06/16/2009: "BC Salmon Farms Endanger Wild Salmon"

Scientific research has built a global body of evidence that shows some open net-cage salmon farms can cause ecosystem harm, and British Columbia has a number of them.

CAAR (Coastal Alliance of Aquaculture Reform) is asking federal and provincial governments to take immediate action to close five of them, and to protect the area’s marine resources by working removing all of them

“The Wild Salmon Narrows, along the east and north side of Quadra Island, is a significant migration route for juvenile wild salmon from local rivers, the Fraser River, and in all likelihood, Washington and Oregon runs as well,” says Ruby Berry of Georgia Strait Alliance.

Thousands of salmon are currently traveling from British Columbia’s rivers to the ocean as part of their annual out-migration. There is mounting evidence that out-migrating Fraser River salmon, some of which belong to endangered stocks, are infected with sea lice and may be put at risk from fish farms in the region.

“Industry has dragged its feet on transitioning to closed containment far too long, and while the government delays, wild salmon populations are being impacted by sea lice,” David Suzuki Foundation’s Corey Peet says. “No other region in the world is risking so many stocks of wild salmon with net pen salmon farms.”