bigredsnapper
Well-Known Member
I heard on CBC the other day that 20,000 or more Atlantic salmon escaped from a fish farm on the coast.Haven't heard anything since....anyone?
Atlantic salmon escape
- Thread starter bigredsnapper
- Start date
BRS - figure given was 40,000 escaped. Only got reported in media as commercial fishery nearby started getting lots of atlantics in their nets. Claims are that the total number is less as some died in the farm pen nets? There is a mop up fishery taking place to catch escapees.
Also I heard 130,000 atlantics escaped from a Grieg Seafoods farm facility earlier this year with even less media attention.
There is a topic on the SFBC forum under Conservation, Fish Politics and Management called "40,000 escaped" - Lazoman has posted the link above
Gov
God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling - Izaak Walton
Also I heard 130,000 atlantics escaped from a Grieg Seafoods farm facility earlier this year with even less media attention.
There is a topic on the SFBC forum under Conservation, Fish Politics and Management called "40,000 escaped" - Lazoman has posted the link above
Gov
God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling - Izaak Walton
bigredsnapper
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the reply guys, thought there would have been more of an uproar.They said divers discovered holes in the nets...WTF.Maybe a second net would help. If these fish are a danger to native salmon and need to be terminated,we could just put DFO in charge of protecting them and that should seal their fate. Anyway back to fishin, BRS
salmonkiller01
Well-Known Member
I do not think they will ever get fined,the dfo appears to be pushing salmon farms along and forgetting about the wild salmon. I would like to see dfo's investment into fish farms (private venture)compared to hatcheries(public resource).
I am trying to invent a new lure that looks like a feed pellet so i can fish for atlantic salmon. Probly have to pay a royalty to marine harvest!!!
I am trying to invent a new lure that looks like a feed pellet so i can fish for atlantic salmon. Probly have to pay a royalty to marine harvest!!!
salmonkiller01
Well-Known Member
P
phnapa
Guest
Not to endorse them not getting fines, but there was over a 1 million dollar loss in fish for them! They certainly dont want theese fish to go missing either.
P
phnapa
Guest
Crazy thing is that there was a seine boat in the area that could have cleaned up many of the escapees, but since they were not an approved recovery boat they were not allowed to assist, they had to wait for a boat to come from campbell river! Seems a little silly.
salmonkiller01
Well-Known Member
Why don't they farm pacific salmon(springs, coho...) ?
Charlie
Well-Known Member
Barbender? Where have you been for the last 10 years? That might not be quite a correct statement..."zero"? Unless, you consider over "200 streams" with Atlantics in them - a non issue? And, that was in 2001? Am I completely in the dark here or do you know something I don't?
Atlantic salmon have been found in both BC and Washington spawning areas for well over 10 years? Not that it is currently a problem, but I believe there are studies looking into the how Atlantic genes might be changing to adapt to the Pacific Northwest by "farmed" breeding with the returning "wild" Atlantics? This is possibly due to the "weak" Pacific runs? I'll let you find that!
Plus, they are known to use the same spawning grounds as the “Steelhead”.
Even BC Salmon Farmers Association acknowledges Atlantics have successfully spawned, even though they are still using 1996 ref: “Have Atlantic Salmon reproduced in the wild in BC?”
“An extensive Atlantic Salmon Watch Program has identified very small numbers of juvenile Atlantics in BC rivers that appear to be the result of successful spawning. There is no indication, however, that this is happening on a frequent or increasing basis. This is not surprising given the worldwide failure in establishing exotic sea-run Atlantic salmon populations, and given research which indicates that farmed salmon are poor spawning competitors compared to wild salmon (Fleming, et al., 1996). During some of the attempts to introduce sea-run Atlantic salmon in Chile, some adults were also observed to return to the stocked rivers and spawn (lay eggs), but the adaptability of Atlantic salmon is so poor that the resulting runs disappeared just a few years after they stopped being supplemented with hatchery fish (Lindberg, 1984).”
Atlantic Salmon Workshop Notes Vancouver, British Columbia March 15-16, 2001
“ASW monitored small sections of 45 freshwater systems in 2000. They recovered 32 adults and 2 juveniles in 5 systems. Adult recoveries were achieved using a pneumatic laser-sighted spear gun which is effective and minimizes disruption to other species. Juvenile recoveries were achieved using a hand held minnow net. Adult AS tends to migrate with other salmonids. S(e)xual maturation of escaped AS seems to be later than Pacific salmon so spawning may also occur later. “
Report: Ministry of Environment, Land and Parks (MELP) at Nanaimo:
• MELP runs a stream survey program that looks for feral populations of AS. The systems to be surveyed are chosen by proximity to farms and hatcheries or by prior reports of sightings.
• In 2000, MELP surveyed 13 streams and recovered 12 parr and 2 fry. BC’s four index streams are the Amor de Cosmos, the Tsitika, the Adam and the Salmon. In the Amor de Cosmos, they recovered juveniles in both 1999 and 2000 indicating a likelihood of feral population establishment.
• Extrapolating from the number of BC streams surveyed that do have rearing AS in them, there may presently be successful AS spawning in 200 BC rivers and streams.
Washington Department Fish & Wildlife:
“Review of exiting biological data suggests that escaped Atlantic salmon do not pose significant risk to native fish populations, however, the biological impacts from the recent (1996, 1997, 1999) escapes in Washington are still being evaluated. The large escapes coupled with the findings of naturally-produced Atlantic salmon juveniles on Vancouver Island in 1998 and 1999 are cause for WDFW to continue to be focused on this issue.”
…”evidence on Vancouver Island indicates escaped Atlantic salmon successfully produced juvenile Atlantic salmon, however, there is no evidence that these "wild" Atlantic salmon have returned to their natal stream and successfully spawned. Though juvenile Atlantic salmon have been found in three streams, they are not considered to be "established" in British Columbia. In total, Atlantic salmon which have escaped from pens have been observed in approximately 77 streams/rivers in British Columbia and 12 streams in Washington State.”
Steelhead S2
Active Member
Excellent information. I also remember reading, some time ago, that escaped Atlantics can have the same effect on Wild stock regardless of whether they establish self-sustaining populations. As long as they keep escaping and competing for food and spawning area, they have the effect of displacing wild fish. Whether or not they actually succeed at reproducing is far from the only issue.
I hate to tell you guys all this but once upon a time ago there was a mass introduction attempted to introduce atlantic salmon to the BC coast. At the time it was believed they were superior to indigenous pacific salmon. Intense stocking efforts took place on several river systems. Rivers were seeded with millions of fertilized eggs over several years. Where are all those atlantics now? Dead they dont survive on the west coast. I am not saying escapes are not a issue. They are a very serious one. The issue of rivers being overun with atlantics however is a non issue. If the hardier stronger pacific salmon are not surviving there is no way those wimpy atlantics are going to survive.
R
Roadrunner
Guest
They were introduced at the turn of the century when salmon populations were robust - i.e no vacant habitat
That is obviously not the case anymore as our collapsed salmon runs have resulted in substantial amounts of vacant habitat.
Of course this does not mean they will be successful but you cannot use the arguement it was tried once (100 years ago).
Charlie
Well-Known Member
Well that might not be quite true, either - they may not all be "Dead"? There seems to be some disagreeing with your thoughts!
United States Department of Agriculture Pacific Northwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, February 2008, “However, the long-term risks may be substantial if fish continue to escape from marine rearing pens or freshwater hatcheries,” he says. “The two greatest risks appear to be that Atlantic salmon may introduce a serious pathogen to native populations, and that escaped salmon will eventually adapt to local conditions as selection favors the survival and reproduction of a few individuals.”
“It only takes a few individuals to survive and reproduce in the wild for this to become an issue,” says Bisson. “They don’t have to do it perfectly. A slow initial rate of establishment could result in a pattern of expansion similar to that observed in other nonnative aquatic plants and animals, in which a prolonged early colonization period is followed by a rapid phase of exponential growth as breeding populations adapt to local conditions.”
http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/sciencef/scifi100.pdf
Recently Volpe et al. (2000) reported that feral Atlantic salmon had successfully produced offspring in British Columbia. A. Thomson, DFO Canada, Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5K6. Pers. commun., April 16, 2001 ). Although scale analysis confirmed that these fish were the progeny of naturally spawning adult Atlantic salmon (Volpe et al. 2000), it is not known whether these were first, second, or greater generation wild Atlantic salmon.
"It is possible that Atlantic salmon have been successfully spawning in the Pacific Northwest for the past 20 years and that this behavior has just recently been observed. Conversely, Atlantic salmon could be periodically introduced into local environments every so often via escaping adults without successfully colonizing new habitat, although naturally produced offspring may have been occasionally produced."
I would be more worried about sea lice and disease issues, if this wasn't November? Most smolts have migrated, that's when the farms are really lethal? Those Atlantics aren't going to forage enough salmon to make any difference... from all studies you are looking at about "one" Atlantic in a 1000 might eat a salmon? And there isn't enough Atlantic salmon "wild" or "farmed" to really make a difference competing for food.
BTW…
Between 1905 and 1934, the government of British Columbia released 7.5 million juvenile Atlantic salmon into local waters, primarily on the east coast of Vancouver Island and the lower Fraser River (MacCrimmon and Gots 1979, Alverson and Ruggerone 1997). These releases were not successful in establishing Atlantic salmon populations in the province (Carl et al. 1959, Hart 1973), although some natural reproduction may have occurred in the Cowichan River, as specimens thought to have resulted from the planting of Atlantic salmon were taken until May 1926 (Dymond 1932).
H
HOOTEY
Guest
By no means an expert , but was watching WFN with ATLANTIC SALMON from Gaspe, the program that they are using there shows some pretty healthy strong fighting fish for recreational anglers...also in reading this post how would there be a problem of sea lice if the rivers were seeded with eggs? Where did the sea lice come from but from the Pacific Ocean perhaps?? Inquiring minds want to know,,,[
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ITS OUR PASSION TO FISH AND GET OUT OF DOORS...PLEASE...FISH LEGAL OR GET OFF THE RIVER!
]ITS OUR PASSION TO FISH AND GET OUT OF DOORS...PLEASE...FISH LEGAL OR GET OFF THE RIVER!
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