Salmon farm risks
Supplementary information about the risks salmon farms pose to wild salmon, the environment and human health
1. Sea Lice: Unnaturally high populations of sea lice in and around open-net salmon farms have been shown to infest wild salmon smolts migrating past the farms on their way out to sea. This high amount of sea lice infection on young wild salmon stresses them and has been suggested to contribute to high mortality rates of the wild pink salmon stocks in the Broughton Archipelago, from 3.615 million in 2000 to only 147 thousand in 2002, a 95.9% decrease. The Broughton Archipelago, a group of islands off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island, has the highest concentration of salmon farms in British Columbia. A recent study there concluded that sea lice originating from salmon farms killed up to 95% of young wild salmon swimming past the farms.
1. Sea lice studies pertaining to British Columbia:
* Krkosek, Martin; Lewis, M.A.; Morton, A.; Frazer, L.N.; and Volpe, J.P. 2006. Epizootics of wild fish induced by farm fish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 103. no 42, pg. 15506 - 15510. Web Link: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0603525103v1
* Morton, A.; Routledge, R.; Peet, C.; and Ladwig, A. 2004. Sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) infection rates on juvenile pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum (Oncorhynchus keta) salmon in the nearshore marine environment of British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Vol. 61 (2) pg. 147-157.
See link.* Watershed Watch Salmon Society. 2004. Sea Lice and Salmon: Elevating the dialogue on the farmed-wild salmon story. Watershed Watch Salmon Society, Coquitlam, BC.
See link.
* Gallaugher, P.; J. Penikett, and M. Berry; Speaking for the Salmon Workshop: A Community Workshop to Review Preliminary Results of 2003 Studies on Sea Lice and Salmon in the Broughton Archipelago Area of British Columbia. 2004. Burnaby, BC: Centre for Coastal Studies, Simon Fraser University.
* PFRCC, 2002 Advisory: The Protection of Broughton Archipelago Pink Salmon Stocks. 2002, Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council: Vancouver, BC.
See link.
b) Sea lice studies from around the world:
* Finstad, B. The physiological and ecological effects of salmon lice on anadromous salmonids. in Speaking for the Salmon. 2002. Burnaby, BC: Center for Coastal Studies, Simon Fraser University.
* Butler, J.R.A., Wild salmonids and sea louse infestations on the west coast of Scotland: sources of infestation and implications for the management of marine salmon farms. Pest Management Science, 2002. 58: p. 595-608.
See link.
* Bjorn, P.A., The physiological and ecological effects of salmon lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis Kroyer, infection on anadromous salmonids. 2002, Tromso, Norway: Noregian College of Fisher Science, University of Tromso.
2. Other Diseases: There are many diseases, such as Bacterial Kidney Disease (BKD) and Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis (IHN), that breed in the tightly packed open-net salmon farms, where the fish are stressed and their immune systems weakened. These diseases are then transferred to wild salmon that swim near these farms. This threatens the wild stocks. Some supporting studies are found below:
a) Studies pertaining to British Columbia:
* Traxler, G.S., M.L. Kent, and T.T. Poppe, Viral Diseases, in Diseases of Seawater Net Pen-reared Salmonids, M.L. Kent and T.T. Poppe, Editors. 1998, Fisheries and Oceans Canada: Nanaimo, BC. p. 36-45.
* Kabata, Z., Copepoda and Branchiura, in Guide to the Parasites of Fishes of Canada. Part II - Crustacea, L. Margolis and Z. Kabata, Editors. 1988, Canadian Special Publications of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. p. 3-123
* Keller, B.C. and R.M. Leslie, Sea-silver: Inside British Columbia's Salmon Farming Industry. 1996, Victoria, BC: Horsdal & Schubart Publishers Ltd. 1-138
b) Studies from other areas of the world:
* Dannevig, B.H. and K.E. Thorud, Other viral diseases and agents of cold-water fish: infectious salmon anemia, pancreas disease, and viral erythrocytic necrosis, in Fish Diseases amd Disorders, Volume 3, Viral, Bacterial and Infections, P.T.K. Woo and D.W. Bruno, Editors. 1999, CAB International: Wallingford and New York. p. 149-175.
* MacVicar, A.H., Disease and parasite implications of the coexistence of wild and cultured Atlantic salmon populations. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 1997. 54: p. 1093-1103.
3. Pollution: Salmon farms produce a great amount of waste, such as feces, surplus feed, drugs and drug residues, which have a detrimental effect on the sea floor below the farm and also the surrounding flora and fauna. Some of the supporting studies are found below.
1. Studies pertaining to British Columbia:
* EVS Environmental Consultants. 2000. An Evaluation of Knowledge and Gaps Related to Impacts of Freshwater and Marine Aquaculture on the Aquatic Environment: Knowledge and Gaps. (Final Report) Prepared for Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
* Cross, S.F. 1990. Benthic impacts of salmon farming in British Columbia. Vol.1: Summary report. Aquametrix, Sydney, British Columbia. 150pp.
2. Studies pertaining to other areas of the world:
* Henderson, A.R.; Ross D.J. 1995. Use of macrobenthic infaunal communities in the monitoring and control of the impact of marine cage fish farming. Aquaculture Research, 26: p. 659-678
* Folke, C.; Kautsky, N.; Troell, M. 1994. The Costs of Eutrophication from Salmon Farming: Implications for Policy. Journal of Environmental Management 40 (2): p. 173 –182
See link.
4. Farmed Atlantic Salmon Escapees: Farmed Atlantic salmon escapees threaten wild Pacific salmon by predating on their young, outcompeting them for food and habitat, and colonizing streams. There have also been reports of escaped Atlantic salmon successfully spawning in British Columbia streams. More information can be found in the studies below:
* Volpe, J.P., B.R. Anholt, and B.W. Glickman. 2001. Competition among juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss): relevance to invasion potential in British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Vol:58: p. 197-207.
See link.
* Volpe, J.P., B.W. Glickman and B.R. Anholt. 2001. Reproduction of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) in a controlled stream channel on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 130: 489-494.
See link.
* Volpe, J.P., E.B. Taylor, D.W. Rimmer, and B.W. Glickman. 2000. Evidence of natural reproduction of aquaculture-escaped Atlantic salmon in a coastal British Columbia river. Conservation Biology. Vol. 14(3): p. 899-903.
* McKinnel, S. and A.J. Thomson, Recent events concerning Atlantic salmon escapees in the Pacific. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 1997. 54: p. 1221-1225.
See link.
5. Inadequate Legislation and Regulation: Independent and government panels and bodies, such as the Federal Auditor General and the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries, have repeatedly reported that stronger legislation and regulation of the Salmon Farming industry is needed. They have even stated that the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has been failing in their mandate to protect wild salmon while they are promoting salmon farming. Some of these reports are found below:
* AGC, Chapter 30 - Fisheries and Oceans - The Effects of Salmon Farming in British Columbia on the Management of Wild Salmon Stocks. 2000, Auditor General of Canada: Ottawa. p. 42.
See link.
* SSCF, Aquaculture in Canada's Atlantic and Pacific Regions. 2001, Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries: Ottawa.
See link.
* PFRCC, 2002 Advisory: The Protection of Broughton Archipelago Pink Salmon Stocks. 2002, Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council: Vancouver, BC.
See link.
6) Net loss of protein: Studies show that it takes 2 – 5 times more fish protein, in the form of fish meal derived from wild fish, to produce the same amount of protein in farmed salmon. This has a negative effect on marine ecosystems, as an array of wild fish are harvested and depleted in many parts of the world to make fish meal for farmed salmon. Below are some studies:
1. Studies pertaining to British Columbia and worlwide:
* Naylor, R. L.; Goldburg, R. J.; Primavera, J.H.; Kautsky, N.; Beveridge, M. C. M.; Clay, J.; Folke, C.; Lubchenco, J.; Mooney, H.; Troell, M. 2000. Effect of aquaculture on world fish supplies. Nature. Vol. 405: p.1017 - 1024 (Review).
See link.
* Naylor, R. L.; Goldburg, R. J.; Mooney, H.; Beveridge, M. C. M.; Clay, J.; Folke, C.; Kautsky, N.; Lubchenco, J.; Primavera, J.H.; Williams, M. 1998. Nature's Subsidies to Shrimp and Salmon Farming. Science. Vol. 30: p. 883-884.
See link.
7. Toxins: Studies have repeatedly found farmed salmon, including those from British Columbia, to contain on average 10 times more toxins, including PCB’s, dioxins, pesticides and PBDE’s, than wild salmon, which poses a threat to the marine environment and also for people’s health. Several studies are found below:
1. Studies pertaining to British Columbia and worlwide:
* Hites, R.A.; Foran, J.A.; Carpenter, D.O.; Hamilton, M.C.; Knuth, B.A.; Schwager, S.J. 2004. Global Assessment of Organic Contaminants in Farmed Salmon. Science. Vol. 303, p. 226-229
A good summary can be found here.
light grey = wild salmon dark grey = farmed salmon (source: Hites, R.A et al. 2004. Science. Vol. 303, p. 226-229. See above)
* Hites, R.A.; Foran, J.A.; Schwager, S.J.; Knuth, B.A.; Hamilton, M.C. and Carpenter, D.O. 2004. Global Assessment of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Farmed and Wild Salmon. Environ. Sci. Technol. Vol. 38: p. 4945 – 4949. See link.
8. Economic Statistics: Statistics have shown that salmon farming is not a major contributor to the provincial economy, and is far less than the contribution from commercial fisheries, sport fishing and marine tourism, which all rely on healthy wild salmon stocks. Several studies are found below:
* Watershed Watch Salmon Society. 2004. Sea Lice and Salmon: Elevating the dialogue on the farmed-wild salmon story. Watershed Watch Salmon Society, Coquitlam, BC.
See link.
* Marshall, D., Fishy Business - the Economics of Salmon Farming in BC. 2003,Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - BC Office: Vancouver, BC. p. 45.
< * ARA Consulting Group, Marine Tourism in British Columbia: Opportunity Analysis (March). 1991, BC Ministry of Tourism, BC Ministry of Regional and Economic Development: Victoria, BC.
* InterVISTAS Consulting Inc., Port of Vancouver Economic Impact Study. 2001,Vancouver Port Authority: Vancouver, BC.
* MFCR, British Columbia’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector (May). 2002, BC Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations: Victoria, BC.
(source Watershed Watch Salmon Society. 2004. Sea Lice and Salmon: Elevating the dialogue on the farmed-wild salmon story. Watershed Watch Salmon Society, Coquitlam, BC.
See link.)
