wildmanyeah
Crew Member
I sure hope some of you guys are supporting our local land base growers...https://www.facebook.com/WestCreekAquaculture
Aquaculture improving?..The Fish Farm Thread
- Thread starter islandboy
- Start date
Stephen Kowalski
Active Member
I think the question(s) that need both to be asked and answered are:
- Can the impacts and risks to wild salmon be mitigated using the open net-pen technology? Yes
- Can we assess the impacts where things like disease outbreaks are hidden? Yes
- Why do we have the promoters also the regulators/enforcers? - probably a good idea to split this role - much like having CEO/CFO not be on governance committees
- Does self-reporting work? If proper penalties are in place - absolutely.
- What are the options? Not sure of you question?
AA, you made a great point of talking about the merits of salmon ranching vs farming. I think you should read up on this - it is a 100 fold bigger issue than the FF's. Here is a nice picture of what a hatchery ranch looks like in Alaska. Looks like one hell of a big farm to me. Maybe all the FF's just need to re-brand as "Fish Ranches" - they can get a green sustainable label.
Interesting article I came across - a little dated but really looks at the Ranch vs Farm issue and directly how the protesting machine is working only against the one side.
https://protestingtheprotesters.wordpress.com/tag/salmon-ranching/
Stephen Kowalski
Active Member
Maybe I should throw in the towel here and we should flood our rivers with ranching. Would all the anti-FF folks be in favour of us copying Alaska? I have to admit, that as a fisherman, lots more salmon to catch but I worry that just because I might be happy it doesn't mean the salmon are doing better. The article I posted runs through how the ranching system in Alaska has all the same issues and problems as our FF's, they have just convinced the public it is wild and sustainable. Look at it like this, if I raised a cow in a pen for two years, feed it antibiotics and grain and then sent it to a pasture for two years, would any one call it "wild cow"? Somehow, many of the advocates have convinced themselves this is good for salmon and because they catch them coming back due to the genetic programming, they are labeled "wild".
BTW, not against salmon ranching. Japan, Russia and US are just raping the system and good stewards in Canada will pay a hefty price for their greed. There is no balance in the system.....
Salmon deaths in Newfoundland prompt review of public bodies’ disclosure obligations
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/can...-newfoundland-prompt-review-of-public-bodies/
The Canadian Press
Newfoundland and Labrador’s information and privacy commissioner is investigating whether public bodies were obligated to disclose information sooner about a mass die-off of farmed salmon earlier this year.
The investigation announced Thursday will consider what information public bodies knew about the salmon deaths, when that information was acquired, whether there was evidence of harm to the environment or human health, and whether the information was clearly in the public interest.
Northern Harvest Sea Farms reported last month that 2.6 million of its fish died in southern Newfoundland sea cages due to a prolonged period of high water temperatures.
The company said it first reported the deaths to government on Sept. 3, but it did not publicly address them until weeks later.
Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne has maintained that it falls on companies to disclose such incidents, but the die-off and subsequent cleanup have sparked questions about the aquaculture industry’s environmental impact, transparency and regulation.
Privacy commissioner Michael Harvey says interpretation of one section in the province’s Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act could affect what information public bodies are bound to disclose and when.
NDP legislator James Dinn wrote to Harvey asking whether that section of the act applies in this case.
The section directs the head of a public body to proactively disclose information without an access request if the information relates to risk of harm to the environment or health and public safety.
“This provision has not yet been subject to any reports or guidance issued by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, and the question requires careful analysis,” a statement from the commissioner read.
Sean Murray, director of research with the commissioner’s office, said the investigation has already started with a letter and request for information sent to the fisheries minister.
He said the office is aiming to complete the review and publish a report within three months.
“It’s a pretty unique matter that we’re looking into,” Murray said.
He said the results of this investigation, looking into a section of the act which has been “overlooked,” will likely set useful guidelines for public bodies making decisions about disclosure in the future.
In a letter to Harvey dated Oct. 30, Byrne said he did not disclose the incident because it was reported by the company to have been caused by an environmental event and not disease, and because his department was looking into the case. He said he decided to share information after the die-off became public on Sept. 23.
Byrne suspended licences at 10 of the company’s sites earlier this month after he learned the number of mortalities was higher than initially disclosed.
Concerns have been raised about the environmental impact of the event after images of the messy cleanup showed pink residue being dumped back into the water.
Witnesses have described the smell of rotten fish lingering in the area and fatty, oily residue coating nearby beaches and covering the water.
Company spokesman Jason Card said this week that the response efforts are expected to continue into November.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/can...-newfoundland-prompt-review-of-public-bodies/
The Canadian Press
Newfoundland and Labrador’s information and privacy commissioner is investigating whether public bodies were obligated to disclose information sooner about a mass die-off of farmed salmon earlier this year.
The investigation announced Thursday will consider what information public bodies knew about the salmon deaths, when that information was acquired, whether there was evidence of harm to the environment or human health, and whether the information was clearly in the public interest.
Northern Harvest Sea Farms reported last month that 2.6 million of its fish died in southern Newfoundland sea cages due to a prolonged period of high water temperatures.
The company said it first reported the deaths to government on Sept. 3, but it did not publicly address them until weeks later.
Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne has maintained that it falls on companies to disclose such incidents, but the die-off and subsequent cleanup have sparked questions about the aquaculture industry’s environmental impact, transparency and regulation.
Privacy commissioner Michael Harvey says interpretation of one section in the province’s Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act could affect what information public bodies are bound to disclose and when.
NDP legislator James Dinn wrote to Harvey asking whether that section of the act applies in this case.
The section directs the head of a public body to proactively disclose information without an access request if the information relates to risk of harm to the environment or health and public safety.
“This provision has not yet been subject to any reports or guidance issued by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, and the question requires careful analysis,” a statement from the commissioner read.
Sean Murray, director of research with the commissioner’s office, said the investigation has already started with a letter and request for information sent to the fisheries minister.
He said the office is aiming to complete the review and publish a report within three months.
“It’s a pretty unique matter that we’re looking into,” Murray said.
He said the results of this investigation, looking into a section of the act which has been “overlooked,” will likely set useful guidelines for public bodies making decisions about disclosure in the future.
In a letter to Harvey dated Oct. 30, Byrne said he did not disclose the incident because it was reported by the company to have been caused by an environmental event and not disease, and because his department was looking into the case. He said he decided to share information after the die-off became public on Sept. 23.
Byrne suspended licences at 10 of the company’s sites earlier this month after he learned the number of mortalities was higher than initially disclosed.
Concerns have been raised about the environmental impact of the event after images of the messy cleanup showed pink residue being dumped back into the water.
Witnesses have described the smell of rotten fish lingering in the area and fatty, oily residue coating nearby beaches and covering the water.
Company spokesman Jason Card said this week that the response efforts are expected to continue into November.
Stephen Kowalski
Active Member
Looks like we will get to the bottom of this! This is great. This is like an oil company have a spill and then covering it over with gravel. Not the right way. I hope the FF'ing industry gets it's collective act together and fixes itself. That should be what we all want - operate safely, effectively, economically and.....environmentally.
fogged in
Well-Known Member
Stephen Kowalski
Active Member
So, not happy about this. Looks like a mess, but we still need more info.
The question I have though is what should we do on the west coast? Agent, taking into account that economics must play a role, are you in favour of salmon ranching instead of farming? Industry will be messy and make mistakes, if we want economic development we need to mitigate the risks but accept there will be risks. Are we at the point where we should shut down all salmon fishing across the board? If we shut down all commercial and recreational fishing along with closing all the salmon farms, would we see a rapid recovery? Would this just allow the ranchers to increase their practice further?
Again, without a broad approach to the issue it feels like we could make things even worse.
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
CP mulls China RAS salmon, shrimp expansion
Interests controlled by Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) are mulling a move into recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) for salmon as well as shrimp in China, sources told Undercurrent News.
The plan is for three-to-five 10,000-metric-ton RAS systems for salmon in different parts of China, as well as a smaller 1,000t-3,000t RAS facility for shrimp. However, if the shrimp facility proves to be successful, the company is then looking to go as big as 200,000t, sources said.
The plans have been in the making for some time, but it’s coming to crunch time for approval in the sprawling $60 billion-turnover group, which has over 200 companies in China alone, where it is known as “Zheng Da”.
CP has remained silent on the plans and did not respond to requests for comment from Undercurrent before publishing. However, back in May, CP was displaying a plan for a RAS shrimp farm in Shandong province at an aquaculture conference in Zhuhai, a city in China's Pearl River delta.
It’s thought a decision on whether to go ahead with the plans could come in the next couple of weeks from the upper echelons of the sprawling feed, food, plastics, telecoms, and retail group founded by Thai Chinese billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont. Undercurrent first reported the prospect of a 200,000t RAS facility for shrimp from CP last year.
The plan is being considered by a Chinese division of the conglomerate that has nothing to do with Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods), which operates its shrimp businesses in Thailand and Vietnam, sources said. CP Foods confirmed to Undercurrent in September a plan to build a small RAS shrimp farm in the US state of Florida.
The Thai giant is not the only company looking to build RAS facilities in China for salmon. 8F Investment Partners, which is also planning facilities in Europe, the US and Japan, is looking at building five 20,000t RAS facilities in the country.
Undercurrent understands several other big companies are also looking at similar projects in China, and also other Asian countries, in salmon and shrimp.
Global RAS boom
If CP goes ahead with the plans, the giant will become the latest entrant to the multitude of RAS projects being planned globally.
In shrimp, Nippon Suisan Kaisha-backed Seafarms Group plans to cultivate shrimp over 10,000 hectares using modern technology in northern Australia. Viet Uc Seafood Corp., Vietnam’s largest shrimp post-larvae provider, also plans to build hundreds of modern covered farms.
For salmon, there are many more projects. At the end of September, Martin Fothergill, a co-founder and partner with 8F, told Undercurrent the private equity is raising capital for the China portion of its $1.6bn plan to produce 260,000t of salmon in RAS farms globally.
8F has almost raised the $300m needed for the first phase of its plan, which will finance 10,000t RAS farms in Europe and Japan and a 20,000t site in the US state of Virginia, adding to its small, existing site in Poland, Fothergill told Undercurrent after a presentation given to potential investors in Oslo, Norway on Sept. 23.
The next phase will be to raise more capital for the China portion of the Pure Salmon plan, which will see 100,000t produced across five different sites. In China, 8F is looking to build 20,000t sites in Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, home to 21m, 8m, 24m, 13m and 13m, people, respectively. “We’re looking globally at high population, high consumption, high wealth areas,” he said.
At the end of August, Undercurrent revealed two more new planned RAS farms.
During the Trondheim, Norway-based AquaNor trade show, Vikings Label, a Norwegian startup, announced plans for a RAS salmon farm in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to Undercurrent, Vikings’ CEO Lukas Havn said his firm planned to build a salmon farm with a capacity of 5,000t in the city of Jeddah, on the shores of the Red Sea.
According to Havn, the farm will cost roughly $80m to build and will be built with the intent to expand beyond its immediate 5,000t target within a few years.
A few days later, UK-born salmon processing veteran Jonathan Brown told Undercurrent he's seeking to raise $150m and secure a partner for a fully integrated, “egg to retail pack” RAS farm on the East Coast of the US.
Brown, who sold the US Macknight Food Group smoked salmon plants in Florida and Nevada to private equity McCarthy Capital earlier this year, has purchased a 90-acre site in the state of Maryland, which is “fully licensed” to farm up to 60,000t, he said.
Brown’s American Salmon is the latest RAS salmon project to be announced in the US since Atlantic Sapphire got going with a massive farm in Florida.
In May, in the middle of the Seafood Expo Global trade show in Brussels, Belgium, Atlantic Sapphire issued a statement to the Oslo stock exchange revealing a big increase in its volume target. Originally, Atlantic Sapphire said that it plans to supply 90,000t of Atlantic salmon from its land-based farm near Miami by 2025. That would serve almost a quarter of current US demand. The company now plans to supply 220,000t by 2030, a figure that would serve more than half of the US market.
Then, Nordic Aquafarms, a Norway-based company, is planning a 33,000t RAS facility in Maine, as well as a 22,680t operation in California. The first phase of the Nordic Aquafarms Maine operation will produce 13,000t. Nordic Aquafarms announced the Maine farm in January 2018, just before US firm Whole Oceans revealed a plan to build a 5,000t RAS salmon farm on the site of a former paper mill. The company plans to eventually scale up the site to 10,000t and then 20,000t. It ultimately wants to produce 50,000t of salmon per year.
Another firm, Aquabanq UK, has also decided on Maine for a RAS facility. On June 11, 2019, Aquabanq announced it was ready to start building after two years of development, planning, and preparations. The plan is to be able to produce around 3,600t of fresh Atlantic salmon per year by 2022. By 2025, it aims to have scaled up to 10,000t.
Not everyone is looking to scale up in Maine. In February, Undercurrent reported that the owner of the first company looking to farm salmon in a RAS in Maine, Palom Aquaculture, was open to selling.
In Wisconsin, there is a much smaller operation, Superior Fresh, which announced plans in July to increase its production volume from its current 72.5t annually to 680t annually over the next 24 months. The wealthy Wanek family, owners of US furniture outlet Ashley Furniture HomeStore, built the recirculated aquaculture system facility and aquaponics greenhouse with an investment close to $100m.
Interests controlled by Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) are mulling a move into recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) for salmon as well as shrimp in China, sources told Undercurrent News.
The plan is for three-to-five 10,000-metric-ton RAS systems for salmon in different parts of China, as well as a smaller 1,000t-3,000t RAS facility for shrimp. However, if the shrimp facility proves to be successful, the company is then looking to go as big as 200,000t, sources said.
The plans have been in the making for some time, but it’s coming to crunch time for approval in the sprawling $60 billion-turnover group, which has over 200 companies in China alone, where it is known as “Zheng Da”.
CP has remained silent on the plans and did not respond to requests for comment from Undercurrent before publishing. However, back in May, CP was displaying a plan for a RAS shrimp farm in Shandong province at an aquaculture conference in Zhuhai, a city in China's Pearl River delta.
It’s thought a decision on whether to go ahead with the plans could come in the next couple of weeks from the upper echelons of the sprawling feed, food, plastics, telecoms, and retail group founded by Thai Chinese billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont. Undercurrent first reported the prospect of a 200,000t RAS facility for shrimp from CP last year.
The plan is being considered by a Chinese division of the conglomerate that has nothing to do with Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods), which operates its shrimp businesses in Thailand and Vietnam, sources said. CP Foods confirmed to Undercurrent in September a plan to build a small RAS shrimp farm in the US state of Florida.
The Thai giant is not the only company looking to build RAS facilities in China for salmon. 8F Investment Partners, which is also planning facilities in Europe, the US and Japan, is looking at building five 20,000t RAS facilities in the country.
Undercurrent understands several other big companies are also looking at similar projects in China, and also other Asian countries, in salmon and shrimp.
Global RAS boom
If CP goes ahead with the plans, the giant will become the latest entrant to the multitude of RAS projects being planned globally.
In shrimp, Nippon Suisan Kaisha-backed Seafarms Group plans to cultivate shrimp over 10,000 hectares using modern technology in northern Australia. Viet Uc Seafood Corp., Vietnam’s largest shrimp post-larvae provider, also plans to build hundreds of modern covered farms.
For salmon, there are many more projects. At the end of September, Martin Fothergill, a co-founder and partner with 8F, told Undercurrent the private equity is raising capital for the China portion of its $1.6bn plan to produce 260,000t of salmon in RAS farms globally.
8F has almost raised the $300m needed for the first phase of its plan, which will finance 10,000t RAS farms in Europe and Japan and a 20,000t site in the US state of Virginia, adding to its small, existing site in Poland, Fothergill told Undercurrent after a presentation given to potential investors in Oslo, Norway on Sept. 23.
The next phase will be to raise more capital for the China portion of the Pure Salmon plan, which will see 100,000t produced across five different sites. In China, 8F is looking to build 20,000t sites in Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, home to 21m, 8m, 24m, 13m and 13m, people, respectively. “We’re looking globally at high population, high consumption, high wealth areas,” he said.
At the end of August, Undercurrent revealed two more new planned RAS farms.
During the Trondheim, Norway-based AquaNor trade show, Vikings Label, a Norwegian startup, announced plans for a RAS salmon farm in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to Undercurrent, Vikings’ CEO Lukas Havn said his firm planned to build a salmon farm with a capacity of 5,000t in the city of Jeddah, on the shores of the Red Sea.
According to Havn, the farm will cost roughly $80m to build and will be built with the intent to expand beyond its immediate 5,000t target within a few years.
A few days later, UK-born salmon processing veteran Jonathan Brown told Undercurrent he's seeking to raise $150m and secure a partner for a fully integrated, “egg to retail pack” RAS farm on the East Coast of the US.
Brown, who sold the US Macknight Food Group smoked salmon plants in Florida and Nevada to private equity McCarthy Capital earlier this year, has purchased a 90-acre site in the state of Maryland, which is “fully licensed” to farm up to 60,000t, he said.
Brown’s American Salmon is the latest RAS salmon project to be announced in the US since Atlantic Sapphire got going with a massive farm in Florida.
In May, in the middle of the Seafood Expo Global trade show in Brussels, Belgium, Atlantic Sapphire issued a statement to the Oslo stock exchange revealing a big increase in its volume target. Originally, Atlantic Sapphire said that it plans to supply 90,000t of Atlantic salmon from its land-based farm near Miami by 2025. That would serve almost a quarter of current US demand. The company now plans to supply 220,000t by 2030, a figure that would serve more than half of the US market.
Then, Nordic Aquafarms, a Norway-based company, is planning a 33,000t RAS facility in Maine, as well as a 22,680t operation in California. The first phase of the Nordic Aquafarms Maine operation will produce 13,000t. Nordic Aquafarms announced the Maine farm in January 2018, just before US firm Whole Oceans revealed a plan to build a 5,000t RAS salmon farm on the site of a former paper mill. The company plans to eventually scale up the site to 10,000t and then 20,000t. It ultimately wants to produce 50,000t of salmon per year.
Another firm, Aquabanq UK, has also decided on Maine for a RAS facility. On June 11, 2019, Aquabanq announced it was ready to start building after two years of development, planning, and preparations. The plan is to be able to produce around 3,600t of fresh Atlantic salmon per year by 2022. By 2025, it aims to have scaled up to 10,000t.
Not everyone is looking to scale up in Maine. In February, Undercurrent reported that the owner of the first company looking to farm salmon in a RAS in Maine, Palom Aquaculture, was open to selling.
In Wisconsin, there is a much smaller operation, Superior Fresh, which announced plans in July to increase its production volume from its current 72.5t annually to 680t annually over the next 24 months. The wealthy Wanek family, owners of US furniture outlet Ashley Furniture HomeStore, built the recirculated aquaculture system facility and aquaponics greenhouse with an investment close to $100m.
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
One of those facilities produces enough salmon it would be like harvesting 9 million sockeye. IF RAS takes off is there a point to having a wild harvest?? We don't have the commercial harvest of deer and other animals on land that we can farm. IF Ras takes off i don't see a point to having a commercial harvest of salmon.
The Thai giant is not the only company looking to build RAS facilities in China for salmon. 8F Investment Partners, which is also planning facilities in Europe, the US and Japan, is looking at building five 20,000t RAS facilities in the country.
The Thai giant is not the only company looking to build RAS facilities in China for salmon. 8F Investment Partners, which is also planning facilities in Europe, the US and Japan, is looking at building five 20,000t RAS facilities in the country.
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I know even industry pundits are tentatively calling this latest debacle a “mess”, and being cautious in their statements, but…
This isn’t a one-off rare event – but rather yet another example in unfortunately a long list of examples of the risks of the open net-cage technology; the lack of monitoring, enforcement and due diligence on the industry; and the lack of honesty, transparency and trust within both the industry and what is supposed to be the regulators of that industry.
Gerry Byrne (the Newfie FISHERIES & Aquaculture Minister) maybe is more ignorant and belligerent than some. I think has drunk the cool-aid at the aquaculture conferences he attends – as did Gail Shae. But his interview is an yet another example of the duplicitous and antagonistic responses by the regulators who assume they are instead promoters rather than regulators of the industry.
Stephen – you lead with I consider to be a misleading assertion: “that economics must play a role”.
Well, due diligence and responsible governance & oversight does not depend upon the quarterly shareholder profits of any corporation. I think industry pundits confuse capitalism verses governance – sometimes purposely so.
Secondly – whose economics are we talking about? The economic returns of the sports-, commercial- and FN fisheries? Likely not.
And salmon ranching admittedly does have issues – separate from and not dependent on those from the open net-pen industry. There is another thread on that topic.
And lastly check out these pics on die-offs and ISAv prevalences. It’s a bigger issue than the industry or the government wants to admit to the public:
This isn’t a one-off rare event – but rather yet another example in unfortunately a long list of examples of the risks of the open net-cage technology; the lack of monitoring, enforcement and due diligence on the industry; and the lack of honesty, transparency and trust within both the industry and what is supposed to be the regulators of that industry.
Gerry Byrne (the Newfie FISHERIES & Aquaculture Minister) maybe is more ignorant and belligerent than some. I think has drunk the cool-aid at the aquaculture conferences he attends – as did Gail Shae. But his interview is an yet another example of the duplicitous and antagonistic responses by the regulators who assume they are instead promoters rather than regulators of the industry.
Stephen – you lead with I consider to be a misleading assertion: “that economics must play a role”.
Well, due diligence and responsible governance & oversight does not depend upon the quarterly shareholder profits of any corporation. I think industry pundits confuse capitalism verses governance – sometimes purposely so.
Secondly – whose economics are we talking about? The economic returns of the sports-, commercial- and FN fisheries? Likely not.
And salmon ranching admittedly does have issues – separate from and not dependent on those from the open net-pen industry. There is another thread on that topic.
And lastly check out these pics on die-offs and ISAv prevalences. It’s a bigger issue than the industry or the government wants to admit to the public:
Paddy Daly VOCM Open Line Start @ (43:30):
https://soundcloud.com/vocm/openline-friday-nov-1st
https://soundcloud.com/vocm/openline-friday-nov-1st
Stephen Kowalski
Active Member
Getting old Agent. I ask a few questions - for whatever reason, you will not answer them - they are not that tough. So here we go:
Would you support salmon ranching in Canada at the scale of Alaska? Yes / No
Is Alaskan Salmon ranching having any impact on Canadian fisheries? Yes/No
If we removed all salmon farms, what impact would it have on salmon returns? A - 10%, B - 25 %, c - 90%, d - don't know
If we shut down all fishing for salmon would it restore runs to 100%? Yes/No
Do you support salmon ranching in other countries? Yes/No
Are you a salmon fisherman? Yes/No
Just trying to understand the context in which you make all your posts. I can't follow the rope a dope all the time. I answered all your questions as asked. So give the brother from another mother something to work with.....
Cheers.
fogged in
Well-Known Member
A great 7 minute interview which confirms
“the fox is running the hen house”
Did I hear right?
2.6 million fish shredded and pumped into the ocean.
A claim clean up is underway, but no one is on site?
10 farms closed, but no reason given?
Legal action pending
I did hear people in the industry are blaming the media for stirring things up.
They take no responsibilities for their actions!
Stephen Kowalski
Active Member
Silence is deafening....
I find it unfortunate, but not unexpected that pro-FF pundits keep trying to derail the thread with deflecting the uncomfortable conversation about FF impacts and lack of oversight to ranching in Alaska or other irrelevant issues to this focus. There's another thread for that conversation. Already stated that a few times.
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
Move Fish Farms to Land? Not so fast says.....
PETA takes on RAS, runs bus ads against Nordic’s California site
"Even the deceptively named 'sustainable' fish farms require a huge amount of local fresh water and have the potential to wreak havoc on the surrounding ecosystems, as they discharge millions of gallons of pollutants into the ocean daily," the group said. "There are no regulations to ensure the humane treatment of fish, and those who are farmed spend their entire life in cramped enclosures.
The language used by PETA to attack aquaculture in its press release repeats on its website.
Naess responded that PETA's claims are exaggerated, arguing that the 40% mortality rate suggestion is much higher than the below 5% mortality rate that Nordic has experienced at its already-running European RAS operations. Also, RAS facilities don't have the problems more commonly associated with net pens, including with sea lice or fish escapes. Her company, she said, works to significantly clean up its discharge water.
'Extinction Rebellion'
Nordic already was dealing with a local resistance movement in Belfast, Maine, where Naess said the company, in the best-case scenario, now hopes to put a shovel in the ground as early as next spring on a 16,000t per year Atlantic salmon RAS site, ultimately growing it in gradual phases to a much larger production rate.
In July, Nordic won a favorable opinion by a Maine state court judge in a fight over a rezoning decision by the city of Belfast, seemingly ending a year-long fight.
A sign painted by one of the groups resistant to Nordic Aquafarms' planned Atlantic salmon farm in Belfast, Maine.
Waldo Superior Court Justice Robert Murray granted a motion for summary judgment by the city, finding that it acted correctly when, on April 17, 2018, it amended zoning changes to allow construction to begin. The decision had been challenged by Ellie Daniels and Donna Broderick, whose property abuts the 40 acres of land where Nordic Aquafarms has sought to build its new business. The salmon farm's neighbors had argued that the city council's ruling was inconsistent with its comprehensive plan and didn't follow its own process.
But Daniels, president of Local Citizens for Smart Growth, one of the groups leading the charge against Nordic in Belfast, told Undercurrent on Thursday that several more initiatives are underway. That includes state and federal lawsuits filed against the owners of land who gave Nordic permission to lay intake and outtake pipes across their property.
Daniels also noted her group's recent communication with a newly formed Midcoast Maine-based chapter of "Extinction Rebellion", an international group organized in October 2018 to battle climate breakdown, biodiversity loss and the risk of social and ecological collapse. The new group, which has organized kayak flotillas to bring attention to environmental concerns, reportedly was at least partly inspired by the internationally famous teenage activist Greta Thunberg.
PETA takes on RAS, runs bus ads against Nordic’s California site
"Even the deceptively named 'sustainable' fish farms require a huge amount of local fresh water and have the potential to wreak havoc on the surrounding ecosystems, as they discharge millions of gallons of pollutants into the ocean daily," the group said. "There are no regulations to ensure the humane treatment of fish, and those who are farmed spend their entire life in cramped enclosures.
The language used by PETA to attack aquaculture in its press release repeats on its website.
Naess responded that PETA's claims are exaggerated, arguing that the 40% mortality rate suggestion is much higher than the below 5% mortality rate that Nordic has experienced at its already-running European RAS operations. Also, RAS facilities don't have the problems more commonly associated with net pens, including with sea lice or fish escapes. Her company, she said, works to significantly clean up its discharge water.
'Extinction Rebellion'
Nordic already was dealing with a local resistance movement in Belfast, Maine, where Naess said the company, in the best-case scenario, now hopes to put a shovel in the ground as early as next spring on a 16,000t per year Atlantic salmon RAS site, ultimately growing it in gradual phases to a much larger production rate.
In July, Nordic won a favorable opinion by a Maine state court judge in a fight over a rezoning decision by the city of Belfast, seemingly ending a year-long fight.
A sign painted by one of the groups resistant to Nordic Aquafarms' planned Atlantic salmon farm in Belfast, Maine.
Waldo Superior Court Justice Robert Murray granted a motion for summary judgment by the city, finding that it acted correctly when, on April 17, 2018, it amended zoning changes to allow construction to begin. The decision had been challenged by Ellie Daniels and Donna Broderick, whose property abuts the 40 acres of land where Nordic Aquafarms has sought to build its new business. The salmon farm's neighbors had argued that the city council's ruling was inconsistent with its comprehensive plan and didn't follow its own process.
But Daniels, president of Local Citizens for Smart Growth, one of the groups leading the charge against Nordic in Belfast, told Undercurrent on Thursday that several more initiatives are underway. That includes state and federal lawsuits filed against the owners of land who gave Nordic permission to lay intake and outtake pipes across their property.
Daniels also noted her group's recent communication with a newly formed Midcoast Maine-based chapter of "Extinction Rebellion", an international group organized in October 2018 to battle climate breakdown, biodiversity loss and the risk of social and ecological collapse. The new group, which has organized kayak flotillas to bring attention to environmental concerns, reportedly was at least partly inspired by the internationally famous teenage activist Greta Thunberg.
The salmon diaries: Notes from a particular cabinet minister's journal
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/satire-salmon-diaries-edward-riche-1.5344383
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/satire-salmon-diaries-edward-riche-1.5344383
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
Finger Lakes Fish becomes first RAS coho to receive BAP certification
Finger Lakes Fish has become the world’s first recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) coho salmon farm to be awarded Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification.
The Auburn, New York, U.S.A.-based company markets its fish under the LocalCoho brand. It recently opened a 43,000-square-foot land-based farm, hatching its first salmon eggs in April 2018 and bringing its first batch of coho to market – selling whole fish to regional foodservice outlets – in September 2019, according to a press release. The company eventually plans to ramp up production to the facility’s capacity of 400 metric tons and expand into selling fillets to a wider market across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
“LocalCoho is striving to sustainably and ethically provide coho salmon for the growing demands. To accomplish this, LocalCoho is focused on local, sustainable, fresh production in a healthy and safe environment for our coho,” Finger Lakes Fish CEO Ed Heslop said in a press release. “Going through the BAP process and achieving the first RAS coho salmon BAP certification is important in that it demonstrates our commitment to our fish, our environment and our customers.”
The Global Aquaculture Alliance administers the BAP program, which provides third-party aquaculture certification to standards encompassing environmental responsibility, social responsibility, food safety, animal health and welfare, and traceability.
“As an individual member of GAA, I have advocated for its Best Aquaculture Practices for years,” said Phil Gibson, a Finger Lakes Fish board member. “[BAP certification] is a verification that our RAS operation is committed to doing our best for our industry and our environment.”
The BAP program now encompasses more than 2,260 BAP-certified farms, processing plants, hatcheries and feed mills in 36 countries worldwide.
Photo courtesy of Finger Lakes Fish
Finger Lakes Fish has become the world’s first recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) coho salmon farm to be awarded Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification.
The Auburn, New York, U.S.A.-based company markets its fish under the LocalCoho brand. It recently opened a 43,000-square-foot land-based farm, hatching its first salmon eggs in April 2018 and bringing its first batch of coho to market – selling whole fish to regional foodservice outlets – in September 2019, according to a press release. The company eventually plans to ramp up production to the facility’s capacity of 400 metric tons and expand into selling fillets to a wider market across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
“LocalCoho is striving to sustainably and ethically provide coho salmon for the growing demands. To accomplish this, LocalCoho is focused on local, sustainable, fresh production in a healthy and safe environment for our coho,” Finger Lakes Fish CEO Ed Heslop said in a press release. “Going through the BAP process and achieving the first RAS coho salmon BAP certification is important in that it demonstrates our commitment to our fish, our environment and our customers.”
The Global Aquaculture Alliance administers the BAP program, which provides third-party aquaculture certification to standards encompassing environmental responsibility, social responsibility, food safety, animal health and welfare, and traceability.
“As an individual member of GAA, I have advocated for its Best Aquaculture Practices for years,” said Phil Gibson, a Finger Lakes Fish board member. “[BAP certification] is a verification that our RAS operation is committed to doing our best for our industry and our environment.”
The BAP program now encompasses more than 2,260 BAP-certified farms, processing plants, hatcheries and feed mills in 36 countries worldwide.
Photo courtesy of Finger Lakes Fish
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