Aquaculture improving?..The Fish Farm Thread

[wildmanyeah]

It's so easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize every little thing. Those that know me on here no that I have Zero connection to the FF industry. However, it seems you are part of the Shut down everything crowd on here. Why don't you tell us what you really think of sports fishing. I know you have to bite your tongue on the topic very often.

Liberals pledge to phase out open-net salmon farms

https://biv.com/article/2019/10/liberals-pledge-phase-out-open-net-salmon-farms

An industry that supports 6,000 jobs in B.C., mostly in remote coastal communities, and produces exports valued at more than $500 million annually, could be shut down within six years, if the Trudeau Liberal government makes good on one of its election promises.

 

[Dave]

Has anyone here seen how hatcheries deal with broodstock, or how surplus hatchery fish destined for the pet food market are treated? IF PETA saw what happens I guarantee there would be changes.

 

[dradons]

I just think it is so bizarre that we can't really figure out how to do fish farms such that they keep wild stocks safe.

We are able to get a freaking rover to Mars.... It really boils down to investment.

 

[Dave]

Ok. After being captured by an angler they are placed in a carrying tube and left in the river until a hatchery staff member can come and get it, sometimes hours later. No big deal, yet. When arriving at the hatchery they are kept in a "condo"; this is a trough roughly the size of the fish ... the fish has virtually no room to move and is kept in complete darkness until sexually mature, often 3-4 months. Every week a formaldehyde drip is administered to combat infections and fungal outbreaks.

Surplus hatchery fish are taken from the brailer, off the sorting table and thrown in a tote to suffocate. No quick euthanasia, no bleeding.
Who thinks this would be acceptable to the many activists out there?

 

[dradons]

Ok. After being captured by an angler they are placed in a carrying tube and left in the river until a hatchery staff member can come and get it, sometimes hours later. No big deal, yet. When arriving at the hatchery they are kept in a "condo"; this is a trough roughly the size of the fish ... the fish has virtually no room to move and is kept in complete darkness until sexually mature, often 3-4 months. Every week a formaldehyde drip is administered to combat infections and fungal outbreaks.

Surplus hatchery fish are taken from the brailer, off the sorting table and thrown in a tote to suffocate. No quick euthanasia, no bleeding.
Who thinks this would be acceptable to the many activists out there?

It is not ideal Dave. You are correct that animal rights activists would likely not appreciate this method. That being said, with any animal. When you decide to kill it. Kill it and do it properly and do it once. It's not a joke or game or a time to be lazy. Just asking for negative attention.

 

[wildmanyeah]

Ok. After being captured by an angler they are placed in a carrying tube and left in the river until a hatchery staff member can come and get it, sometimes hours later. No big deal, yet. When arriving at the hatchery they are kept in a "condo"; this is a trough roughly the size of the fish ... the fish has virtually no room to move and is kept in complete darkness until sexually mature, often 3-4 months. Every week a formaldehyde drip is administered to combat infections and fungal outbreaks.

Surplus hatchery fish are taken from the brailer, off the sorting table and thrown in a tote to suffocate. No quick euthanasia, no bleeding.
Who thinks this would be acceptable to the many activists out there?

yeah nasty what steelhead brood go though.

 

[GLG]

Ok. After being captured by an angler they are placed in a carrying tube and left in the river until a hatchery staff member can come and get it, sometimes hours later. No big deal, yet. When arriving at the hatchery they are kept in a "condo"; this is a trough roughly the size of the fish ... the fish has virtually no room to move and is kept in complete darkness until sexually mature, often 3-4 months. Every week a formaldehyde drip is administered to combat infections and fungal outbreaks.

Surplus hatchery fish are taken from the brailer, off the sorting table and thrown in a tote to suffocate. No quick euthanasia, no bleeding.
Who thinks this would be acceptable to the many activists out there?

So they are taken from a "condo" and put into a brailer to be transported to a sorting table?

I can only speak from my experience at the DFO Puntledge Hatchery when I use to go do coho in the fall for practice. The coho are keep in large pools and a brailer captures them and gives them a shot of CO2 to knock them down. They then go to a sorting table to check for ripeness. The ones that are not ripe go down a path that leads to another large pool to recover. The coho that are chosen to spawn from the sorting table get their head stuck in a machine that kills them with one blow. They are then place on a rack upside down and bleed out. Next they go to get spawned and any extra that won't be spawned are place in a tote for ESSR.

At local volunteer hatcheries, in my experience, is that ethical treatment of salmon for spawning needs are followed by the good folks that give up their time so I'm not sure what you are suggesting.

 

[Dave]

Not talking small volunteer hatcheries GLG ... I'm talking Federal salmon hatcheries. I'm not suggesting anything, just showing practices could be better, and good on you guys for doing it right.

If you read my post again you will see I differentiate between steelhead and other salmon ... I was responding to WMY 's question re. steelhead.

 

[patbay]

I'm not sure why guys would even waste their time continually trying to defend an industry that has already come out and acknowledged the harm they are doing to wild fish and their environment. Its not really a question anymore, Marine Harvest answered that. Its more of a 'how do we fix this' question now. If it can't be fixed, get out and be gone, pretty simple.

 

[wildmanyeah]

The volunteer hatchery i go to also rippens female coho's in condos it is the one part of the process that is disturbing. The other part is the fish fence, the fish beat them self to crap in it. Chum are mostly captured at the fence but coho tend to wait to a big event swim over and then later caught by anglers with tubes.

I think one should pay close attention to the Liberal fisheries minister when he talks about moving the industry to land in BC. They are also hinting at that we be funding that. It kinda sounds to me like the Liberals plan to spend big $$ on that.

Anyways the ENGO push to rid BC of hatcheries is not far behind and im sure with FF gone they will have the free time to push harder for that.

I'm not sure why guys would even waste their time continually trying to defend an industry that has already come out and acknowledged the harm they are doing to wild fish and their environment. Its not really a question anymore, Marine Harvest answered that. Its more of a 'how do we fix this' question now. If it can't be fixed, get out and be gone, pretty simple.

Under that assumption should BC hydro also be kicked out of BC? or do we just pick and choose what industry can cause harm based on what one gets the most bad press.

 

[patbay]

lol, man you are like Marchand, eh? Never stop.... How about one step at a time.
No one is kicking anyone out of BC...But if your business model doesn't make money when you have to follow the rules, then it isn't a feasible business to continue running. Just simple economics 101.

 

[gone fishin]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2139830276316733

Wow
has this topic ever gone sideways since this post this morning!
Will anyone acknowledge or deny the impact of what must be one of the biggest Fish Farm disasters ever in Canada?

 

[agentaqua]

If industry supporters see accountability only through the lens of whether or not they get "bad press" or not - that kinda tells you how much and how far you can trust them - and whether or not you can trust them to be accountable or not. So.. w/o press - nothing matters, then. Glad we do have press, then - since the enforcement by the promoter is obviously not working...

 

[agentaqua]

Wow
has this topic ever gone sideways since this post this morning!
Will anyone acknowledge or deny the impact of what must be one of the biggest Fish Farm disasters ever in Canada?

Well, there's been so many, GF. Are we still talking about Cooke Aquaculture the company that will "make changes , fire employees change process, train employees better and do their best to make changes."?:
https://crosscut.com/2019/08/still-...on-cooke-aquaculture-now-wants-farm-steelhead

Guess that'll increase steelhead fishing opportunities in the Salish Sea ...

or maybe this incident: https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2...l-allow-bc-strain-of-virus-in-fish-farms.html
In a letter addressed to Alex Morton, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (also known as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans) said it would not test hatchery salmon for a strain of piscine reovirus (PRV) that is endemic to B.C. The letter, dated Oct. 3, also says DFO will continue to permit the transfer of juvenile farmed salmon that test positive for this strain of PRV to open-net pens, where everything from fish waste to fish viruses can flow freely between the pens and the ocean.

or maybe this one:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=437144390266903

 

[wildmanyeah]

AA what is your background that you have come to the conclusion with respect to wild salmon that fish farms are the smoking gun?

What have you personally dug into or saw that was the deciding moment where you knew that fish farms just had to go?

you joined in 2008 and all you have ever done is talk about how bad fish farms are. So what make you join this site and think this is the place i need to spread my message. What did you learn pre 2008 that you had to do this?

 

[agentaqua]

Well aware that the response from the industry and the industry supporters is to attack the messenger to divert attention from the message of accountability. Not about me - it's about the actions and inactions of the industry and it's main promoter - DFO.

 

[wildmanyeah]

Is there actually anything the industry could do that you would be happy with or do you simply want them removed from BC?

 

[fogged in]

Is there actually anything the industry could do that you would be happy with or do you simply want them removed from BC?

Open Net Pen Atlantic Salmon have a long history of issues with escapes, massive die offs, disease and excessive sea lice.
Little has been accomplished to overcome their problems.
Because of the inability of Fish Farms to overcome these problems Washington State passed legislation to remove them and the Liberals are going in that direction as well as the NDP in the Broughton.
It's hard to fight International Big Business and as demonstrated in Washington State law suits are in the offing.
So to answer your question the only solution is to get these Atlantic pens out and on dry land.

 

[wildmanyeah]

So to answer your question the only solution is to get these Atlantic pens out and on dry land.

Would them being on land do it for you would you be happy? even if they use feed from the ocean?

You also mention Atlantic or do you mean all salmon and trout?

 

[fogged in]

Would them being on land do it for you would you be happy? even if they use feed from the ocean?
You also mention Atlantic or do you mean all salmon and trout?

lol
You know exactly what I mean.
Atlantic Salmon Net Pen Fish Farms are the current problem that needs to be addressed.
As far as feeding them from the ocean when they are put on dry land that too needs to be monitored.
A big step in the right direction would be to greatly reduce the harvest of herring.
That's it for me Wildman...I am not going to get into a great debate as to how to feed Fish Farms on dry land or extend the conversation to other species.
I am beginning to think your priority is debating as I have observed you on both sides on the fence.