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Political Action on Salmon Farms Overdue
BC politicians may have breathed a sigh of relief this February when a BC Supreme Court judge ruled that fin-fish aquaculture is a fishery that should fall under federal jurisdiction. The provincial government may have assumed they are off the hook for dealing with the mess created by the open net-cage salmon farming industry.
But, not so fast. The provincial government is maintaining responsibility for the licencing and management of salmon farms for at least the next year. And both levels of government have always had a responsibility to manage natural resources and protect wild salmon. The BC provincial government has the authority—and the full responsibility—to act in the best interest of our wild salmon before it is too late.
During the upcoming election, the people of BC need to let their
government know they are not off the hook. If you're in the US, please send this email to anyone you know in BC. Our wild salmon are still in
trouble!
Please, ask every candidate:
1. Will your party enact emergency measures to protect wild salmon from sea lice from farmed salmon in open net-cages?
2. Will your party invest in closed containment aquaculture projects in your first budget?
Please send a message to government leaders and attend your local candidates meeting to ask them these questions.
The facts on open net-cage salmon farms:
- Jobs supported by wild salmon and healthy marine ecosystems—including commercial fisheries and wilderness tourism—provide three times more jobs than the current, highly mechanized salmon farming industry.1
- Waste feed and feces, and the routine use of antibiotics and chemicals, are degrading marine ecosystems and contaminating shellfish beds.2
- Large numbers of escaped farmed salmon are competing with wild fish for food and habitat, and marine mammals attracted by penned salmon are killed.
- Sea lice are a problem in every country where open net-cage salmon farms operate,3 and industry data from BC has shown sea lice on farmed salmon can contribute billions of sea lice into adjacent waters.4
- Pacific pink and chum juvenile salmon are particularly vulnerable to sea lice infection because of their tiny size,5,6 and research predicts that if current practices continue in the Broughton Archipelago, these species are at risk of local extinction.7
- Recent research shows sea lice are also infecting sockeye salmon in the northern Georgia Strait.8 Preliminary evidence from genetic analyses of juvenile sockeye caught in this high-density farm region show a predominance of Fraser River stocks.
- 92% of open net-cage tenures are owned and operated by Norwegian companies and over 85% of BC’s farmed salmon is exported to the US market.
Obviously BC regulations are NOT strong enough and are failing us and our wild salmon. We need provincial politicians to stand up for BC’s wild fish and marine ecosystems! No delays and no dodging of responsibility.
During the upcoming election, the people of BC need to let their government know they are not off the hook. If you're in the US, please send this email to anyone you know in BC. Our wild salmon are still in trouble! Please, ask every candidate:
Will your party enact emergency measures to protect wild salmon from sea lice from farmed salmon in open net-cages?
Will your party invest in closed containment aquaculture projects in your first budget?
Please send a message to government leaders and attend your local candidates meeting to ask them these questions.
Help spread the word that our wild salmon need to be protected from open net-cage salmon farms!
Order free “Say NOrWAY to Uncontained Salmon Farms” stickers—and get the word out to friends, neighbours, associations, and political forums
Thank you for speaking up for wild salmon!
1 Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture (2007) Final Report, Vol. 2, Appendix – Economic Impact Study.
2 DeBruyn, A.M., M. Trudel, N. Eyding, J. Harding, H. McNally, R. Mountain, C. Orr, D. Urban, S. Verenitch and A. Mazumder (2006) Ecosystemic effects of salmon farming increase mercury contamination in wild fish. Environmental Science and Technology. 40(11):3489-3493.
3 Ford JS, Myers, RA (2008) A Global Assessment of Salmon Aquaculture Impacts on Wild Salmonids. PLoS Biol 6(2): e33 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060033
4 Orr, Craig (2007) Estimated Sea Louse Egg Production from Marine Harvest Canada Farmed Atlantic Salmon in the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia, 2003–2004. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 27(1):187–197.
5 Krkosek, M., A. Gottesfeld, B. Proctor, D. Rolston, C. Carr-Harris and M.A. Lewis. (2007) Effects of host migration, diversity and aquaculture on sea lice threats to Pacific salmon populations. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1122.
6 Krkosek, M., M.A. Lewis, A. Morton, L.N. Frazer and J.P. Volpe. (2006) Epizootics of wild fish induced by farmed fish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. 103:15506-15510.
7 Krkošek M., J.S. Ford, A. Morton, S. Lele, R.A. Myers, and M.A. Lewis. (2007) Declining wild salmon populations in relation to parasites from farmed salmon. Science.
8 Morton, A., R. Routledge, and M. Krkosek (2008) Sea louse infestation in wild juvenile salmon and Pacific herring associated with fish farms off the east-central coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. North American Journal of Fisheries Management.
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