| Archived Press Release
- August 4th, 1999 |
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The Steelhead Society Calls
on Dhaliwal to Look at Fish Farm Facts
August 4th, 1999
Vancouver, BC - The Steelhead Society
of BC called today on Herb Dhaliwal, the newly-appointed
minister of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO),
to take a good, educated look at fish farming in BC
before making potentially irresponsible statements about
lifting the current BC government moratorium on expansion.
Yesterday Dhaliwal stated: "I think
in aquaculture there's a tremendous opportunity to develop
that, and I'm going to urge [the provincial government]
to lift that moratorium." Yet, Daniel Burns, the
President of The Steelhead Society disagreed with what
he referred to as 'Dhaliwal's seemingly premature statements'.
"If the Minister is referring to
lifting the moratorium to allow expansion of open-net
cage farms, then his statement could be seen to conflict
with the conservation and sustainability goals of his
own ministry. Fish farming in BC, as it is practiced
today, has the potential to wreak havoc on wild salmon
stocks and their rivers. We have already seen disastrous
consequences in Norway, Ireland, and New Brunswick.
Based on Daliwal's statements, it seems that he is prepared
to repeat their mistakes," said Burns.
In response to Dhaliwal's comments yesterday,
the Steelhead Society of BC also advocated today that
protection of wild salmon and steelhead runs must be
the government's first priority. "Not only should
the moratorium on net-cage salmon aquaculture be kept
in place, but there should be a move to convert all
existing net-cages to closed loop systems within three
years," stated Burns. He added that these closed
loop systems must be escape-proof, have no discharge
of net-cage waste and allow no risk of disease transfer
to wild salmon populations.
"Any other decision would represent
an unacceptable risk to the health of the ocean environment
and wild salmon."
Backgrounder
April 14th, 1999
Threats to wild salmon associated
with open net cage salmon farming include:
Disease transfer to wild salmon
populations:
The eggs and smolts imported from non-native populations
often result in the transfer of exotic diseases to wild
fish with potentially disastrous results. Importation
of eggs is common practice in BC and elsewhere.
In Norway, escaped non-native salmon
have spread disease to wild salmon streams, devastating
salmon and sea trout populations. In order to kill off
the parasite, Gyrodactylus salaris, Norwegian authorities
have authorized the deliberate and repeated poisoning
of 17 rivers.
Spread of sea lice to wild salmon
populations:
Sea lice are small parasites, which multiply in hundreds
of thousands around the salmon cages. The lice kill
wild smolts as they try to adapt to the salt water.
The transfer of sea lice from salmon farms to wild stocks
is believed to be largely responsible for the collapse
of western Ireland’s sea trout fishery and wild
stocks in Scotland.
Escapes of non-native salmon
species:
Escapes from salmon farms are common place with thousands
of farm fish escaping annually. These escaped farm fish
have the potential to negatively impact wild populations
through the spread of disease, increased competition
and disruption of spawning sites. Escaped Atlantic salmon
have successfully reproduced in the Tsitika River on
northern Vancouver Island.
Direct discharge of wastes into
the surrounding marine environment:
Discharge of fish waste, uneaten feed and pesticides
pollute the surrounding marine environment, resulting
in risk of disease and loss of habitat. Pollution from
net-cage operations in British Columbia is similar to
the amount of sewage produced by a city of 500,000 people.
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