Whole in the Water
Well-Known Member
Yet another nail in the net pen fish farm coffin - time to get them out of the water and onto the land to better manage their negative impacts! Disgusting to see more information about DFO's incestuous relationship with the Fish Farm industry.
https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/04/24/fisheries-and-oceans-canada-not-adequately-managing-salmon-farming-risk-environment-commissioner.html?utm_source=Watershed+Watch+Email+List&utm_campaign=a4869c0c4a-SALMON_NEWS_2018_03_28&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_405944b1b5-a4869c0c4a-460103765&mc_cid=a4869c0c4a&mc_eid=40977b7a71
Fisheries and Oceans Canada not adequately managing salmon farming risk: Environment commissioner
The federal commissioner’s report says the department hasn’t assessed the risk of key diseases in order to fully understand the threat to wild salmon populations.
VANCOUVER—The federal government needs to address the conflict of interest within the department responsible for both protecting wild salmon and promoting the salmon farming industry, a B.C. First Nations councillor said following the release of an independent report that criticized Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
“When they’ve been faced with having a dual mandate, they’ve chosen one at the expense of the other,” said Kelly Speck, a ’Namgis First Nation councillor. “They’ve just really lost sight of what their responsibility is.”
Federal Environment Commissioner Julie Gelfand concluded in one of her three spring audits released Tuesday that Fisheries and Oceans Canada has failed to adequately manage the risks salmon farms pose to wild fish.
The findings reiterate what the ’Namgis First Nation has been saying for decades and add further weight to their call for the removal of several salmon farms from the Broughton Archipelago, Speck said.
Salmon farming in Canada is primarily done on the east and west coasts. The industry was valued at $1 billion in 2016. Source: 2018 Spring Reports of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (Andres Plana/StarMetro)
Canada is the world’s fourth-largest producer of farmed salmon, an industry valued at $1 billion in 2016.
Ian Roberts, a spokesperson for Marine Harvest and a member of the BC Salmon Farming Association, said “salmon aquaculture is a growing business in Canada and the report acknowledges that we provide an important source of fish, especially given the inability of oceans to keep up with demand.”
It’s a “fast-evolving” sector and growers expect regulations to keep up with the latest technology and science, he said.
Gelfand’s report outlines many of the risks to wild salmon that have been emphasized by First Nations and environmental groups, including the potential for pathogens to transfer from farmed to wild salmon, for drugs and pesticides to flow into the open ocean, and for farmed fish to escape their pens.
“It’s bang on and it’s very critical of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s management of this industry,” said Stan Proboszcz, Watershed Watch Salmon Society’s science adviser.
“These farms need to be removed from wild salmon migration routes, we already know that the risk is quite high and this report is just reiterating this risk,” he said.
While the department has undertaken some research on the potential effects of salmon farming on wild fish, Gelfand’s report shows significant gaps remain.
For instance, the department committed to undertaking 10 risk assessments of known diseases that pose a threat to wild salmon by 2020 – as recommended by the 2012 Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River – yet only one has been completed. In response to Gelfand’s recommendations, the department said those risks assessments will be completed by September 2020.
The department doesn’t limit the level of drugs or pesticides that can be used in salmon farms, nor is there a system in place to confirm whether companies are accurately reporting how much they use.
The commissioner also found that enforcement overall is a concern within the aquaculture industry. In B.C., Gelfand noted, the department’s enforcement officers have few avenues to address issues of non-compliance; they can provide educational information or write a warning letter, but the department rarely takes a company to court, the report said.
“There really aren’t any penalties if the aquaculture industry does anything wrong,” Proboszcz said.
The department acknowledged some of its shortcomings in its response to the audit’s findings and committed to take action, including studying the costs of fully enforcing regulations and creating a decision tree to limit the cumulative effect of pesticides and drugs on wild fish.
In a joint statement, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna and Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc said, “we continue to work hard to ensure our decisions on aquaculture are transparent, based on the best available science, and clearly communicated to Canadians.
“Keeping our oceans healthy is a priority for our government. We have a responsibility to ensure that fish and their habitat are protected for future generations, and we take this responsibility very seriously.”
Speck, though, said the government’s actions need to be scrutinized going forward. Proboszcz agreed, noting the government has so far failed to fulfil its promise of implementing similar recommendations from the Cohen Commission.
Ainslie Cruickshank is a Vancouver-based reporter covering the environment. Follow her on Twitter: @ainscruickshank
https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/04/24/fisheries-and-oceans-canada-not-adequately-managing-salmon-farming-risk-environment-commissioner.html?utm_source=Watershed+Watch+Email+List&utm_campaign=a4869c0c4a-SALMON_NEWS_2018_03_28&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_405944b1b5-a4869c0c4a-460103765&mc_cid=a4869c0c4a&mc_eid=40977b7a71
Fisheries and Oceans Canada not adequately managing salmon farming risk: Environment commissioner
The federal commissioner’s report says the department hasn’t assessed the risk of key diseases in order to fully understand the threat to wild salmon populations.
VANCOUVER—The federal government needs to address the conflict of interest within the department responsible for both protecting wild salmon and promoting the salmon farming industry, a B.C. First Nations councillor said following the release of an independent report that criticized Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
“When they’ve been faced with having a dual mandate, they’ve chosen one at the expense of the other,” said Kelly Speck, a ’Namgis First Nation councillor. “They’ve just really lost sight of what their responsibility is.”
Federal Environment Commissioner Julie Gelfand concluded in one of her three spring audits released Tuesday that Fisheries and Oceans Canada has failed to adequately manage the risks salmon farms pose to wild fish.
The findings reiterate what the ’Namgis First Nation has been saying for decades and add further weight to their call for the removal of several salmon farms from the Broughton Archipelago, Speck said.
Salmon farming in Canada is primarily done on the east and west coasts. The industry was valued at $1 billion in 2016. Source: 2018 Spring Reports of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (Andres Plana/StarMetro)
Canada is the world’s fourth-largest producer of farmed salmon, an industry valued at $1 billion in 2016.
Ian Roberts, a spokesperson for Marine Harvest and a member of the BC Salmon Farming Association, said “salmon aquaculture is a growing business in Canada and the report acknowledges that we provide an important source of fish, especially given the inability of oceans to keep up with demand.”
It’s a “fast-evolving” sector and growers expect regulations to keep up with the latest technology and science, he said.
Gelfand’s report outlines many of the risks to wild salmon that have been emphasized by First Nations and environmental groups, including the potential for pathogens to transfer from farmed to wild salmon, for drugs and pesticides to flow into the open ocean, and for farmed fish to escape their pens.
“It’s bang on and it’s very critical of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s management of this industry,” said Stan Proboszcz, Watershed Watch Salmon Society’s science adviser.
“These farms need to be removed from wild salmon migration routes, we already know that the risk is quite high and this report is just reiterating this risk,” he said.
While the department has undertaken some research on the potential effects of salmon farming on wild fish, Gelfand’s report shows significant gaps remain.
For instance, the department committed to undertaking 10 risk assessments of known diseases that pose a threat to wild salmon by 2020 – as recommended by the 2012 Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River – yet only one has been completed. In response to Gelfand’s recommendations, the department said those risks assessments will be completed by September 2020.
The department doesn’t limit the level of drugs or pesticides that can be used in salmon farms, nor is there a system in place to confirm whether companies are accurately reporting how much they use.
The commissioner also found that enforcement overall is a concern within the aquaculture industry. In B.C., Gelfand noted, the department’s enforcement officers have few avenues to address issues of non-compliance; they can provide educational information or write a warning letter, but the department rarely takes a company to court, the report said.
“There really aren’t any penalties if the aquaculture industry does anything wrong,” Proboszcz said.
The department acknowledged some of its shortcomings in its response to the audit’s findings and committed to take action, including studying the costs of fully enforcing regulations and creating a decision tree to limit the cumulative effect of pesticides and drugs on wild fish.
In a joint statement, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna and Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc said, “we continue to work hard to ensure our decisions on aquaculture are transparent, based on the best available science, and clearly communicated to Canadians.
“Keeping our oceans healthy is a priority for our government. We have a responsibility to ensure that fish and their habitat are protected for future generations, and we take this responsibility very seriously.”
Speck, though, said the government’s actions need to be scrutinized going forward. Proboszcz agreed, noting the government has so far failed to fulfil its promise of implementing similar recommendations from the Cohen Commission.
Ainslie Cruickshank is a Vancouver-based reporter covering the environment. Follow her on Twitter: @ainscruickshank
