with the CCAC to determine the path forward," said VIU in a news release Tuesday.
The university says their animal care committee has submitted a report of the incident to the CCAC and is currently awaiting a response from the national organization.
"Vancouver Island University is committed to the ethical and humane treatment of animals," said VIU. "As part of this commitment, the VIU Animal Care Committee oversees and ensures that all activities involving vertebrates are conducted in accordance with the guidelines set out by the Canadian Council of Animal Care."
