B.C. Salmon Farmers will spend $1.5 millin on study.

[agentaqua]

What has any of that to do with the subject we have been addressing, the research funding contribution by the BC Salmon Farmers? Bob and weave? Duck and cover? Shift the goal posts? Sorry, I'm not biting.

The only ducking and weaving here seems to be coming from you, Absolon.

ok then, Absolon - I will outline what should have been an easy trail to follow - even to you. The recommendations from the NS report I posted on the other thread was explicit in many of the recommendations, and the ones I consider pertinent to this discussion are below:

e. There will be a pervasive emphasis on openness and transparency, both in the licensing and leasing process and in the monitoring of compliance by licensed operations and the enforcement of regulations.
g. The public will have multiple opportunities, including a mandatory hearing on every application for a licence, to contribute to decision making in the licensing process.
i. Licensing will be guided by statutory licensing principles and subject to a requirement for written reasons that together will require licensing decisions to be justified in terms of regulatory objectives and the compatibility of aquaculture with public rights of navigation, fishing, local biophysical conditions, other uses of the waters proposed for aquaculture; the cumulative effect of aquaculture in the area; and the contribution of the proposed operation to net community socio-economic benefit.
m. A standing Regulatory Advisory Committee – which includes Mi’kmaw representatives and stakeholders such as coastal communities, municipalities, the aquaculture industry and environmental organizations – will be created to provide ongoing advice on the implementation of the regulatory framework and the continuing improvement of regulation in the face of new and changing conditions, challenges, opportunities and learning.

The success of the regulatory framework we have proposed will depend on the creation of a number of fundamental enabling conditions:
a. The attitude that informs regulation must take the concerns of those who live in coastal communities seriously and at face value.

You are quite welcome to ignore the content of this report and label the authors and panel as "internet anti-farm crusaders" - if you so want to in order to avoid the conversation - as usual.

Since we were talking previously about risk management (i.e. siting criteria) and open information on issues such as fish health - these points seem relative here.

I reiterate my original question that you avoided: "Is there anyone that can reasonably argue against having more and better information to make decisions on and carry-out the required due diligence?

While we are at the topic of ducking and weaving - what is your professional involvement in NOT wanting better information?

 

[absolon]

What has any of that to do with the salmon farmers in BC ponying up some research money?

This is that Gish Gallop stuff I was talking about. You're plugging up the discussion with all kinds of stuff that isn't relevant to what specifically was being discussed and the original question just gets lost in all the confusion; no doubt the intent. My point is and was that you were doing nothing more than slagging the BC salmon farmers for doing something that is actually constructive and when challenged on that, you try to shift the discussion to regulatory regimes in Nova Scotia and my personal ties to the industry and my criteria for making good decisions; every thing other than the point I made. You aren't looking for debate, you're looking for a soapbox from which you can pronounce your opinions about the industry and the people who might think a bit differently about it than you. I don't walk away from reading your posts thinking I've learned something; I usually just walk away.

 

[GLG]

Give me a break.

I see DFO agrees with you and is giving you a break.... seems many years of break. Perhaps your industry could pull your own weight and give us a break after all if your industry was not here we would not need all this......
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/enviro/aquaculture/acrdp-pcrda/index-eng.htm

 

[agentaqua]

What has any of that to do with the salmon farmers in BC ponying up some research money?

This is that Gish Gallop stuff I was talking about. You're plugging up the discussion with all kinds of stuff that isn't relevant to what specifically was being discussed and the original question just gets lost in all the confusion; no doubt the intent. My point is and was that you were doing nothing more than slagging the BC salmon farmers for doing something that is actually constructive and when challenged on that, you try to shift the discussion to regulatory regimes in Nova Scotia and my personal ties to the industry and my criteria for making good decisions; every thing other than the point I made. You aren't looking for debate, you're looking for a soapbox from which you can pronounce your opinions about the industry and the people who might think a bit differently about it than you. I don't walk away from reading your posts thinking I've learned something; I usually just walk away.

Duck and weave - yep - thanks for illustrating that Absolon. If you were actually following the conversation rather than avoiding the questions - which you have done here yet again - you would see that it started with a valid and legitimate comment from tincan re: working panel and a review panel. I agreed - and YOU jumped in talking about "Salmon Confidential crap" - speaking of "diverting the conversation". I responded that there were some outstanding political and science-based issues raised within that video - that I was not advocating agreeing with nor accepting with some of the assertions/claims - ending with the question that does relate to the topic of this thread - and is still ignored by you: "Is there anyone that can reasonably argue against having more and better information to make decisions on and carry-out the required due diligence?". I even pulled-out the parts from the panel that looked at aquaculture governance in NS, and the rest of the country as well that relate to our discussion over openness and inclusiveness.

If you are afraid of having this open conversation, then - yes - walk away and sulk.

 

[Dave]

As I have said before agent, your arrogance is huge. You continually ask for honest debate yet belittle people who oppose your views. You have had many opportunities to debate people on this forum; people far brighter than me who have onsite insight into the salmon farming industry but they have, as I suspect absolon has done, decided to ignore you and walk away …
Why is that you might wonder? Well, you remind me of Dick Beamish, a brilliant fisheries scientist but, imo, limited his vast potential by poor social skills. Try not being so condescending and self-righteous if you want people to really engage you on these silly and meaningless internet forums.

I have my umbrella waiting, lol!!

 

[shuswap]

First, I find it strange that science-based questions are being raised by a film that, in my opinion, is very light on science. I am all for questions to be raised, but don’t try (meaning the producers of the film) to throw in the very flawed conclusions of salmon carcasses made by individuals who have absolutely zero scientific credentials in fisheries biology and pathology. Mr. Eriksson is likely a very nice guy who would be great to have a beer with and sounds legitimately very concerned at what he is seeing, but if the goal is “having more and better information to make decisions” how is that achieved when the public is lead to believe that dead salmon should retain their red-looking gills or they are deemed suspicious? Using the film’s methods that would mean basically every salmon carcass encountered would be suspicious. Is that really reasonable?

I wouldn’t “argue against having more and better information to make decisions on and carry out the required due diligence.” That is what this funding attempts to address from my understanding. If it brings academics, researchers, conservationists, government and industry together in order to collaborate that should be a good thing. In my opinion, it aligns with other studies I mentioned earlier in order to address some of the concerns raised by Justice Cohen. I would think that many here would be delighted by that considering that the direct federal response has fallen short of many people’s expectations. Instead, there are critics that are instantly suspicious and basically thumbing their nose at the recent funding announcement because of where it came from. If it makes some feel better to say it came from the taxpayer then great because at this point it can come from McDonalds or a bottle drive for all I care. Hell, if I knew that part of the proceeds of listening to Harper sing at a concert would go to Pacific salmon research I would sit through it (then shortly afterwards purge my system by listening to every Led Zeppelin album ever made). We can sit, hope and pray that surplus money will be flowing to those researchers come Federal election time, but I wouldn’t hold your breath. The work has hardly started and already people are lining up against it. Some of the comments made on the announcement on the Province website suggests that “research has already been done” which is not what Cohen intended in his findings and recommendations. If Cohen thought we knew it all already he wouldn’t have come up with the recommendations he did.

It’s unfortunate that some have taken that stance because those scientists that many feel are not given the resources to do their jobs can put those funds to good use. I don’t believe there is nothing preventing the Suzuki Foundation, Watershed Watch Salmon Society or the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation from donating to these efforts if they wish. In fact, in this day and age, that money would be welcomed. As I said before, analyzing fish for pathogens is not cheap – neither are ocean research vessels, and those are just some of the many expenses. The thing is that one can still not like salmon farming and government, but still agree that in order to obtain “more and better information to make decisions on and carry out the required due diligence” that a wait and see approach might be the best thing at this point and that funding is needed to support those that are trying to get that better information. Or one can keep looking for dark clouds which is relatively easy to do if that is all one is looking for. Too bad this thread is sinking faster than the price of oil.

 

[GLG]

Nice twist.... so I'm all for research but I didn't see where Norway has stepped up to the plate to fund it. Why is that? You would think they would be more responsible seeing how they are guests in our country.

 

[agentaqua]

As I have said before agent, your arrogance is huge. You continually ask for honest debate yet belittle people who oppose your views. You have had many opportunities to debate people on this forum; people far brighter than me who have onsite insight into the salmon farming industry but they have, as I suspect absolon has done, decided to ignore you and walk away …
Why is that you might wonder? Well, you remind me of Dick Beamish, a brilliant fisheries scientist but, imo, limited his vast potential by poor social skills. Try not being so condescending and self-righteous if you want people to really engage you on these silly and meaningless internet forums.

I have my umbrella waiting, lol!!

No need for an umbrella, Dave. I always appreciate open and honest dialogue. Thank you for yours. It's the BS I get frustrated with - as do many others on both sides of the debate. I have spent many years putting-up with getting my intelligence insulted (my filters), getting ignored, getting lied to, etc. - on this and other related issues. I have also been privileged enough to be part of a number of truly consensus-driven consultation bodies, mainly dealing with environmental assessments - and that is what is needed here - along with better information, as I have continually advocated for. If my frustrated approach seems like something else - then I apologize for that - but communication is always a 2-way street. It is not just my "approach" that needs to be questioned - but also how is it that getting an honest conversation on this debate so difficult, divisive, acrimonious, and raucous? The next question(s) are: Who does that benefit? Who benefits from withholding information? Is it people who are legitimately concerned and demanding better information and a more inclusive process? Reference the recommendations from the NS panel I listed above. It's not just me saying this.

 

[agentaqua]

Great post Shuswap! I am cautiously optimistic that some data should come out of this process. Whether or not it will be publicly-available and in a format that allows consideration of potential population-level impacts to adjacent wild stocks remains yet to be seen. There has been a consistent history of this industry and our regulators in resisting the release of such information, and approving $ for research on production-level issues rather than impacts on wild stocks. I don't think we should look to this industry for generating answers towards impacts to wild stocks, unless we have an adequate environmental assessment and mitigation process with enforcement - which we do not. It is not in their best interest to demonstrate any potential nor realized population-level impacts. Having said that -it is at least a step in the right direction. As Tincan said: so we'll see what the composition of working panel and a review panel will be; the terms of reference, and what the caveats on research and data release will be.

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.vancouversun.com/technol...nt+related+salmon+disease/10706059/story.html

Ecojustice goes to court to force veterinary college to investigate complaint related to salmon disease in B.C.
BY LARRY PYNN, VANCOUVER SUN JANUARY 6, 2015 2:23 PM


Ecojustice goes to court to force veterinary college to investigate complaint related to salmon disease in B.C.

Ecojustice has filed a law suit in B.C. Supreme Court seeking a declaration that the College of Veterinarians of B.C. “erred in law and jurisdiction” by refusing to investigate a complaint by Alexandra Morton, an independent researcher who has long opposed salmon farming on the coast.
Ecojustice has filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court seeking a declaration that the College of Veterinarians of B.C. "erred in law and jurisdiction" by refusing to investigate a complaint by Alexandra Morton, an independent researcher who has long opposed salmon farming on the coast.

The suit says that Morton lodged a written complaint with the college on Sept 13, 2013, over "incorrect information" provided in a confidential memorandum dated Aug. 1, 2007, from Mark Sheppard to the provincial Minister of Agriculture and Lands.

Ecojustice asserts that Sheppard, then an aquatic animal health vet for the province, "advised that live Atlantic salmon eggs are not imported to B.C. and are not allowed to be imported to B.C.; these facts are false."

Sheppard left the province to work for the federal fisheries department and now operates his own fish-health vet service in Campbell River.

He said Tuesday he would not comment on the substance of the complaint. "I've not very interested in it," he said. "It's a nuisance as far as I'm concerned. She (Morton) is just dredging up things from the past." The college also declined to comment.

The Sheppard memo, which became public on Aug. 31, 2011, during the Cohen Commission into the decline of Fraser River sockeye, also states that the importation of live fish eggs to Chile is a "high-risk activity that contributes to development of ISA infection," the suit says.

The memo also says the most likely source of ISA — infectious salmon anaemia — in B.C. is from migrating wild fish.

Ecojustice states that "millions of live Atlantic salmon have been authorized for import into B.C. since at least 1985 and that Sheppard knew or should have know that his advice to the minister was incorrect. During the commission hearings, he "indicated that his advice about the import of live Atlantic salmon eggs was not accurate."

ISA is a "serious and devastating fish disease" that has caused "significant mortalities" in Atlantic salmon in farm operations in eastern Canada and elsewhere in the world, Ecojustice says.

On about Oct. 30, 2013, the college's investigation committee dismissed Morton's complaint that Sheppard had misled the ministry, saying it lacked jurisdiction to investigate, the suit states. Morton challenged that decision on Dec. 26, 2013, but the college said on April 29, 2014, that the Cohen commission had already dealt with the matter.

Ecojustice is seeking an order requiring the college to investigate Morton's complaint or to at least reconsider its decision.

Last November, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said a two-year investigation found no evidence of three diseases in wild salmonids on the B.C. coast.

A total of 8,006 samples of trout and salmon species collected in 2012 and 2013 showed no evidence of ISA. Of that number, 6,734 were also tested for infectious pancreatic necrosis and 1,272 for infectious haematopoietic necrosis — and all tests were negative.

In 2011, Simon Fraser University fisheries statistician Rick Routledge reported that of 48 underweight juvenile Pacific sockeye from Rivers Inlet sent for testing to Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island, two tested positive for ISA, which can be fatal to Atlantic salmon. He had the fish tested at Morton's request.

A review of the P.E.I. lab concluded the facility lacked proper quality standards and didn't thoroughly investigate conflicting test results. The findings led to the lab being stripped of a prestigious reference status as a facility recognized internationally to test for ISA.

Morton said she also sent samples to a lab in Norway, which confirmed the presence of ISA.

lpynn@vancouversun.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

 

[agentaqua]

https://www.ecologyaction.ca/clean-up-salmon-farming

NS Coalition for Aquaculture Reform supports implementation of Doelle-Lahey aquaculture report in full

For Immediate Release, January 8th, 2015

HALIFAX – Dozens of community groups and organizations from around the province rallied at the Lord Nelson Hotel in Halifax today to show their support for the recently released final report of the Independent Aquaculture Regulatory Review for Nova Scotia, chaired by Dalhousie Law Professors Meinhard Doelle and Bill Lahey. But, say these groups, their support is conditional on government accepting and implementing the entire package as an integrated whole.

“We do not support open-pen salmon feedlots and continue to believe that it is a fundamentally flawed model” says Wendy Watson Smith from The Association for the Preservation of the Eastern Shore. “Although we are disappointed that the Doelle-Lahey Report does not specifically call for a phase out of open net pen salmon feedlots, we do recognize that it is a thorough and well done review. The report attempts to balance environmental concerns with the need to have a strong economy and we support its immediate implementation.”

“The Doelle-Lahey report validates the legitimate concerns of affected coastal communities and it confirms the negative environmental impacts of the salmon feedlot industry” says Alex Patterson from St Mary’s Bay Coastal Alliance. “It prescribes sweeping regulatory reforms, greater transparency and a need for a much higher level of performance by industry, such as limiting all sites to staying within oxic levels.”

“We support the implementation of the Doelle-Lahey Report as a comprehensive whole, without cherry-picking or half-measures” says Gloria Gilbert of Coastal Community Advocates. “Nothing less than the “regulatory excellence” prescribed in the Ivany Report on Nova Scotia’s economic future will do this time. It’s government’s opportunity to demonstrate leadership in producing a world class regulatory system. Failure to do so will simply guarantee further conflict and deadlock”.

The Doelle-Lahey report recommends strong measures to ensure protection of wild fish and wild fisheries from the proven negative impacts of open net pen salmon farms as well as a meaningful role for communities in decision making.

“The Doelle-Lahey Report is not a green light to the salmon feedlot industry” says Lewis Hinks for the Atlantic Salmon Federation. “Their report makes it clear that they do not support open-net aquaculture; rather they are keeping the door open for that industry to rise to the new proposed standards, which will require a much higher level of environmental and social performance. If implemented, the report states that no new licenses are to be issued until the new system is in place and that all existing aquaculture operations must meet the new regulatory regime”

-------------

The Nova Scotia Chapter of the Atlantic Coalition for Aquaculture Reform includes wild salmon conservationist groups, commercial fisheries groups, tourism operators, environmental organizations, members of coastal communities and proponents of sustainable aquaculture from across the province.

-30-



For further information contact:

Wendy Watson Smith – Association for the Preservation of the Eastern Shore

(902) 477-0918 – wendy.watsonsmith@gmail.com

Alex Patterson – St. Mary's Bay Coastal Alliance

(902) 245-8353 – bpatterson21@hotmail.com

Gloria Gilbert – Coastal Community Advocates

(902) 874-2116 – turtlevoiceagain@gmail.com

Lewis Hinks – Atlantic Salmon Federation

(902) 275-7494 – lhinks@auracom.com

Heather Negus – Nova Scotia Salmon Association

(902) 240-9183 – hnegus.nssa@gmail.com

Stewart Lamont – Tangier Lobster Co.

(902) 772 2130 – stewart@tangierlobster.com

Raymond Plourde – Ecology Action Centre

(902) 478-5400 – wilderness@ecologyaction.ca



A downloadable PDF of this press release can be found here. https://www.ecologyaction.ca/files/...S Press Release - DL Reaction- Jan 8 2015.pdf

Further reading:

Highlights from the Doelle-Lahey report https://www.ecologyaction.ca/files/images-documents/Doelle-Lahey Report Highlights.pdf

Science Briefing on Impacts of Open Net-Pen Salmon Aquaculture https://www.ecologyaction.ca/files/...n Net Pen Salmon Aquaculture March 1 2012.pdf

Open letter from ACAR on open net-pen salmon aquaculture https://www.ecologyaction.ca/files/images-documents/Letter on Open Pen Aquaculture_Unaddressed.pdf

Ecology Action Centre's position statement on open net-pen salmon aquaculture https://www.ecologyaction.ca/files/images-documents/EAC Aquaculture Position November 2013_3.pdf

 

[agentaqua]

https://www.ecologyaction.ca/files/...n Net Pen Salmon Aquaculture March 1 2012.pdf

Summary of Scientific Papers on Impacts of Open Net Pen Farming on Wild Populations and the Natural Environment*

As new and relevant science becomes available, it will be added to this document. This review is not meant to be an exhaustive review of the literature, however it is intended to cover the most recent and pertinent research on the impacts of open net pen salmon aquaculture.

General Impacts
• A meta-analysis of wild salmon mortality in rivers adjacent to salmon farms found an increase of 50% mortality over populations with no farming near by (Ford & Myers 2008). The study collected data globally, and proposed several mechanisms for this increase mortality, several of which are discussed below.
• The February 2012 Royal Society of Canada report on Canadian marine diversity summarizes peer reviewed literature and makes the following conclusions regarding the impacts of aquaculture in Canada on biodiversity

Major Findings on Aquaculture impacts on Canadian Biodiversity (RSC 2012)
• Aquaculture of finfish (e.g., salmon) and shellfish (e.g., mussels) typically affect marine biodiversity at localized scales (less than tens of kms), although farther-reaching impacts are possible.
• Wild bottom-dwelling organisms and their habitat can be affected by organic wastes and chemical inputs, such as antibiotics, anti-foulants, and pesticides.
• Exchange of pathogens between farmed and wild fish can seriously threaten the persistence of wild fish populations.
• Interbreeding between wild fish and escapees of the same species threatens the reproductive capability and recovery potential of wild populations of conservation concern.
• Open-sea net pens have far greater potential and realized negative consequences to marine biodiversity than closed-containment facilities.
• The primary biodiversity concern associated with shellfish aquaculture is the farming of non-native species in Canadian waters and the high density of culture in some regions.

Sea Lice and Wild Salmon
• Sea lice are copepod crustaceans which live on the outside of salmon and feed on their mucous, skin and blood. Though most ocean-going adult salmon carry sea lice, juveniles in coastal waters do not (Chapter 5, Royal Society of Canada 2012).
• Migrating juvenile pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) were sampled as they passed a salmon farm on their migration to the open ocean. Infection pressure for sea lice was up 73 times greater near the farm than ambient levels; likelihood of infection was found to be above ambient levels up to 30 km surrounding the salmon farm. Additionally, sea lice already infecting the wild juveniles were able to reproduce during their migration and reinfect the juveniles which increases the range of the farm’s effect on infection to 75 km Krkošek et al. (2005).
• Fish infected with sea lice face increased mortality due to a reduced ability to avoid capture and a general decline in fitness, which can result in increased predation risk (Krkošek et al. 2011).
• There is evidence that the increased abundance of sea lice on fish farms has had a negative impact on the general productivity of wild salmon populations in the Broughton Archipelago, BC (Krkošek et al. 2011a), though this is still a matter of some debate.
• While there has been little research done on the effects of sea lice surrounding salmon farms on the east coast of Canada, it is unreasonable to assume that performing the same studies here would not yield similar results. Of course, there are ways of controlling sea lice by way of pesticides which unfortunately introduce a number of additional problems.

Pesticides
• The most common treatment for sea lice is the coating of food pellets with a chemical called emamectin benzoate, also known as SLICE®. Research on the effects of SLICE® on non-target species is relatively limited.
• In Nova Scotia, the main concern surrounding the use of SLICE® is its potential impacts on the American Lobster (Homarus americanus) which is an incredibly important to the area as a commercial species. Research shows the lethality of emamectin benzoate to American Lobsters at standard industry concentrations is quite low (Burridge et al. 2004).
• However, there is significant evidence of other harmful but non-lethal effects. Waddy et al. (2002) found that 44% of female lobsters exposed to small doses of emamectin benzoate moulted prematurely, and those which were carrying eggs aborted their brood. This would seriously affect the reproductive ability of wild lobsters near salmon farms and could have a profound effect on Nova Scotia’s lobster fishery.
• The question of whether wild lobsters would eat enough of the medicated salmon feed to induce premature moulting still remains to be conclusively answered (Waddy et al. 2007; Waddy et al. 2007a).
• All referenced studies have been performed on adult lobsters, but the effects of this pesticide on lobster larvae is yet to be confirmed.
• In 2009 Slice® ceased to be effective treating sea lice in southwest New Brunswick, leading to increased reliance on other treatment option (Burridge et al., 2010).
• In New Brunswick, in addition to Slice®, a number of pesticides have been administered through “bath treatments”, which is the application of a sea lice treatment product directly to the water containing the fish either in a tarped pen (enclosed bottom), skirted pen (open bottom) or a well boat.
• Salmosan® (active ingredient azamethiphos) is currently approved for emergency use in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Burridge et al. (2008) shows that repeated short term exposure to azamethiphos can have lethal and sub-lethal effects on American lobsters.
• Alpha Max® (active ingredient Deltamethrin, a pyrethroid insecticide) was approved for emergency use in 2009 and 2010, but is currently not in use. Fairchild et al. (2010) report that “Pyrethroid insecticides are among the most toxic insecticides known” and that “Among the pyrethroid insecticides, deltamethrin is often the most toxic to crustaceans” (p.iv). In lab conditions Fairchild et al. (2010) found lobsters to be susceptible to deltamethrin at much lower concentration than the recommended treatment dose.
• In 2009 and 2010 there were a number of incidents of dead and dying lobsters found in traps pens and pounds in southwestern New Brunswick. Cypermenthin, a pesticide used in salmon aquaculture but not approved for use in Canada, was detected on these lobsters. A New Brunswick based salmon aquaculture company and three of its executives are facing significant charges under the Fisheries Act in relation to these lobster kills.

Disease
• Because sea lice reduce the fitness of salmon, it leaves them vulnerable to other parasites and disease. The most problematic disease in Atlantic-based salmon aquaculture is the infectious salmon anemia virus (ISA). As the name suggests this causes severe anemia in the fish caused by a binding of the virus to red blood cells. Once infected, there is no treatment and the fish will die. ISA is easily transmitted by blood, feces or possibly passive transmission from seawater (Nylund et al. 1994).
Sea lice are likely the most prevalent cause of ISA transmission between fish. The virus can be passed from salmonid parent to offspring through vertical transmission (Vike et al. 2008).
• Though the ISA virus is endemic to the Atlantic, transmission and prevalence of this disease is greatly increased on salmon farms due to the high density at which the fish are kept. This poses a huge threat to wild salmon stocks which are already struggling, as it increases the chance of infection and therefore death, particularly when the farm is located near an estuary frequented by a wild population.

...continued below...

 

[agentaqua]

Escapes & Gene Transfer
• Open net pen fin fish farming can lead to frequent escapes which can occur as a result of storms or equipment malfunctions. Escapes can have severe impacts on wild populations of salmon. Morris et al. (2008) compiled a series of studies and found that escaped farmed salmon had been found in 87% of the rivers studies within a 300 km radius of aquaculture sites in eastern North America. This included 11 rivers that were home to endangered populations.
• Fleming et al. (2000) found that farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were competitively and reproductively inferior to their wild counterparts, with less than one-third the reproductive success. Despite their decreased ability to compete, the farm fishes still were able to compete with the native population, as its productivity decreased by more than 30%.
• Hindar et al. (2006) developed a model from a number of experiments on the effects of escaped farmed salmon and their simulations showed significant changes in wild salmon populations within only a few generations and that recovery from this would be quite unlikely.
• McGinnity et al. (2003) found that the interaction and hybridisation of farmed and wild salmon caused an overall fitness depression and could result in the development of an “extinction vortex” in a vulnerable wild population.
• Burridge et al. (2011) assessed the temporal changes in the genetic make up of a population of Atlantic salmon in the Bay of Fundy. The study found a decrease in loci under selection over time, suggesting that the genetic integrity of the wild population may be altered. This could lead to a decrease in the population’s adaptive ability.
• In a review of numerous studies, Carr and Whoriskey (2000) stated that one particular population from the Magaguadavic River in the Bay of Fundy was extremely fragile as a result of small egg depositions and reduced numbers of juveniles.
• In a study of other freshwater streams in New Brunswick, Carr and Whoriskey (2006) found that freshwater hatchery escapees were found in 75% of streams near hatcheries. In the Magaguadavic River, escapees outnumbered wild juveniles in most years.
• Suggestions from the Carr and Whoriskey (2000) review included improving gear to completely eliminate escapements, sterilizing the fish used in aquaculture or creating emergency response teams to trap escapees soon after the event.

Pollution
• With such a high concentrations of fish, large amounts of waste will inevitably accumulate on the bottom under a sea cage. In a study on the effects of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) sea cages in Ontario, the invertebrate abundance beneath the cages was significantly reduced (Rooney and Podemski, 2009). There was also a reduction in species richness as a result of organic loading, though both these effects were quite localized.
• Farms in shallower coastal waters tend to have smaller footprints, their impacts tend to be much more intense due to decreased dispersal of waste in shallower waters (Giles, 2008).
• The feed given to farmed Atlantic salmon contains a number of trace metals, including copper, zinc and cadmium, and concentrations of these metals in the sediments below sea cages show high levels of contamination by these metals in a study on Scottish salmon farms (Dean et al 2007). These levels exceeded those deemed acceptable by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency suggesting that the abundance of these metals would likely have adverse effects. In this
case, the high levels of zinc were directly associated with the fish farm.
• Copper, which is also used in anti-fouling on the sea cages, has been found to have significant effects of the physiology of spiny lobsters, causing alterations to the muscle, gills and heart, as well as having impacts at a cellular level by creating chromosomal aberrations (Maharajan et al. 2011; Maharajan et al. 2012). These effects could seriously impact the survival of American
lobsters in the proximity of salmon farms.
• Both zinc and copper have toxic effects on some marine copepods and could also affect recruitment of lobsters by decreasing the survival of larvae (Bielmyer et al. 2006; Lauer & Bianchini 2010; Wong & Pak 2004).

...continued below...

 

[agentaqua]

References
Bielmyer, G. K., Grosell, M., & Brixti, K. V. (January 01, 2006). Toxicity of silver, zinc, copper, and nickel to the copepod Acartia tonsa exposed via a phytoplankton diet. Environmental Science & Technology, 40, 6, 2063-8.
Bourret, V., Bernatchez, L., O'Reilly, P. T., Carr, J. W., & Berg, P. R. (2011). Temporal change in genetic integrity suggests loss of local adaptation in a wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) population following introgression by farmed escapees. Heredity, 106, 3, 500-510.
Burridge, L. E., Hamilton, N., Waddy, S. L., Haya, K., Mercer, S. M., Greenhalgh, R., Tauber, R., ... Endris, R. G. (2004). Acute toxicity of emamectin benzoate (SLICE®) in fish feed to American lobster, Homarus americanus. Aquaculture Research, 35, 8, 713-722.
Burridge, L.E., Haya, K., Waddy, S.L. (2005). Seasonal lethality of the organophosphate pesticide,azamethiphos to female American lobster (Homarus americanus). Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 60, 277-281.
Burridge, L.E., Haya, K., Waddy, S.L. (2008). The effect of repeated exposure to azamethiphos on survival and spawning in the American lobster (Homarus americanus). Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 69, 411-415.
Burridge, L., Weis, J. S., Cabello, F., Pizarro, J., Bostick, K. (2010). Chemical use in salmon aquaculture: A review of current practices and possible environmental effects. Aquaculture, 306, 7-23.
Carr, J. W., & Whoriskey, F. G. (2000). A review of aquaculture impact studies carried out on southwestern New Brunswick outer Bay of Fundy rivers, with emphasis on the Magaguadavic River. New Brunswick: Atlantic Salmon Federation
Carr, J. W., & Whoriskey, F. G. (2006). The escape of juvenile farmed Atlantic salmon from hatcheries into freshwater streams in New Brunswick, Canada. Ices Journal of Marine Science, 63, 7, 1263-1268.
Costello, M. J. (2009). How sea lice from salmon farms may cause wild salmonid declines in Europe and North America and be a threat to fishes elsewhere. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276, 1672, 3385-3394.
Dean, R. J., Shimmield, T. M., & Black, K. D. (2007). Copper, zinc and cadmium in marine cage fish farm sediments: An extensive survey. Environmental Pollution, 145, 1, 84-95.
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Fleming, I., Hindar, K., Mjølnerød, I., Jonsson, B., Balstad, T., & Lamberg, A. (2000). Lifetime success and interactions of farm salmon invading a native population. Proceedings: Biological Sciences, 267, 1452, 1517-1523
Giles, H. (2008). Using Bayesian networks to examine consistent trends in fish farm benthic impact studies. Aquaculture, 274, 181-195.
Hindar, K., Fleming, I. A., Mcginnity, P., & Diserud, O. (2006). Genetic and ecological effects of salmon farming on wild salmon: modelling from experimental results. Ices Journal of Marine Science: Journal Du Conseil, 63, 7, 1234.
Krkošek, M., Lewis, M. A., & Volpe, J. P. (2005). Transmission Dynamics of Parasitic Sea Lice from Farm to Wild Salmon. Proceedings: Biological Sciences, 272, 1564, 689-696
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[agentaqua]

http://aquaculturedirectory.co.uk/b...rming-disaster/#sthash.g8FIyTaV.aF7uAAJw.dpbs

BC and Norway Mirror Images of a Salmon Farming Disaster

February 9, 2015 Aquaculture News
steelhead salmon
Is Norwegian current aquaculture crisis, sneak preview for BC fish farming industry?

One month ago, on January 10, 2015, the Norwegian coast was hit by a hurricane. After the storm, the first sport fishermen in the fjords near the west coast city of Bergen got a nasty surprise. Schools of farmed steelhead (sea run rainbow trout) escaped from damaged fish farms were visible from the surface. They were so numerous, NRK national news, reported the fjords of Western Norway were boiling with farmed rainbow trout on the run.

The sports fishermen immediately realized that these non-native steelhead were a potent threat to the few wild Atlantic salmon left in Norway. They could see many were ready to spawn and were determined to eliminate them before they could do incalculable damage by digging up river gravel where fragile wild Atlantic salmon eggs were incubating.

The irony is inescapable. The situation in BC and Norway are mirror images – British Columbians focused on protecting wild Pacific salmon from infected farmed Atlantic salmon, with Norwegians engaged in protecting wild Atlantic salmon from infected steelhead – a North American fish.

BC’s wild steelheads are much loved in British Columbia. People spend thousands of dollars to come here for the chance to fish steelhead. But in Norway, they are now hated escaped farmed fish.

Initial estimates of tens of thousands of escapees, escalated to over 120,000. The fishermen went very public. There were warnings not to eat the farm fish, that they contained de-lousing drugs. This rapidly became political, since Norway had just announced a zero-escape farm salmon policy.

It was then that an extraordinary thing happened. The Askøy Hunter & Fisherman’s Association, alarmed by the horribly sick appearance of the steelhead, sent samples to Dr. Are Nylund, a leading salmon disease scientist based at the University of Bergen. “All of the fish that I have analyzed were very sick,” reported Nylund to the Norwegian newspaper BA Bergensavisen. It was Nylund and his team who tracked the ISA virus from Norway into Chile where it caused $2 billion in damages killing millions of farmed salmon.

The Norwegian government, slow to respond to the massive escape, was very quick to discourage public disease testing, asking people to only use the “official” labs. A government spokesperson noted that just because the dreaded salmon pancreas disease, spreading through Norwegian salmon farms was detected in the escaped steelhead did not mean the fish were sick. However, she failed to capture the concern.

The issue was not whether the farm fish were sick, but could they infect the fragile wild salmon populations with viruses they carry. There are only about 500,000 wild Atlantic salmon left in Norway. This is less than half the fish often found in a single farm and .01% of the entire Norwegian farmed salmon population.

Norwegians invented the salmon aquaculture industry in the mid 1970’s, ten years before Norwegian companies came to BC to set up farms in the early 1980’s. In Norway, salmon farms are now considered a major cause of the loss of wild salmon.

On January 29, 2015, Ola Borten Moe, leader of the Centre Party, suggested it is time for Norway to waive the high cost of salmon farm licences (over $1 million CDN) for any salmon farm established on land. He suggested this would protect Norway’s environment, stimulate innovation, solve the industry’s escalating disease and lice problems and increase job opportunities across the country. Norwegian Green Party representative Kristin Mørch, “Aquaculture is causing massive destruction and operates large-scale animal cruelty quickly echoed this. Change can no longer be refused, restructure is going to push forward whether you want to or not… yes, to farming, but not at the expense of the environment and animal welfare.”

Norway is the cradle of the salmon farming industry, it was born there, the head offices are there. When Norwegian politicians declare it is time to move the industry into closed tanks, perhaps it really is time. BC First Nations, scientists, environmentalists, fishermen hold the same point of view. No one wants farmed salmon to push wild salmon off our plates.

Source Watershed Sentinel

- See more at: http://aquaculturedirectory.co.uk/b...rming-disaster/#sthash.g8FIyTaV.aF7uAAJw.dpuf

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.vancouversun.com/Lawsuit...fish+researcher+complaint/10805347/story.html

Lawsuit dropped after College of Veterinarians of B.C. agrees to investigate fish researcher’s complaint


BY LARRY PYNN, VANCOUVER SUN FEBRUARY 11, 2015 12:01 PM

Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann , PNG
Ecojustice said Wednesday that a B.C. Supreme Court lawsuit against the College of Veterinarians of B.C. is being dropped after the college agreed to investigate a complaint by independent fish researcher Alexandra Morton.

The suit said that Morton had lodged a written complaint with the College on Sept. 13, 2013, over “incorrect information” provided in a confidential memorandum dated Aug. 1, 2007, from Mark Sheppard to the provincial Minister of Agriculture and Lands.

Ecojustice asserted that Sheppard, then an aquatic animal health vet for the province, “advised that live Atlantic salmon eggs are not imported to B.C. and are not allowed to be imported to B.C.; these facts are false.”

Sheppard left the province to work for the federal fisheries department and now operates his own fish-health vet service in Campbell River.

On about Oct. 30, 2013, the college’s investigation committee dismissed Morton’s complaint that Sheppard had misled the ministry, saying it lacked jurisdiction to investigate, the suit said. Morton challenged that decision on Dec. 26, 2013, but the college said on April 29, 2014, that the Cohen commission on the decline of Fraser River sockeye had already dealt with the matter.

In a suit launched Dec. 19, 2014, Ecojustice sought an order requiring the college to investigate Morton’s complaint or at least reconsider its decision.

“It shouldn’t have taken a lawsuit to make it happen, but we are pleased that the College has done the right thing and will be looking into our client’s complaint,” said Ecojustice staff lawyer Morgan Blakley.

lpynn@vancouversun.com

 

[Whole in the Water]

More nails in the coffin's of open net salmon feedlots! Can't happen soon enough IMO.

 

[Dave]

Might be wise to wait for the results of the investigation before you celebrate ..

 

[steelmadness]

What do you see as a nail in the coffin ? The Campbell river had consecutive years of over 2 million pinks, the largest runs in history. The Fraser river sockeye run were the largest in history in 2010 and in 2014 the largest since 1939. Coho fishing in the Strait of Georgia was the best since the crash of the early 90s, just a few examples. Myself personally have enjoyed some of the best fishing in decades. I've heard more success stories than failures in the last 5 years, dare I say things are improving ? How is that possible ? In 2000 Eco nuts like Miss. Morton predicted the extinction of wild salmon by 2015 ? I hate that the real villains, warming ocean temps, habitat destruction, over fishing, and predation get hardly any ink. As long as me and my mates are catching fish who cares about a few fish farms ?

 

[Birdsnest]

Looks like mortons hit list is getting larger: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfd.12329/full

A Jaundice Syndrome occurs sporadically among sea-pen-farmed Chinook Salmon in British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada. Affected salmon are easily identified by a distinctive yellow discolouration of the abdominal and periorbital regions. Through traditional diagnostics, no bacterial or viral agents were cultured from tissues of jaundiced Chinook Salmon; however, piscine reovirus (PRV) was identified via RT-rPCR in all 10 affected fish sampled. By histopathology, Jaundice Syndrome is an acute to peracute systemic disease, and the time from first clinical signs to death is likely <48 h; renal tubular epithelial cell necrosis is the most consistent lesion. In an infectivity trial, Chinook Salmon, Sockeye Salmon and Atlantic Salmon, intraperitoneally inoculated with a PRV-positive organ homogenate from jaundiced Chinook Salmon, developed no gross or microscopic evidence of jaundice despite persistence of PRV for the 5-month holding period. The results from this study demonstrate that the Jaundice Syndrome was not transmissible by injection of material from infected fish and that PRV was not the sole aetiological factor for the condition. Additionally, these findings showed the Pacific coast strain of PRV, while transmissible, was of low pathogenicity for Atlantic Salmon, Chinook Salmon and Sockeye Salmon.

Please do not forget:
http://www.cermaq.com/wps/wcm/connect/272e5bc6-9b98-4d35-a79b-f3b06f39f628/atlanticsalmonpacifictimeline.html?MOD=AJPERES