[Furious_George]

Bob Weber, THE CANADIAN PRESS

Fish farming as it's currently practised in Canada is destroying wild salmon stocks and threatens to completely wipe them out within four years in one area of British Columbia, according to new research.

Although debate over the environmental impact of fish farms has raged for years, a study published Thursday in the journal Science leaves little doubt that aquaculture can damage wild populations by infecting juveniles with fatal parasites, said Martin Krkosek of the University of Alberta

"This is the first time we've been able to quantify the effects of the sea lice on wild salmon," he said. "The impact is severe."

Krkosek said that unless something changes, the Broughton archipelago ,about 240 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, will lose its once-abundant wild salmon runs within four years. The findings have implications for fish farming around the world for all species, he said.

"The current model for farming salmon is the same model that's been used to farm other species like cod and halibut. This is kind of a bellwether case for aquaculture in general."

Link to the full article:
http://www.mytelus.com/ncp_news/article.en.do?pn=regional/british_columbia&articleID=2837872

 

[newsman]

Old news I spent 6 month dishing out the dirt in my newspaper column 7 years ago. While I hear and have heard allot of sceaming over the years nothing changes. Does anyone with any clout really care? I remember when the Haida Nation declared war on fish farms and as their first act of war sacked a fish farm in Ocean Falls. Nothing happened; no challenge, no charges, nothing. So what does it take? I don't know. maybe someone here does.

 

[flyguy]

Global news did a report on it on todays news. I tried to find the link but they posted the wrong video with the caption. Liberals of course said they know nothing of this report. Typical Liberal BS. :wallbash: :wallbash:

 

[kisinana]

Fish Farms damaging Wild Stocks

This article just published in Science Magazine and the only people who don't seem to care are the Fish Farms and the Government

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/12/13/tech-salmonfarm-lice.html

You should send it to your local MLA and federal MP and maybe they will begin to get the picture.

 

[fishhog]

Heard a blurb on Cfox about it this morning down here.

The Fox Rocks eace:

 

[flyguy]

If you want to watch the Global News story, go here:

http://www.canada.com/globaltv/bc/video/index.html

Click on Watch the News Hour, let it load, and fast forward to about 6:20.

 

[flyguy]

So after writing some letters to the local federal and provincial politicians before christmas I finally got a response from Mr Randy Kamp. Here is the letter that he had sent to me.

Thank you for your email and I apologize for the delay in getting back to you over the Christmas period. I appreciate the concerns you raise in your letter regarding the news article you read in December.

It is certainly tempting to view the “sea lice issue” as entirely straight-forward, but how sea lice truly affect wild and farmed salmon is actually fairly complicated and still not conclusive. Just as an example, while one purportedly authoritative report takes one position, another equally authoritative report will take an opposite view (e.g. released by the Fraser Institute: http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.web/publication_details.aspx?pubID=3168).

To be clear, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) clearly respects the efforts of other independent scientists dedicated to clarifying the science around sea lice. DFO wishes to ensure the conservation of wild salmon and will continue to collaborate with others in these efforts. During 2007, significant efforts in collaborative research were supported by the B.C. Pacific Salmon Forum. This research is currently being reviewed in preparation for the 2008 collaborative research program.

I would however like to point out that the Science Magazine article from December 13, 2007, to which I believe you are referring, appears to be somewhat presumptuous on a couple of fronts. For example, it is the view of DFO that the report overstates the risk to pink salmon in the Broughton Archipelago and that the estimated trend in escapements is not consistent with those actually observed since 2002. It is also DFO’s view that the authors’ model, when applied to past salmon runs, has not been accurate for predicting actual runs.

Should you like to read more about the department position on this matter, please take a look at the following backgrounders pertaining to sea lice. http://www-sci.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/sealice/statement_e.htm and http://www-sci.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/sealice/findings_e.htm.

Thanks again for taking the time to write about your concerns on this matter – it is certainly an issue I have been following closely as well. I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Regards,



Randy Kamp, MP
Pitt Meadows--Maple Ridge--Mission
Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

 

[Little Hawk]

Howdy,

Somehow missed this thread.

Mr. Kemp's response is a typical 'canned' stalwart response. The DFO (or FOC or whatever they're calling themselve's these days) has demonstrated unbridled support for the fishfarmers and in my view that puts them in a direct CONFLICT OF INTEREST with their mandate to responsible stewardship of our Wild Pacific Salmon.

Trust me, if our Wild salmon are to be turned back from the cusp of extinction - we can not/must not depend on the DFO or the Province to make this happen.

It will be the like's of you and me - the Sportfishermen of BC.


Join the 'War' on the fishfarmers!

Cheers,
Terry Anderson

The BC Sportfisherman's Alliance