Aquaculture improving?..The Fish Farm Thread
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ship happens
Crew Member
Scottish fish farms using cancer-linked embalming fluid as disinfectant
Nearly 200 fish farms are allowed to use a carcinogenic chemical called formaldehyde which is used to embalm corpses, The Ferret can reveal.
theferret.scot
A 2019 article from Scotland. As mentioned it's used in every hatchery in BC on salmon and trout. Also used in garment manufacturing and other industries I'm sure. Hard to raise any animals without treatments. The flee medication you give your dog is similar to slice.
Whole in the Water
Well-Known Member
Get these polluting, disease spreading, environmentally unsustainable feedlots onto land where their negative impacts can be better managed!!!
OldBlackDog
Well-Known Member
John Ivison: A high-stakes fish fight is fracturing Trudeau’s cabinet
An eavesdropper outside next Tuesday’s federal cabinet meeting may well hear the sound of antlers crashing, as ministers clash over a proposal to renew salmon farming licences in British Columbia.
It is understood that Fisheries and Oceans Minister Diane Lebouthillier will put forward a plan to renew the existing licences of open net-pen Atlantic salmon farms for another eight to 10 years, giving them time to transition to systems that reduce interaction between wild and farmed salmon.
Cabinet operates on consensus, but that is unlikely to be forthcoming because there are a number of Lebouthillier’s colleagues, including Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, who subscribe to the belief that the farmed salmon are hurting wild sockeye salmon numbers and want the fish-farm pens out of the water as soon as possible. When Lebouthillier brought forward her draft plan at a cabinet committee just over a week ago, it was rejected by ministers who want a more expeditious solution.
That is likely to leave Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with the dilemma of whether to back his fisheries minister or his environmentalist colleagues.
The decision will reverberate far beyond B.C., given it touches on fundamental economic, environmental and Indigenous issues.
The immediate background is that the open-net pen Atlantic salmon aquaculture business has grown in B.C. to a level where it generates around $2 billion in economic activity and employs more than 8,000 people.
For remote First Nation communities like the Kitasoo Xai’xais in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, 500 kilometres north of Vancouver, aquaculture accounts for more than half of revenues and the bulk of employment.
Yet, Lebouthillier’s predecessor, Joyce Murray, a B.C. MP and lifelong environmentalist, was firmly committed to closing the province’s 75 or so Atlantic salmon farms. She succeeded with 15 farms in the Discovery Islands on B.C.’s coast by deciding not to renew their licences, over concerns that sea lice from the pens were contributing to the demise of the wild sockeye salmon passing along their migratory route to their own spawning grounds.
In doing so, she ignored the evidence provided to her department by the Canadian Scientific Advisory Secretariat, which co-ordinates peer reviews and scientific advice for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). It concluded pathogen transmission from Atlantic salmon farms posed “minimal risk” to the Fraser River sockeye population, which was being impacted by other pressures like climate change, habitat loss, fishing pressures and predation.
Opponents of fish farms like Bob Chamberlin, chair of the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance, contend that DFO is mired in a conflict of interest and calls for a “truly independent” scientific body to review the impact of salmon farms on marine life. He says there was industry involvement in the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat studies that resulted in “predetermined outcomes.”
Fish farm opponents point to a March 2023 report from the parliamentary committee on fisheries and oceans that said some additional research that might have had a material impact on the overall risk assessment was “suppressed” and that an independent audit and analysis should be undertaken to determine the accuracy of the scientific advice.
The legitimacy of the science is sure to be a factor in court.
The decision not to renew the Discovery Islands licences is now under judicial review and the government may find itself subject to a hefty compensation award if it is found that the risk to wild salmon stocks was indeed minimal.
After the Discovery Islands decision, Murray appeared intent on closing down much of the rest of the industry, but she was removed from cabinet last July and replaced by Lebouthillier before she could do so.
Under the new minister, the government remains committed to a transition from open-net pen salmon farming. But it appears Lebouthillier is sympathetic to a more gradual process that uses innovation and barrier technology to minimize interactions with wild salmon over time. In contrast to the 2019 Liberal platform commitment that called for a transition to “a closed containment system” by 2025 — effectively shutting down fish farms — the minister’s mandate letter does not demand the fish must be taken out of the water. It merely calls for her to work with the province and Indigenous communities to come up with “a responsible transition plan.”
The government has until July 1 to decide whether to review multiple fish farm licences. It may be that the decision falls to the prime minister.
In a letter to Trudeau, Isaiah Robinson, head of economic development for the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation, emphasized the significant impact the decision will have on the future well-being of remote communities like his.
RELATED STORIES
• John Ivison: The sudden, mysterious muteness of Pierre Poilievre
• John Ivison: The Liberals’ response to the arrest warrants against Israel is mired in typical fudge
Robinson said that since 2019, Kitasoo has been updating its own sustainable development model, “an innovation plan that will balance environmental stewardship, economic development and community resilience.” He said the Kitasoo have continually asserted their rights and title authority on their traditional territory.
“Failure to renew current salmon farming licences will put our nation at risk and will result in economic losses approximated at $2.82 million in economic output, $2.8 million in employment income and 60 jobs,” he said. “We are asking that you renew all salmon farming licences in British Columbia for a minimum of six years.”
Trudeau has already tipped his hand to some extent by shuffling Murray, in large measure because of her inflexibility on this issue.
But the prime minister can ill-afford a split in cabinet or a revolt in caucus, whose B.C. members are predominantly in favour eliminating open-net pens.
He could seek to punt the problem to someone else by issuing two-year licence renewals, but that is unlikely to please anyone: salmon farming cycles are three years in duration.
The prime minister has of late tended to take the path of least resistance. But in this case, it’s far from clear there is one.
jivison@criffel.ca
Twitter.com/IvisonJ
Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here.
An eavesdropper outside next Tuesday’s federal cabinet meeting may well hear the sound of antlers crashing, as ministers clash over a proposal to renew salmon farming licences in British Columbia.
It is understood that Fisheries and Oceans Minister Diane Lebouthillier will put forward a plan to renew the existing licences of open net-pen Atlantic salmon farms for another eight to 10 years, giving them time to transition to systems that reduce interaction between wild and farmed salmon.
Cabinet operates on consensus, but that is unlikely to be forthcoming because there are a number of Lebouthillier’s colleagues, including Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, who subscribe to the belief that the farmed salmon are hurting wild sockeye salmon numbers and want the fish-farm pens out of the water as soon as possible. When Lebouthillier brought forward her draft plan at a cabinet committee just over a week ago, it was rejected by ministers who want a more expeditious solution.
That is likely to leave Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with the dilemma of whether to back his fisheries minister or his environmentalist colleagues.
The decision will reverberate far beyond B.C., given it touches on fundamental economic, environmental and Indigenous issues.
The immediate background is that the open-net pen Atlantic salmon aquaculture business has grown in B.C. to a level where it generates around $2 billion in economic activity and employs more than 8,000 people.
For remote First Nation communities like the Kitasoo Xai’xais in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, 500 kilometres north of Vancouver, aquaculture accounts for more than half of revenues and the bulk of employment.
Yet, Lebouthillier’s predecessor, Joyce Murray, a B.C. MP and lifelong environmentalist, was firmly committed to closing the province’s 75 or so Atlantic salmon farms. She succeeded with 15 farms in the Discovery Islands on B.C.’s coast by deciding not to renew their licences, over concerns that sea lice from the pens were contributing to the demise of the wild sockeye salmon passing along their migratory route to their own spawning grounds.
In doing so, she ignored the evidence provided to her department by the Canadian Scientific Advisory Secretariat, which co-ordinates peer reviews and scientific advice for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). It concluded pathogen transmission from Atlantic salmon farms posed “minimal risk” to the Fraser River sockeye population, which was being impacted by other pressures like climate change, habitat loss, fishing pressures and predation.
Opponents of fish farms like Bob Chamberlin, chair of the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance, contend that DFO is mired in a conflict of interest and calls for a “truly independent” scientific body to review the impact of salmon farms on marine life. He says there was industry involvement in the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat studies that resulted in “predetermined outcomes.”
Fish farm opponents point to a March 2023 report from the parliamentary committee on fisheries and oceans that said some additional research that might have had a material impact on the overall risk assessment was “suppressed” and that an independent audit and analysis should be undertaken to determine the accuracy of the scientific advice.
The legitimacy of the science is sure to be a factor in court.
The decision not to renew the Discovery Islands licences is now under judicial review and the government may find itself subject to a hefty compensation award if it is found that the risk to wild salmon stocks was indeed minimal.
After the Discovery Islands decision, Murray appeared intent on closing down much of the rest of the industry, but she was removed from cabinet last July and replaced by Lebouthillier before she could do so.
Under the new minister, the government remains committed to a transition from open-net pen salmon farming. But it appears Lebouthillier is sympathetic to a more gradual process that uses innovation and barrier technology to minimize interactions with wild salmon over time. In contrast to the 2019 Liberal platform commitment that called for a transition to “a closed containment system” by 2025 — effectively shutting down fish farms — the minister’s mandate letter does not demand the fish must be taken out of the water. It merely calls for her to work with the province and Indigenous communities to come up with “a responsible transition plan.”
The government has until July 1 to decide whether to review multiple fish farm licences. It may be that the decision falls to the prime minister.
In a letter to Trudeau, Isaiah Robinson, head of economic development for the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation, emphasized the significant impact the decision will have on the future well-being of remote communities like his.
RELATED STORIES
• John Ivison: The sudden, mysterious muteness of Pierre Poilievre
• John Ivison: The Liberals’ response to the arrest warrants against Israel is mired in typical fudge
Robinson said that since 2019, Kitasoo has been updating its own sustainable development model, “an innovation plan that will balance environmental stewardship, economic development and community resilience.” He said the Kitasoo have continually asserted their rights and title authority on their traditional territory.
“Failure to renew current salmon farming licences will put our nation at risk and will result in economic losses approximated at $2.82 million in economic output, $2.8 million in employment income and 60 jobs,” he said. “We are asking that you renew all salmon farming licences in British Columbia for a minimum of six years.”
Trudeau has already tipped his hand to some extent by shuffling Murray, in large measure because of her inflexibility on this issue.
But the prime minister can ill-afford a split in cabinet or a revolt in caucus, whose B.C. members are predominantly in favour eliminating open-net pens.
He could seek to punt the problem to someone else by issuing two-year licence renewals, but that is unlikely to please anyone: salmon farming cycles are three years in duration.
The prime minister has of late tended to take the path of least resistance. But in this case, it’s far from clear there is one.
jivison@criffel.ca
Twitter.com/IvisonJ
Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here.
Yep, and the industry PR & lobby machine has gone into hyperdrive:
watershedwatch.ca
Factory salmon farms ramp up lobbying of federal Fisheries officials
Federal fisheries officials are being inundated with lobbying by B.C. salmon farm proponents as public pressure mounts for removals.
watershedwatch.ca
Yep, HG. I would never suggest that most ENGOs don't have a bias, a political outreach and attached funding campaign components. But I would add 2 additional important points - points that the substantial PR/lobby machine of the ONP industry does not wish to admit nor have well known by the general public and their favourite pet reporters in the National Post:
1/ The ENGO crowd is a small vocal minority of the rather extensive and diverse group that actually does research on the impacts from the ONP industry and communities that are impacted from the industry, and
2/ The ENGO crowd is also a diverse crowd that has both wingnuts (e.g. SSS & IFAW) and quite respected, helpful and industrious programs (e.g. ASF & PSF) that have taken on work that DFO should have been doing and still refuses to do so.
The people who work on wild salmon and those who work with the ASF & the PSF are not at all fooled by this recent increase in the attempt to divide & conquer by the substantial PR/lobby machine of the ONP industry. But the substantial PR/lobby machine of the ONP industry is not targetting these people who they know they can't fool - just a few politicians and their own lobby who have accepted and absorbed their ideology.
1/ The ENGO crowd is a small vocal minority of the rather extensive and diverse group that actually does research on the impacts from the ONP industry and communities that are impacted from the industry, and
2/ The ENGO crowd is also a diverse crowd that has both wingnuts (e.g. SSS & IFAW) and quite respected, helpful and industrious programs (e.g. ASF & PSF) that have taken on work that DFO should have been doing and still refuses to do so.
The people who work on wild salmon and those who work with the ASF & the PSF are not at all fooled by this recent increase in the attempt to divide & conquer by the substantial PR/lobby machine of the ONP industry. But the substantial PR/lobby machine of the ONP industry is not targetting these people who they know they can't fool - just a few politicians and their own lobby who have accepted and absorbed their ideology.
ryanonthevedder
Active Member
"FN's in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest would be hit hard"...
Rather than poisoning migrating salmon with parasites and disease they could... you know... reinstate bear hunting in order to reap the spoils of the land without shitting on everyone else's parade.
Rather than poisoning migrating salmon with parasites and disease they could... you know... reinstate bear hunting in order to reap the spoils of the land without shitting on everyone else's parade.
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
FOR YOUR RADAR
Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier in Question Period earlier this month. | Spencer Colby, The Canadian Press
SCIENCE VS. SCIENCE — Everywhere you turn in a heated debate over salmon farming on British Columbia’s coast, stakeholders claim to be on the side of science.
Fish farmers insist their industry, which has given hope to their communities in the form of economic prosperity, poses minimal risk to wild salmon. Their opponents are certain open-net pens are too big a risk to wild stocks and threatening other jobs in sportfishing and tourism.
— The stakes: The future of the farms is on Cabinet’s agenda. It’s the latest flashpoint following a 2019 Liberal campaign promise to “transition from open net pen salmon farming in coastal waters to closed containment systems by 2025.”
Dozens of Cabinet-approved farm licences expire at the end of June. Fisheries Minister DIANE LEBOUTHILLIER has been clear on one point: Farms won’t close in 2025.
As Playbook has reported, the fate of the pens has torn open rifts between Liberals, First Nations and lobby groups in Ottawa. A government that claims to make evidence-based policy is caught in the middle: Whose science should they believe?
— Here’s a twist: Neither side gives rave reviews to the bureaucrats at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the federal department known as DFO that regulates aquaculture and works to conserve wild salmon populations — an awkward conflict in the eyes of many.
DFO is also a major gatherer of fish data that feeds policy makers. TONY ALLARD, the chair of Wild Salmon Forever & Wild First, penned a Hill Times op-ed this week that slammed the department as a captured regulator beholden to industry.
— Another twist: A federal watchdog is investigating the department for “attempting to silence scientists through reprimands, to dissuade them from communicating with the media and the public about their research.” The probe, reported by the Globe and Mail earlier this month, followed a request from Allard.
— Falling stocks: The decline of wild salmon in Canadian waters is likely due to a deadly combination of factors that include climate change and illegal fishing.
Fish farms typically crack the list of active threats. But the data isn’t always conclusive for either side of the debate. Stakeholders emphasize different words in the same findings.
Two examples:
→ Data point 1: The Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Salmon Health Program has published research on the impact of pathogens that could emanate from fish farms. Here’s the foundation on the state of play:
“In the scientific community, there is … a strong belief that disease may be a significant factor in salmon mortality, but not enough is known about what disease agents might affect Pacific salmon in their natural habitats.”
→ Data point 2: The commissioner of a public inquiry into Fraser River fish stocks, BRUCE COHEN, published a three-volume report in 2012. Wild salmon advocates point to this quote: “I therefore conclude that the potential harm posed to Fraser River sockeye salmon from salmon farms is serious or irreversible.”
Cohen also, though, acknowledged several other major forces at play.
— Evidence versus probability: It’s hard to find a smoking gun in salmon decline.
KILIAN STEHFEST, a marine conservation specialist at the David Suzuki Foundation, tells Playbook that pathogens are likelier near active fish farms, and salmon are likelier to get sick if they swim near pathogens. Those facts, he says, are clear in the evidence.
But observing the large-scale prevalence of infected wild salmon, or infected anything in something as vast as an ocean, is tremendously challenging on a wide scale.
That’s why scientists rely on modeling, Stehfest says. Which comes with its own challenges:
“It’s very human to want a clear answer. We want science to tell us this is right, this is wrong, this is the truth, or these are the facts,” he says. “When science isn’t able to give you that, and you’re dealing with that more murky concept of probabilities and risk, it’s really hard to have that conversation.”
— Good luck, Cabinet: In this science versus science slugfest, almost no outcome will satisfy everybody — or even anybody. See you at the next flashpoint.
John Ingram
Well-Known Member
Federal Court rejects bid to review not renewing licences of B.C. fish farms
The application for judicial review into the decision not to renew licences was launched by the Wei Wai Kum and We Wai Kai nations in the areas of Quadra Island and Campbell River, as well as salmon farm operators including Grieg Seafood.
www.timescolonist.com
Hopefully this works out towards the final decision to shut them all down
ziggy
Well-Known Member
According to the article the decision has been made?
decision not to renew the licences for farms around B.C.'s Discovery Islands met the "requirement of the duty to consult" and "did not breach the operators' rights of procedural fairness."
Mass mortality event kills hundreds of tonnes of B.C. farmed salmon
DFO and operator attribute mass die-off to low oxygen, but one scientist who visited one far-flung site in a kayak worries the real cause could be more complicated.
www.coastreporter.net
Why does it take a whistleblower to bring this crap to light.
How many other such events happen that never see the light of day. I suspect we will never know.
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