Newfoundland and Labrador's Fisheries Minister said infected salmon ordered killed at an aquaculture site on the south coast will not go to market for human consumption.

Darin King confirmed that 450,000 fish, located at Gray Aqua Group's salmon farm in Butter Cove, will be disposed of in other ways.

"In this particular case, none of these are going to be harvested for consumers," said King. "They're all going to be destroyed through fish meal or landfill or some other appropriate means."

On July 6, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed some of the 450,000 fish had infectious salmon anemia, a disease which kills fish, but which the agency said is harmless to human health.

The entire stock was worth $10 million, and about half the fish were ready to go to market.

An industry source later said that the company hoped to sell at least part of the stock ordered destroyed to supermarkets.

King said he expected the CFIA to approve the company's operating procedures for disposing of the salmon within the next 24 hours.

The CFIA has set a deadline of Aug. 4 for depopulation to be complete.