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A drowned sea lion trapped in a fish farm net at Wehlis Bay.
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Even though it is illegal in B.C. to shoot a marine mammal, salmon farmers can be granted government permits to shoot animals around their farms that they believe to be a hazard. In a report released by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the B.C. salmon farming industry legally killed 6,243 seals and sea lions between 1989-2000.
Salmon farm companies are only required to self-report mammals they
shoot, not those that become entangled and drown in their predator
nets. To protect their fish, approximately 65 percent of B.C. farms hang predator net guards that descend fifty feet below the surface.
In April 2007, 51 California sea lions were found trapped and drowned in a Creative Salmon farm site at Tofino Inlet, bringing just one company's drowned sea lion toll to 110 in four months. In 2006, 46 sealions were drowned in the same company's nets. These dead mammals represent the tip of the iceberg because fish-farm operators are not required to report accidental entanglements.
| In April 2007, filmmaker Twyla Roscovich dove near a Mainstream salmon
farm in the Broughton Archipelago and found the body of an endangered
Stellar sea lion entangled in the farm's nets. Mainstream denied the
incident took place until confronted with the film footage. www.callingfromthecoast.com |
The use of predator nets also leads to the introduction of toxic chemicals into the marine ecosystem. The nets are coated in a highly toxic copper solution to prevent naturally occurring marine organisms like barnacles and mussels from growing on them. These chemicals contaminate the marine environment.
