Whistler Question, 26th August 2009
Pay more attention to sea lice, group urges minister
Whistler – Sockeye salmon returns in the Fraser River system, and pink salmon in the Squamish River system, are expected to plummet this year, and a local sportfishing advisory group is concerned that federal officials aren’t paying enough attention to one of the root causes: sea lice from open-net fish farms in the Georgia Basin.
In a letter to John Weston, the Member of Parliament for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, the headers of the Squamish Lillooet Sportfish Advisory Committee (SLSAC) say recent statements by two high-ranking Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) officials appear to indicate that federal officials believe fish farms aren’t a major factor in this year’s poor early returns.
In the letter, Whistlerite Dave Brown, SLSAC vice-chair, expressed his dismay over the federal government’s failure to recognize fish farms’ contribution to the loss of sockeye, which is impacting Pemberton’s Birkenhead River.
“To see high ranking DFO representatives dismissing the impact of these salmon farms on the Fraser sockeye collapse is extremely concerning,” Brown wrote.
In a follow-up interview, Weston said he has since spoken to Brown and other stakeholders in an effort to relay information to Gail Shea, Canada’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
“I’m trying to get the Minister of Fisheries to come here to talk and meet directly with stakeholders in the community so she hears firsthand the nature of the problem,” said Weston.
“Given that the priority of DFO is conservation, I’m hopeful that we can come up with some solutions.”
In an interview with The Question, Brown said there’s little question that sockeye run on the Birkenhead this year won’t even approach historic levels this year. He said there’s mounting evidence in research conducted by independent biologist Alexandra Morton and others that sea lice from fish farms are a significant part of the problem.
Sockeye normally start returning to the Birkenhead in late August, with the run peaking in September.
“We don’t know the numbers of salmon that will return, but judging by the numbers returning in other Fraser locations so far this year, it most likely be quite low, and a low return would be pretty devastating to this area,” Brown said.
“We’d like to see them give more attention to the issue of fish farms. Total containment onshore would be the ideal thing. Looking at location of fish farms relative to salmon migrations and the number of salmon migrating is another thing they could do as well.”
Weston said he’s not a fisheries expert but wants to bring Minister Shea to the riding to get the local perspective.
Pink salmon usually start making a freshwater return from the ocean to spawn in the Squamish River system in mid- to late-July every odd year, according to local angling guide and SLSAC member Clint Goyette. This year, he didn’t see his first pink salmon until Aug. 5 and the numbers are improving slowly, he said.
“It’s terrible. It’s much worse than the last cycle,” said Goyette, who has spent the last 10 years as a local angling guide.
“It’s been the toughest salmon fishing year that I’ve ever experienced.”
The numbers of pink salmon started to increase this week but nowhere near the numbers needed to lift a retention ban on freshwater pink salmon initiated in 2005 after a CN train derailment spilled 40,000 litres of caustic soda into the Cheakamus River, killing thousands of fish.
B.C. Ministry of Environment biologist Steve Rochetta said it’s too early in the season to give a final report on local populations, adding that the salmon also arrived late in other parts of the province such as Campbell River. Still, he is not encouraged by what he has seen so far.
“By the first week of September, if we don’t have pinks everywhere, then that’s a problem,” said Rochetta.
Theories for the generally low numbers of B.C. salmon have residents looking to the government for action. DFO officials have confirmed the return of 1.7 million sockeye to the Fraser River system despite expectations the run would yield more than 10.6 million sockeye.
While some theories point to climate change and rising water temperatures, others pinpoint fish farms as the culprit. Morton has sent a letter to federal Minister Shea explaining that she examined the previous run of sockeye after it left Fraser River and discovered some had up to 28 sea lice as they passed the salmon farms near Campbell River.
Squamish Streamkeeper Jack Cooley supports Morton’s assertions. Although Squamish isn’t normally home to sockeye, Cooley said its collapse does not bode well for other types of salmon returning to Squamish. For example, chum and coho salmon numbers were recently about 20 per cent of the norm.
“The fish farms affect us just as much as the sockeye that came out of the Fraser River because our fish will make a right turn, just like the sockeye, and go more or less on the right side of the Georgia Basin and hit farms on the east side of Quadra Island,” he said.
— With files from David Burke, The Question
http://www.whistlerquestion.com/art...re-attention-to-sea-lice-group-urges-minister
