Millions of young fish being raised in Alaska's vast network of salmon hatcheries were fed food contaminated with melamine, the same substance that has triggered a massive recall of pet food following the deaths of cats and dogs.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials stress that the tainted fish feed -- which the distributor has recalled -- is believed to pose no significant health hazard to humans or the fish.
But some hatchery operators might be forced to continue feeding the product to their captive fish for lack of substitute feed, said Patti Nelson, the state's deputy director for commercial fisheries.
Nelson said "a number of hatcheries" around Alaska were using the contaminated feed to raise pink and chum salmon fry. Many of the finger-sized fish are within days or weeks of the age when they can be released to the ocean to grow to adulthood.
Nelson would not name which hatcheries were involved.
Citing advice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Nelson said any melamine the fish consume is likely to pass out of their systems in a matter of days, won't accumulate in their bodies, and poses no danger to people who might eat the salmon, which wouldn't be consumed until after returning from the sea years from now.
"We don't believe there's a human health concern, nor a health concern for the fish," she said.
Federal authorities launched an investigation and pet food makers instituted huge product recalls in recent weeks after wheat gluten from China was found to contain melamine, a substance used in plastics, fertilizer and flame retardants. Although it has no food value, melamine can make food products appear more protein-rich, and thus, more valuable.
According to recent news reports, Chinese authorities have detained managers with the suspected supplier of the wheat gluten, which is an animal feed filler, binder and thickener.
A major fish feed distributor, Skretting Canada, on May 8 announced a voluntary recall after it said "a very low level of melamine" was found in a batch of its Bio-Oregon brand fish feed.
The feed is widely used by Alaska fish hatcheries, Nelson said.
Fish farms in Canada, Washington state and Oregon -- which, unlike Alaska's hatcheries, can raise fish to adult size -- also were affected.
Canadian health officials have said fish that ate the contaminated feed don't pose a human health risk.
Alaska is home to some of the world's largest fish hatcheries, which are geared mainly toward producing millions of salmon for commercial harvest. Some also raise salmon, trout and other species for sportfishermen. The state has 34 hatcheries, with some of the biggest in Prince William Sound and in Southeast.
STARTER FOOD
One hatchery manager reached Saturday acknowledged that his operation has the contaminated feed, and that it might have to continue using a bit of it in coming days.
The granular feed is starter food for young fish, said Pete Esquiro, general manager for Sitka-based Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association Inc.
The association is within days of releasing many chum salmon fry to the sea, he said. The fish, only a couple of inches long, are being held and fed in net pens. When they return from the ocean, they'll weigh 8 pounds or more.
The contaminated feed hasn't seemed to do them any harm, Esquiro said.
"They look perfectly fine," he said.
Hatcheries farther north must hold their fry longer because it's colder, and that might force them to use the contaminated formula longer, Esquiro said.
This late in the season, it's probably not possible to get tons of replacement feed to Alaska, and releasing the fry prematurely to the ocean could doom many of them, possibly resulting in a costly run failure in coming years, he said.
"We're going to have to put more pressure on our suppliers to make sure they do some more checking on where they're getting their materials," Esquiro said.
Nelson said the Department of Fish and Game and other state agencies would be testing hatchery fish for melamine contamination, and Esquiro said hatchery operators plan their own tests.
Daily News reporter Wesley Loy can be reached at wloy@adn.com or 257-4590.
