fish farm siting criteria & politics
- Thread starter agentaqua
- Start date
Volcanic eruption leads to surge in phytoplankton
“It’s a world first,” David Welch, president and CEO of Kintama Research Corporation, said of the study, which he described briefly on Monday in giving expert testimony on the opening day of the Cohen Commission of Inquiry.
“Our contribution has been to narrow down the likely location for the mortality, but not demonstrate the cause,” he said.
Headed by British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen, the federal inquiry is charged with finding out why only about one million sockeye returned to the Fraser in 2009, when more than 10 million had been expected.
Dr. Welch said in an interview that the 200 young fish were tagged as part of a study into Cultus Lake sockeye, a small, endangered sub-population found on the lower Fraser River.
The Cultus fish went to sea at the same time and followed the same ocean migration route as millions of other young sockeye that left the Fraser that spring – fish that would later disappear en masse.
Dr. Welch, whose company has pioneered research using an array of acoustic sensors set along the continental shelf, said the tagged fish were tracked out of the Fraser and north, through Georgia Strait.
It has long been speculated the most likely location for the mass mortality of Fraser stocks was at the river’s mouth, because the transformation from fresh to salt water is often traumatic for salmon.
Others have suggested fish farms, clustered near the north end of Vancouver Island, may be to blame.
But the tagged fish moved rapidly past the north end of Vancouver Island before their signals were lost. The fish never reached the next monitoring post, in Alaska.
“Between the north end of Vancouver Island and Alaska, the fish seemed to stop migrating,” Dr. Welch said in an interview.
He said his data, and information the Department of Fisheries and Oceans collected in netting surveys, shows the Fraser sockeye run met its end in Hecate Strait, shortly after passing Broughton Archipelago, at the north end of Vancouver Island.
“This raises the issue of whether the poor marine survival was caused by disease transfer from the fish farms in this region or if other factors (e.g., poor ocean conditions) were responsible, or if there was perhaps a combination of impacts,” he said in a written submission.
The telemetry study was unique because it not only tracked salmon going out, but picked up the survivors on their return by putting the transmitter batteries to sleep for two years, then restarting them when the fish were expected back in B.C. waters.
He said researchers were delighted when two inbound signals were detected in July, 2009. The fish, returning from a migration circuit that covered thousands of kilometers of ocean, arrived back at the southern end of Vancouver Island on the same day.
Dr. Welch said none of the other 200 fish survived, reflecting the collapse of the broader Fraser run.
Mary Ellen Walling, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, said last year’s sockeye collapse was followed this year by the biggest return in nearly a century, which clearly indicates fish farms are not hurting wild stocks.
“It’s a very complicated issue . . . [and] we need to look at all the factors,” said Ms. Walling. “[But] our data from our farms doesn’t indicate disease issues or lice issues.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...olves-part-of-sockeye-mystery/article1772014/
“It’s a world first,” David Welch, president and CEO of Kintama Research Corporation, said of the study, which he described briefly on Monday in giving expert testimony on the opening day of the Cohen Commission of Inquiry.
“Our contribution has been to narrow down the likely location for the mortality, but not demonstrate the cause,” he said.
Headed by British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen, the federal inquiry is charged with finding out why only about one million sockeye returned to the Fraser in 2009, when more than 10 million had been expected.
Dr. Welch said in an interview that the 200 young fish were tagged as part of a study into Cultus Lake sockeye, a small, endangered sub-population found on the lower Fraser River.
The Cultus fish went to sea at the same time and followed the same ocean migration route as millions of other young sockeye that left the Fraser that spring – fish that would later disappear en masse.
Dr. Welch, whose company has pioneered research using an array of acoustic sensors set along the continental shelf, said the tagged fish were tracked out of the Fraser and north, through Georgia Strait.
It has long been speculated the most likely location for the mass mortality of Fraser stocks was at the river’s mouth, because the transformation from fresh to salt water is often traumatic for salmon.
Others have suggested fish farms, clustered near the north end of Vancouver Island, may be to blame.
But the tagged fish moved rapidly past the north end of Vancouver Island before their signals were lost. The fish never reached the next monitoring post, in Alaska.
“Between the north end of Vancouver Island and Alaska, the fish seemed to stop migrating,” Dr. Welch said in an interview.
He said his data, and information the Department of Fisheries and Oceans collected in netting surveys, shows the Fraser sockeye run met its end in Hecate Strait, shortly after passing Broughton Archipelago, at the north end of Vancouver Island.
“This raises the issue of whether the poor marine survival was caused by disease transfer from the fish farms in this region or if other factors (e.g., poor ocean conditions) were responsible, or if there was perhaps a combination of impacts,” he said in a written submission.
The telemetry study was unique because it not only tracked salmon going out, but picked up the survivors on their return by putting the transmitter batteries to sleep for two years, then restarting them when the fish were expected back in B.C. waters.
He said researchers were delighted when two inbound signals were detected in July, 2009. The fish, returning from a migration circuit that covered thousands of kilometers of ocean, arrived back at the southern end of Vancouver Island on the same day.
Dr. Welch said none of the other 200 fish survived, reflecting the collapse of the broader Fraser run.
Mary Ellen Walling, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, said last year’s sockeye collapse was followed this year by the biggest return in nearly a century, which clearly indicates fish farms are not hurting wild stocks.
“It’s a very complicated issue . . . [and] we need to look at all the factors,” said Ms. Walling. “[But] our data from our farms doesn’t indicate disease issues or lice issues.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...olves-part-of-sockeye-mystery/article1772014/
lorneparker1
Banned
remember this thread?
tincan
Well-Known Member
I'm up to page 8 or so on this thread so far. Hopefully I'll be able to find time to read it all in the coming weeks. May have to make it my 2012 resolution 
So far it's been an incredibly insightful thread. Hopefully it has a good ending but I'm afraid I know the answer to that already.
So far it's been an incredibly insightful thread. Hopefully it has a good ending but I'm afraid I know the answer to that already.
Little Hawk
Active Member
Agent has been a great advocate for the welfare of Pacific salmon. After my thread folded up, his carried on and he duke'd-it-out with the likes of Sockeye and Barbie for many months. Many on this forum contributed great input into the issues of salmon farming. I/we all owe him a debt of gratitude for helping to increase public awareness into this tragic and crooked fiasco.
Long live Agentaqua!
Long live Agentaqua!
Red Herring: The Tons of Fish That Are Caught But Not Eaten
Most anchovies and herring commercially fished in California end up as fishmeal or bait, not on dinner plates. Now there’s a movement to get people to eat, not waste, small fish, and that could help preserve bigger species.
Written by Alastair Bland Published on Jan. 29, 2018
https://www.newsdeeply.com/oceans/a...he-tons-of-fish-that-are-caught-but-not-eaten
Most anchovies and herring commercially fished in California end up as fishmeal or bait, not on dinner plates. Now there’s a movement to get people to eat, not waste, small fish, and that could help preserve bigger species.
Written by Alastair Bland Published on Jan. 29, 2018
https://www.newsdeeply.com/oceans/a...he-tons-of-fish-that-are-caught-but-not-eaten
fogged in
Well-Known Member
This Friday (Feb. 2), Prime Minister Trudeau is holding his first townhall of the year at Vancouver Island University (VIU) in Nanaimo!
Will you come with us to stand up for salmon at this public event? Bring your friends, family, neighbours and let's show the Prime Minister that British Columbians care about the future of our wild salmon.
Morning registration begins at 9 a.m. in the VIU cafeteria so come early!
The townhall begins at 11 a.m. in the VIU gymnasium. You can view the campus map HERE.
When you arrive, you'll see our team of volunteers with a banner and wearing our Watershed Watch t-shirts. Come on over and introduce yourselves!
When it comes to salmon, Trudeau's government has talked a good game, but has yet to make good on commitments to restore the Fisheries Act and implement the recommendations of the Cohen Commission. Open-net salmon farms are still spreading viruses and parasites to our wild fish, and the feds have approved several fish-killing mega-projects. This summer, across the province, we saw some of the worst salmon returns on record. We need action NOW.
https://www.facebook.com/events/367450533726704/
Will you come with us to stand up for salmon at this public event? Bring your friends, family, neighbours and let's show the Prime Minister that British Columbians care about the future of our wild salmon.
Morning registration begins at 9 a.m. in the VIU cafeteria so come early!
The townhall begins at 11 a.m. in the VIU gymnasium. You can view the campus map HERE.
When you arrive, you'll see our team of volunteers with a banner and wearing our Watershed Watch t-shirts. Come on over and introduce yourselves!
When it comes to salmon, Trudeau's government has talked a good game, but has yet to make good on commitments to restore the Fisheries Act and implement the recommendations of the Cohen Commission. Open-net salmon farms are still spreading viruses and parasites to our wild fish, and the feds have approved several fish-killing mega-projects. This summer, across the province, we saw some of the worst salmon returns on record. We need action NOW.
https://www.facebook.com/events/367450533726704/
I hope B.C. takes note of the action taken in Washington State in regards to renewing and or cancelling permits.www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/washington-state-cancels-lease-for-atlantic-salmon-farm-off-cypress-island/
Test in but well known for years.
“That to me is probably the most frustrating. Many of us have had concerns that virulent pathogens are being distributed into nursery waters of juvenile salmon for nearly eight years now,” Price told DeSmog Canada.
Effluent released from fish processing plants is also not screened to limit the amount of tissue of infected fish being released into the ocean, Price said.
“And we know this is exactly how pathogens are transmitted: through mucus and slime and the tissue of infected fish.”
The release of untreated effluent is not permitted in European countries where fish farming takes place, Price noted.
“They have biosecurity practices in place in Scotland, Norway, other countries where there’s an aquaculture industry. These farmed salmon companies know this, these are the rules they play by there,” Price said.
“That to me is probably the most frustrating. Many of us have had concerns that virulent pathogens are being distributed into nursery waters of juvenile salmon for nearly eight years now,” Price told DeSmog Canada.
Effluent released from fish processing plants is also not screened to limit the amount of tissue of infected fish being released into the ocean, Price said.
“And we know this is exactly how pathogens are transmitted: through mucus and slime and the tissue of infected fish.”
The release of untreated effluent is not permitted in European countries where fish farming takes place, Price noted.
“They have biosecurity practices in place in Scotland, Norway, other countries where there’s an aquaculture industry. These farmed salmon companies know this, these are the rules they play by there,” Price said.
Bill has been passed. Nice to see how quick the process can be when the politicians want to act.http://q13fox.com/2018/02/08/state-...to-phase-out-atlantic-salmon-net-pen-farming/
Similar threads
