Terra MacDonald

I am a veterinarian and the Fish Health Manager at Mowi Canada West. I grew up in Nova Scotia and graduated from the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island in 2017. During my time at veterinary school, I knew I wanted to become a fish veterinarian, and salmon were my main focus. I have worked all around the East Coast of Canada, working with various aspects of aquaculture, including regulatory, fieldwork, and within research labs, as well as taking part in externship programs in Norway and British Columbia. In my role, I am responsible for overseeing the health of the fish from egg to harvest, as well as the broodstock program. This includes organizing diagnostic screening, sea lice management, welfare monitoring and management, and prescribing treatments and medication where required. The key skills required for my job include the ability to take the abundance of daily data we receive and formulate it into useful patterns that help to guide our sampling and treatment plans and other activities. Having a wide breadth of knowledge and being able to quickly switch focus from regulatory reporting to discussing a wellboat treatment and then looking at a biosecurity plan for a hatchery is important as well.