N.S. fish farm rejected: risk to wild salmon.

[GLG]

And in other news...... hot of the press from the BC Salmon Farmers Association

Most recent funding totals show salmon farmers’ continued small impact

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

More than two years’ worth of accumulated data shows the small effect of BC’s salmon farmers on public grants or funding programs.

Over nine quarters of public reporting by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans on grants and contributions, members of the BC Salmon Farmers’ Association accounted for just 0.22 per cent of the funding given to fisheries in Canada. Of over $250-million reported, about $555,000 went to BCSFA-related projects.

Members of the association are sometimes asked about subsidization of their farming operations, and are committed to providing information to the public about any public funding they receive.

To be clear, BC’s salmon farmers receive no money to assist with their basic operations. All of the funding relating to the BCSFA was from the Aquaculture Innovation and Market Access Program and went toward the development of new technology, improved environmental reporting systems and certification standards.

“Our farmers are proud to be successful in a challenging international market without needing to rely on subsidies from government,” said Mary Ellen Walling, Executive Director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association.

And in other news...........

June 27, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MR13-036
NIC Secures NSERC Research Chairin Sustainable Aquaculture
North Island College recently learned that it has been successful in securing a $1,000,000 grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) to fund an Industrial Research Chair for Colleges in Sustainable Aquaculture.The grant, which will help North Island College develop new, as well as significantly enhance existing applied research efforts in finfish aquaculture, has been awarded under NSERC’s College and Community Innovation Program. This funding is intended to support applied research leaders and the development of business-focused applied research programs at colleges throughout Canada. “This is an extremely important announcement for North
Island College,” states NIC’s President Dr. Lindsay. “It really changes the perception and status of NIC as an educational institution and positions the college well for future expansion into other areas of applied research. The establishment of a Research Chair position at North Island College demonstrates that in addition to being an education service provider, the college also plays a role as
an economic driver by supporting local industry through applied research.” This new research will be led by Dr. Stephen Cross, an internationally acclaimed researcher who specializes in the design, engineering and testing of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture systems. The research program will invest in environmental monitoring programs to promote sustainable farming practices. It will examine innovative monitoring of environmental conditions, assess alternative farming site restoration methods, and develop unique educational tools to increase opportunities for training and awareness.
The BC Salmon Farmers Association’s Executive Director Mary Ellen Walling, a very strong proponent of the project, states “It is important to build research capacity in rural and coastal British Columbia and this project does just that. We look forward to working with North Island College on this project and others in the future.” North Island College’s Centre for Applied Research, Technology and Innovation (CARTI) will administer the five-year grant. CARTI is located in Campbell River, the primary location for finfish aquaculture operations in BC. Its mandate is to build connections with industry and community partners while extending opportunities for student learning and future employment. It also provides NIC faculty with access to current knowledge in their practice area. Several key project partners include Marine Harvest Canada, Creative Salmon Co. Ltd., Mainstream Canada and Grieg BC Seafood Ltd.


Yup they don't have thier hat in hand looking for handouts. Just ask Walling she will tell the truth... technically they did not receive the million, NIC got the million to do the research so that the fish farms could benefit from that research..... Such a disgrace that our tax money is behind this mess.

 

[agentaqua]

Scientists concerned over chill in reporting of salmon virus after lab delisted

By Alison Auld, The Canadian Press July 7, 2013 9:05 AM

Scientists fear there could be a reluctance to report a deadly fish virus after the first lab in Canada to say it was detected in British Columbia salmon was stripped of a special reference status by an international agency.

Marine researchers say they were stunned to hear that the World Organization for Animal Health, or OIE, recently suspended the reference status from a research laboratory at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island.

Run by Fred Kibenge, who is considered one of the world's leading authorities on infectious salmon anemia, it was one of only two labs in the world recognized by the group for the testing of the virus.

Kibenge's work came under scrutiny in 2011 after he said he found evidence of the virulent disease in wild B.C. sockeye salmon, challenging the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's position that the virus is not present in the province.

His findings led the inspection agency to conduct an audit and send their findings to the OIE, which did its own audit and announced last month that it was delisting Kibenge's lab in a move that some say could discourage reporting of infectious salmon anemia.

"This is creating a very chilly environment for people to investigate the presence of this virus in the Pacific Ocean," said Rick Routledge, a professor at Simon Fraser University who gave Kibenge the salmon samples that tested positive.

"It's a very distressing situation."

Routledge, who has studied juvenile sockeye salmon migrations for 10 years in B.C., said he wanted to understand why the population was declining and used Kibenge's lab to examine possible causes.

The findings caused the Cohen Commission, a federal inquiry looking into the decline of sockeye salmon in B.C., to extend its hearings so Kibenge and others could testify about the possible presence of the virus.

Other labs said they recorded positive test results, but some were later deemed to be false positives.

The influenza-type virus devastated farmed salmon stocks in Chile in 2007 and has been found in salmon aquaculture operations in Atlantic Canada, leading to culls and quarantines. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it can kill up to 90 per cent of infected salmon, but does not pose a risk to human health.

Critics have said the federal agency went after Kibenge's lab to suppress the findings and protect B.C.'s lucrative salmon export market, which could be hit with trade restrictions if the virus is detected.

A spokeswoman with the CFIA declined an interview request but said in an email that it was obligated to confirm the test results at another lab, which did not corroborate Kibenge's results and led to the two audits.

"The evaluation ... identified concerns, which may have led to the questionable ISA test results," said Elena Koutsavakis, without elaborating on the concerns.

"The OIE audit, performed by an international panel of scientific experts, found a series of weaknesses affecting the quality of diagnoses performed at the Atlantic Veterinary College laboratory."

An official with the college said Kibenge did not want to comment, but the school's dean said he didn't see the CFIA's actions as punitive and that he would comply with it.

Don Reynolds said he thought Kibenge ran his lab appropriately and will continue to test for the virus. But, he concedes that it's not clear how the loss of status will affect the school.

"Our reputation is not just based on one situation, so I think time will tell," he said. "We'll just let that play out."

Bernard Vallat, director general at the OIE in Paris, dismissed claims that the organization was pressured by Canadian officials to find fault with Kibenge's work and strip the lab of the status.

Vallat said it was delisted because of "inadequate features" regarding methodology that he would not elaborate on because they have not been made public.

"I understand there is a lot of controversy, but our experts are independent, they are trusted by all our members and they did their job," he said. "So from my point of view, we did not use politics to do that."

Alexandra Morton, a fish researcher and activist in B.C., has no doubt the virus is in the province but says the CFIA is not doing proper testing to detect it.

She says other labs have found evidence of the virus in farmed fish, which are penned in areas along the migration route of wild salmon — raising concerns that it could spread among the wild fish.

"The experiment is underway in British Columbia and we'll just see what happens next," she said. "Either the industry recognizes they have it and get those infected fish out or we just play Russian roulette like we are now and eventually it will go virulent."

http://www.theprovince.com/technolo...porting+salmon+virus+after/8626743/story.html

 

[agentaqua]

Norwegian virus devastating to farmed salmon spreads to Canada and Chile: paper published

Jul 16th, 2013 1:05 PM
Piscine reovirus previously reported only in the Atlantic Ocean

(Sointula, BC, July 16, 2013) The first scientific publication on the occurrence of piscine reovirus outside of Norway was published on July 11 in Virology Journal. The report, Whole-genome analysis of piscine reovirus (PRV) shows PRV represents a new genus in family Reoviridae and its genome segment S1 sequences group it into two separate sub-genotypes, was co-published by researchers from the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Aplicadas in Chile, and the Raincoast Research Society in British Columbia.

Piscine reovirus (PRV) was identified in 2010 as the causative agent of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) in Norway. This disease, first recognized in Atlantic salmon farms in Norway in 1999, is a condition that weakens salmon, making it difficult for their hearts to pump blood. HSMI is spreading rapidly in Norway. Marine Harvest, who grows one-fifth of the world's farm-raised salmon, lists HSMI as the second largest cause of death of their fish in their 2012 Annual General Report.

In this paper, the co-authors show that piscine reovirus is in British Columbia and it came from Norway. The process of tracing viruses is similar to matching fingerprints. Scientists around the world enter viral sequence data into GenBank so matches can be run. The piscine reovirus found in British Columbia is most similar to a Norwegian PRV sequence from Atlantic farmed salmon suffering from HSMI in the Lofoten Archipelago in northern Norway. The paper also reports PRV is now in Chile and it most closely matched a Norwegian PRV sequence from the Trondheim region.

The newly published paper reports piscine reovirus entered British Columbia from Norway in 2007 ± 1 year and Chile in 2008 ± 1 year. The piscine reovirus sequences included in the paper were from farmed Atlantic salmon bought in Vancouver supermarkets, wild cutthroat trout from Cultus Lake, chum salmon from near Campbell River, farmed steelhead from Lois Lake and farmed Atlantic salmon morts from the central coast of British Columbia. The Chilean samples were all Atlantic farmed salmon.

Experts in Norway continue to publish papers on the relationship between PRV and the disease HSMI. With over 400 Norwegian salmon farms now infected with PRV there are warnings in their papers:

“measures must be taken to control PRV not only because it threatens domestic salmon production but also due to the potential for transmission to wild salmon populations.” (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2901333)

In ongoing work, Morton and Kibenge have found PRV in nearly 97% of the farmed salmon tested from B.C. supermarkets.

The Province of British Columbia does not accept that PRV causes HSMI. There is no published research supporting the province's theory.

"The evidence suggests PRV recently arrived from Norway, which means we have not experienced its full potential to kill B.C. wild salmon yet," says co-author Alexandra Morton, "but when the experts warn us that PRV should not be allowed to spread because of its threat to wild salmon, I don’t know why we would ignore them. This research has shown most farmed Atlantic salmon in B.C. supermarkets are infected with PRV. This suggests the millions of farm salmon still out in the net pens are also infected, which means the wild salmon swimming home this summer will be exposed to this Norwegian virus. It is extremely poor management to allow a Norwegian salmon virus to infect our wild salmon."

The only containment of PRV possible would be to cull infected farmed salmon and to end the practice of using net pens to raise Atlantic salmon on wild salmon migration routes. This would be a significant risk to the viability of the 98% Norwegian-owned industry operating in British Columbia.

The co-authors recommend that PRV-HSMI be treated as an emerging disease. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) do not test for PRV. Norwegian scientist, Dr. Are Nylund, University of Bergen, recommends measures to remove PRV-positive Atlantic salmon from net pens in the ocean to prevent spread of this Atlantic virus into the Pacific.

"The viability of wild salmon has been put at risk in favor of the viability of farmed salmon," notes Morton.

Last month the World Health Organization for Animal Health (OIE) stripped the Kibenge Lab of its international authority as a reference lab for a different European virus, called ISAv. They have declined to give a reason.

Morton has taken the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Harvest to court with the assistance of Ecojustice. Morton seeks to have the Fisheries Act upheld and not allow transfer of salmon into net pens carrying known disease agents into B.C. marine waters.


-30-


Contact:

Alexandra Morton, 250-974-7086, alexandramorton5@gmail.com

The electronic version of this article can be found online at:

www.virologyj.com/content/10/1/230

B-roll video clips for media & a short video on the story of PRV in BC can be downloaded here:

www.salmonconfidential.ca/piscine-reovirus

 

[agentaqua]

I can hear Walling whining and CK parroting the whining already.

 

[Dave]

I can hear Walling whining and CK parroting the whining already.

Wow, for a supposedly bright guy you lost serious credibility with that post agent

 

[agentaqua]

Wow, for a supposedly bright guy you lost serious credibility with that post agent

I doubt it. Are you trying to tell me that Walling and company doesn't try damage control and CK doesn't post the standard BCFSA responses Dave? Now who is the one loosing credability?

 

[Charlie]

I doubt it. Are you trying to tell me that Walling and company doesn't try damage control and CK doesn't post the standard BCFSA responses Dave? Now who is the one loosing credability?

BC Salmon Farmers Association Statement on PRV Study | Tuesday, July 16, 2013

A new study led by an anti-farming activist has been published in the Virology Journal which tested for Piscine Reovirus in various samples of wild and farm-raised fish. While the study is interesting in that it attempts to compare BC and Norwegian viral strains, the quality and number of samples used is quite low which means some of the conclusions reached are questionable. As well, the press release issued along with the study makes false claims about what was actually found in the study. It is clear that the purpose of this press release is to mislead the public or to attract attention to her new litigation against the DFO.

“We want to ensure that the public has the correct information,” said Mary Ellen Walling, Executive Director of the BCSFA. “We feel that information that purposefully misrepresents the findings of a study needs to be corrected. First, it is important to note that the study itself showed no evidence that the fish sampled had any disease related to PRV.”

The following are corrections on statements made in the press release:

“Piscine reovirus (PRV) was identified in 2010 as the causative agent of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) in Norway”
In fact, the conclusions in the 2010 paper actually said that the relationship is plausible, not conclusive.

The co-authors show that piscine reovirus is in BC and it came from Norway”
In fact, the conclusions of the study are not that strong. The new paper actually says “the Canadian PRV strains are most similar to the Norwegian PRV strains” and “our work suggests PRV entered both Chile and western Canada recently”

“The newly published paper reports piscine reovirus entered British Columbia from Norway in 2007 ± 1 year”
Again, the conclusions are not that strong. In fact, the paper says “Thus, we believe the most likely time when Canadian isolates diverged from Norwegian isolates was between 2006 and 2008, i.e., around 2007 ± 1.” As well, the authors of the study provide no data from farm fish before 2006 to support this belief.

“The Province of British Columbia does not accept that PRV causes HSMI. There is no published research supporting the province’s theory.”
In fact, there is no published research that HSMI occurs in BC – including in this new study.

It is also worth noting that this work was supported by a laboratory which recently lost its OIE reference status because of problems with the accuracy of the diagnosis it was reporting.

The BCSFA represents salmon farm companies and those who supply services and supplies to the industry. Salmon-farming provides for 6,000 direct and indirect jobs while contributing $800-million to the provincial economy each year.

 

[GLG]

“When dealing with this kind of science, it is important to allow the scientists to do their work,” said Walling. “They are the experts. It’s possible that someone without that experience and expertise would misinterpret the data and come to incorrect conclusions.” Mary Ellen Walling media release July 16, 2013
http://www.salmonfarmers.org/bc-salmon-farmers-sign-transfer-agreement-genome-bc-study

Perhaps she should take her own advice....

 

[agentaqua]

“When dealing with this kind of science, it is important to allow the scientists to do their work,” said Walling. “They are the experts. It’s possible that someone without that experience and expertise would misinterpret the data and come to incorrect conclusions.” Mary Ellen Walling media release July 16, 2013
http://www.salmonfarmers.org/bc-salmon-farmers-sign-transfer-agreement-genome-bc-study

Perhaps she should take her own advice....

I think it's the old: "Do as I say - not as I do" scenario...

 

[agentaqua]

I am pretty dam* angry with the federal government's responses and cover-ups wrt to wild fish health in Canada. Total lack of responsibility and oversight. Here's Twyla's response to Walling's critique of Salmon confidental:

http://pdl.vimeocdn.com/80359/173/177629220.mp4?token=1374164654_823ca609899fe58752c51d02c712637d

Have a watch.

 

[agentaqua]

New NL Site with ISA THE TELEGRAMUnlikely Hermitage plant will produce salmon this yearPublished on July 24, 2013Clayton Hunt Gray Aquaculture, which said in June it had fish to operate its plant in Hermitage-Sandyville from late June to the end of September, has suffered another setback in its plans.The company’s salmon stock had three infectious salmon anemia (ISA) cases in the past year or so, and, as a result, officials had to destroy its 500,000 fish it was planning to process at the Hermitage facility.According to Clyde Collier, an official with Gray Aqua, the company is starting to rebuild its stock as it now has one million fish placed in a grow-out site in Facheux Bay, west of McCallum.The latest Gray fish to be infected with ISA were located at a site known as Pass My Can.Collier said, “This new case is very devastating to us as we have to start the business of building an inventory all over again. We realize that the citizens of Hermitage-Sandyville are disappointed with this news too, but we have to move on from here.”Collier said that the company might be able to acquire fish for process at Hermitage from other aquaculture companies in the area. However, he stressed that there is no guarantee that this may happen.He said, “We plan to talk to other companies about this possibility but there is no definite plan in place as of (July 16) for this and we have to stress that this may not happen at all.”Mayor Doug Rose said that the news is very disappointing in that Gray Aqua originally planned to open the facility in early 2013.“We are very disappointed with this latest development,” Rose said, “but these things happen in the aquaculture industry. Hopefully Gray Aqua can lease the plant to another company, which would see some work at the facility later this year. However, people should fully realize that this might not happen at all.”Cyr Couturier is the acting director of the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association (NAIA).Couturier said the fish at Pass My Can were showing signs of disease so officials with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) had the fish tested, and apparently, they have the same strain of ISA as the fish at Goblin Bay had.The CFIA ordered a depopulation of the fish which is happening right now (July 16), which should be completed in the very near future.“The biggest concern here for Gray Aqua is that these fish were to be processed this year and now the company, which has to start their stocking process all over again, will not have any market size fish for at least the next 18 months,” Couturier said.“The bigger companies have fish available in other provinces so the loss of one site in Newfoundland would not be as big an issue. Companies do receive some compensation for those losses but they never receive the full cost of the process.”Couturier said that it’s imperative that the infected fish be removed as quickly as possible and that all industry stakeholders work together to break the current ISA trend.Couturier said, “We don’t want to have sick fish, and we will work diligently to find out what is happening so we can avoid this problem in the future.”ISA has been an issue wherever salmon aquaculture projects have occurred. Over the years it has been an issue in countries like Norway, Scotland and Chile and it has been a problem in other Atlantic Canadian provinces.http://www.thetelegram.com/Business...rmitage-plant-will-produce-salmon-this-year/1 - See more at: http://asf.ca/new-nl-site-with-isa.html#sthash.zWes6FIW.dpuf

 

[GLG]

http://www.salmonfarmers.org/bcs-salmon-farmers-moving-ahead-with-recommendations-cohen-commission

[h=1]BC's Salmon Farmers Moving Ahead with Recommendations of Cohen Commission[/h] Wednesday, July 24, 2013




In a follow-up to the Cohen Commission recommendations, the BC Salmon Farmers Association has continued work on gathering additional scientific evidence to further demonstrate that fish farms do not harm Fraser River Sockeye.

In his final report, released October 31[SUP]st[/SUP], 2012, Justice Cohen found that there was not enough evidence to conclusively prove that fish farms were not impacting Fraser River sockeye. Immediately following the release of the report, the BCSFA and its members issued a statement supporting the recommendations.

One of those recommendations referred to net-pen salmon farms in the Discovery Islands-area:
“If at any time between now and September 30, 2020, the minister of fisheries and oceans determines that net-pen salmon farms in the Discovery Islands pose more than a minimal risk of serious harm to the health of migrating Fraser River sockeye salmon, he or she should promptly order that those salmon farms cease operations.”

“What Justice Cohen found was an information gap in wild fish knowledge,” said Provincial Fish Pathologist, Dr. Gary Marty. “We don’t know the potential interactions of all the variables that might be impacting wild fish health. We have some knowledge of ocean temperature, salinity, plankton blooms, microbes, and fish farms, but if these factors are studied only in isolation, we might misunderstand the big picture. The challenge is that we don’t yet have all the pieces.”

As one of the first steps, the BCSFA organized a workshop, entitled Managing Risk and Defining Research Priorities. The purpose was to bring together a group of scientists, fisheries experts, and fish health specialists and veterinarians to objectively review risk management approaches and define research priorities for salmon aquaculture.

“Originally, our goal was to come away with a list of research priorities – an idea of where the knowledge gap is in terms of wild fish health and what research should be done,” said Mary Ellen Walling, Executive Director of the BCSFA. “What we found was that there was a knowledge gap in terms of what research is currently being done on wild fish, who is doing the research and what it’s focusing on. There are a number of groups doing fish health research and they don’t always talk to each other, so there’s no database of that information.”

The next steps from the workshop will be to identify the current research that is in progress and bring it together for a second workshop, “Wild Salmon: Addressing the Knowledge Gap”, planned for September.

“Our goal with all of this work to have a good picture of both wild and farmed fish health,” said Walling. “The more we know, the better informed our farm management will be.”

A summary report on the first workshop has been posted to the BCSFA website:
http://www.salmonfarmers.org/sites/default/files/managing_risk_and_defining_research_priorities.pdf


The BCSFA represents salmon farm companies and those who supply services and supplies to the industry. Salmon-farming provides for 6,000 direct and indirect jobs while contributing $800-million to the provincial economy each year.

For more information visit www.salmonfarmers.org


Read the PDF..... We are being setup for some bad news in the future......
There will be some discovery's made that only the willfully blind will be surprised.
Of course many will say that the risk is acceptable......

 

[Ripcurl]

With the repetitive outbreaks being reported yet again today on the east coast the "Aquaculture" industry is getting their defence in order. They will make as much money from Canadian waters as they possibly can before it all comes crashing down AND then have all the defence from lawsuits for raping the environment and destroying wild stocks as they possibly can. They can't go losing all that money in courts now can they!

They are no better than Cigarette companies and Monsanto. Tobacco, Skydrol and Agent Orange. All perfectly safe and miracles sent down from heaven is how they were all advertised before enough people finally opened their eyes to the truth.

For anyone not familiar with Skydrol. It was a miracle hydraulic fluid sold to the airlines and they even went as far as had employees drink the stuff to prove it was safe to humans and to market it. It was later found out that it melted any kind of fabric or plastic that was soaked in it and if you didn't wear gloves some people lost their fingerprints for life handling the stuff. Don't know what ever happened to the guys who drank the stuff

 

[cuttlefish]

Read the PDF..... We are being setup for some bad news in the future......
There will be some discovery's made that only the willfully blind will be surprised.
Of course many will say that the risk is acceptable......

Yep, a set up for future expansion for sure. No flies on those folks. Unlike DFO.
Foxes in charge of defining the health of the hens. Scary, very scary.

 

[agentaqua]

Think Critically About Salmon Aquaculture

June 03, 2013

St Andrews, NB - Between escaped salmon appearing in the Garnish River and last week’s detection of Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) in Goblin Cove, Newfoundland’s salmon aquaculture industry has been in the news a lot lately. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Cyr Couturier, President of the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry, have assured us that on both fronts, we need not be worried for our wild Atlantic salmon stocks. The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) would like to suggest otherwise; evidence from multiple peer-reviewed published studies on the effects of open net pen salmon farming on wild Atlantic salmon indicates that the threat is real. It’s time to think critically about the information that DFO and the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association is providing us.

Wild salmon and farmed salmon can interbreed. This fact is acknowledged by DFO; however, DFO assures us that they haven’t found any evidence of interbreeding in Newfoundland. ASF’s President, Bill Taylor, believes that until someone begins looking for evidence of interbreeding in Newfoundland, it is unlikely that any evidence of interbreeding will be found: “Until we see the establishment of a comprehensive monitoring program for escaped farmed salmon, it is misleading for DFO and the industry to claim that no evidence exists, because in fact, there is no data to provide such evidence”, says Taylor. He also notes that there would be no evidence of escaped farmed salmon either, if concerned anglers on the Garnish River hadn’t found 25 last week.

Most recently, DFO assured us that the escaped fish in the Garnish River are not sexually mature, and that “to date, we haven’t seen any evidence of [interbreeding] in the Garnish River”. This should come as no surprise, says Taylor: “The fish only appeared in the river a week ago, and salmon do not mature or spawn until the fall”. Thus there is little consolation here.

The Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association has taken a different approach to easing the public’s concerns, by picking and choosing the facts to their advantage, says Mr. Taylor. “The industry has been using information when it works in their favor; for example, Mr. Couturier states that farmed salmon are exactly genetically identical to their wild counterparts, implying that they are of no threat to their wild salmon. While it is true that wild and farmed salmon are genetically similar enough to interbreed, these two fish are about as related as your family dog and a wolf”, Mr. Taylor says.

Through domestication, the process by which farmers select and breed for desirable traits (e.g. fast growth, non-aggressive behavior, etc), the industry has created a salmon that is desirable for farming and for eating; not for living in the wild environment. Like Mr. Couturier says, “Being domesticated also means these fish are not afraid of predators and many of them will be eaten before having any chance to reach sexual maturity”. The problem is that they do sometimes survive to reach sexual maturity, and when they mate with other farmed fish or with wild salmon, they pass these genetic traits on to their offspring.

The result is that after only a few generations of wild and farmed salmon interbreeding, the hybrids are no longer adapted to their local environment. Research has shown that farmed-wild hybrids have higher egg mortality, lower juvenile survival, and lower survival at sea, compared to wild salmon. Over time, these interactions have the potential to wipe out salmon populations.

In addition to finding escaped farmed salmon in the Garnish River, as of this week, we now know that ISA is suspected to be present at a farm site elsewhere on the south coast, this time, in Goblin Cove.

As with the two previous confirmed cases of ISA this year, the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association is quick to point out that the ISA came from wild fish. Yet there is no documentation that wild salmon or other known host species have been tested in those areas to confirm the source of the outbreaks.

Mr. Taylor says that the industry has played a larger role in the outbreak of diseases than they have let on: “The truth is that salmon farms concentrate and amplify diseases like ISA and parasites like sea lice. This isn’t unique to salmon farming; it’s something that happens wherever organisms (including people) exist in high densities. Remember the outbreaks of mad cow disease, avian flu, and swine flu? These diseases came from ‘the wild’ but proliferated in high-density industrial farms”, say Mr. Taylor.

An important difference between animal farming on land and fish farming at sea, says Mr. Taylor, is that there are no walls to separate the inside and outside of a sea farm: water, food, small fish, parasites, bacteria, viruses, and the chemicals used to treat them, all move freely between salmon cages and the environment. These diseases can then be transmitted from farmed fish to wild fish and then back again. Mr. Taylor says that these interactions can be detrimental to wild organisms and the environment. “The aquaculture industry most assuredly has increased the presence of ISA in Newfoundland’s coastal waters, and this not only puts wild salmon at risk, but other species like cod, herring, and brown trout, that can be affected by diseases like ISA as well”.

One solution is to move salmon farming out of our coastal waters, and into closed containment facilities. “This does not mean out of the province”, says Mr. Taylor. “Newfoundland is well poised to become global leaders in the production of closed containment farmed salmon, because of its expertise in fish rearing and proximity to fish processing plants”.

Though the Newfoundland government has recently claimed that closed containment salmon farming is not economically viable, Mr. Taylor says that there is reason to believe otherwise. In other parts of the county and in the US, closed containment is being perused as an economically viable alternative to open net pen salmon farming. The incentive is that closed containment salmon farming eliminates farmed fish and wild salmon interactions: no escapes and no transfer of disease. By moving salmon production into an indoor controlled environment, Mr. Taylor adds that fish farmers can also benefit by minimizing the costs associated with losses due to escapes and diseases.

“Until then”, adds Mr. Taylor, “the Canadian government will continue to use our tax dollars to compensate the aquaculture industry when farmed salmon are destroyed due to ISA; Mr. Couturier forgot to mention that, too”.

The message from Mr. Taylor is that it’s time to start thinking critically about the information that is being provided to the public. “Ultimately, it will be the voice of the informed consumer and of the people who are concerned about the future, the futures of their children and grandchildren, and the health of our local ecosystems and economies that will decide the fate of our environment and of or wild salmon populations”, says Taylor.

-30-

The Atlantic Salmon Federation is dedicated to the conservation, protection and restoration of wild Atlantic salmon and the ecosystems on which their well-being and survival depend. ASF has a network of seven regional councils (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Maine and Western New England). The regional councils cover the freshwater range of the Atlantic salmon in Canada and the United States.

ASF Contact: Livia Goodbrand, Manager of Public Information: Lgoodbrand@asf.ca; 506-529-1033 (o); 506-469-1033 (c)


- See more at: file:///C:/Users/wuikinuxvfisheries/Downloads/Atlantic%20Salmon%20Federation%20-%20Think%20Critically%20About%20Salmon%20Aquaculture.htm#sthash.nz81yCDI.dpuf

 

[agentaqua]

New Study Highlights 34% Loss of Salmon from Sea Lice












Statement by Inland Fisheries Ireland

New Study highlights 34% loss in wild salmon numbers from Sea Lice

Errors identified which undermine Galway Salmon Farm EIS

Inland Fisheries Ireland notes the findings of a new international scientific paper which identifies fundamental flaws in the methodology and findings of a study (Jackson et al), elements of which have formed the basis of an EIS submitted in support of the proposed Galway Bay Salmon Farm.

The new paper demonstrates that the impact of sea lice on wild salmon causes a much higher loss (34%) of those returning to rivers in the west of Ireland, than the 1% loss suggested heretofore in the Jackson paper. The new study entitled “Comment on Jackson et al. "Impact of Lepeophtheirus salmonis infestations on migrating Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., smolts at eight locations in Ireland with an analysis of lice-induced marine mortality" is published by Krkošek, et al. (2013) in The Journal of Fish Diseases. It points out fundamental methodological errors made by Jackson et al. (2013). Following a re-analysis of the same data, it shows that it incorrectly concluded that sea lice play a minor, perhaps even negligible, role in salmon survival and that this finding emerged following three fundamental methodological errors.

This new paper conducts a re-analysis of the data with the findings departing substantially from those reported and interpreted by Jackson et al. (2013), and in previous publications that drew on some of the same data (Jackson, et al. 2011a; 2011b). Whereas Jackson et al. 2013 assert that sea lice cause 1% of mortality in Atlantic salmon, the correct estimate is actually a one third loss (34%) of overall returned stocks.

The new paper gives the example that if, in the absence of parasites, final adult salmon recruitment is 6% of smolt production, then the effect of parasite mortality reduces that recruitment to 4%.

According to interpretations used by Jackson et al. (2013), that is a change of 2%.
However, the overall effect is that it reduces the abundance of adult salmon returning to a river from, say, 6,000 down to 4,000; this 1/3 loss of salmon returns could have significant conservation or fishery implications. Krkošek, et al. 2013 emphasise that their purpose is not to downplay factors other than parasites that may also have a large influence on marine survival of Atlantic salmon. They do however highlight that parasites can and, in this case, clearly do have a large effect on fisheries recruitment, irrespective of apparent changes in overall marine mortality over time, and with important implications for the management and conservation of wild salmon stocks.

Two of the publications that utilise some of the same data (Jackson et al. 2011a & 2011b), and which contain the methodological errors reported above, have been referred to in the Environmental Impact Statement submitted by BIM in their proposal for a deep sea fish farm in Galway bay. In support of the contention that sea lice do not negatively impact on out migrating salmon smolts, the Marine Institute studies by Jackson et al. 2011a & 2011b are quoted as concluding that the infestation of outwardly migrating salmon smolts with sea lice was only a minor component of the overall marine mortality in the stocks studied. This contention may now be questioned by the re-analysis undertaken in this new paper by Krkošek, et al. 2013.

This paper concurs with previously published international research (Krkosek et al, 2012 & Gargan et al, 2012) which indicates that sea lice emanating from aquaculture facilities can cause significant mortality to Atlantic salmon. IFI welcomes the clarification in this new paper regarding the potential negative impact of sea lice emanating from marine salmon farms and looks forward to ensuring effective sea lice management to reduce or eliminate this impact. In this context, the location of salmon farms in relation to salmon rivers and the control of sea lice prior to and during juvenile salmon migration to their high seas feeding ground is critical if wild salmon stocks are not to be impacted. The development of resistance to chemical treatment of sea lice and other fish husbandry problems, such as pancreas disease and amoebic gill disease, are likely to make effective sea lice control even more difficult in future years.

IFI is supportive of the development of a sustainable aquaculture industry and welcome all advances in research that will underpin the sustainability of this industry and safeguard wild salmon and sea trout stocks into the future.

ENDS...

Media enquiries: Suzanne Campion ,Head of Business Development, Inland Fisheries Ireland,

Anglesea Street, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.Tel: 052 6180055 Fax: 052 6123971; Email suzanne.campion@fisheriesireland.ie Website: www.fisheriesireland.ie

Inland Fisheries Ireland is a statutory body operating under the aegis of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and was established under the Fisheries Act on 1st July 2010. Its principal function is the protection and conservation of the inland fisheries resource. IFI promotes, supports, facilitates and advises the Minister on, the conservation, protection, management, development and improvement of inland fisheries, including sea angling. It also develops and advises the Minister on policy and national strategies relating to inland fisheries and sea angling. www.fisheriesireland.ie



Galway Bay Fish Farm

BIM is applying for a licence to facilitate the development of a deep sea salmon farm in Galway Bay, at two sites north of Inis Oirr. The application process requires the submission of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). BIM state that Marine Institute studies have shown that sea lice are not causing problems for Ireland’s wild salmon (Jackson et al., 2011[1] and Jackson et al.,2011 [2]).

The following are scientific papers referred to above:

Jackson D., Cotter D., ÓMaoiléidigh N., O’Donohoe P., White J., Kane F., Kelly S., McDermott T., McEvoy S., Drumm A., Cullen A. & Rogan, G. (2011a) An evaluation of the impact of early infestation with the salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis on the subsequent survival of outwardly migrating Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., smolts. Aquaculture 320, 159-163.

Jackson D., Cotter D., ÓMaoiléidigh N., O’Donohoe P., White J., Kane F., Kelly S., McDermott T., McEvoy, S., Drumm, A. & Cullen A. (2011b) Impact of early infestation with the salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis on the subsequent survival of outwardly migrating Atlantic salmon smolts from a number of rivers on Ireland's south and west coasts. Aquaculture 319, 37-40.

Jackson D., Cotter D., Newell J., McEvoy S., O’Donohoe P., Kane F., McDermott T., Kelly S., & Drumm, A. (2013) Impact of Lepeophtheirus salmonis infestations on migrating Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., smolts at eight locations in Ireland with an analysis of lice-induced marine mortality. Journal of Fish Diseases doi:10.1111/jfd.12054.

Gargan, P., Forde, G., Hazon, N., Russell, D. J. F. & Todd, C. D. (2012) Evidence for sea lice-induced marine mortality of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in western Ireland from experimental releases of ranched smolts treated with emamectin benzoate. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 69, 343-353. (doi:10.1139/f2011-155)

Krkošek M., Revie C., Gargan P., Skilbrei O. T., Finstad B., & Todd C.D. (2012) Impact of parasites on salmon recruitment in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 280, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2012.2359.

Krkošek, M., Revie, C.W., Finstad, B., & Todd, CD. (2013) Comment on Jackson et al. ‘Impact of Lepeophtheirus salmonis infestations on migrating Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., smolts at eight locations in Ireland with an analysis of lice-induced marine mortality’. Journal of Fish Diseases. DOI: 10.1111/jfd.12157 Article first published online: 14 AUG 2013


- See more at: http://asf.ca/new-study-highlights-34-loss-of-salmon-from-sea-lice.html#sthash.VwGFgUvv.dpuf

 

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The fallout from ISA outbreaks in Newfoundland salmon farms;
http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/21149/gray-aqua-files-for-bankruptcy-protection

Gray Aqua Files for Bankruptcy Protection
29 August 2013
CANADA - Multiple outbreaks of infectious salmon anemia (ISA) and a big repayment to Corey Nutrition have led to Gray Aqua filing for bankruptcy protection.

Recent ISA outbreaks led to the company having millions of dollars worth of fish being destroyed and the courts have also ordered Gray Aqua to repay Corey Nutrition just under C$650,000 that it owes for fish feed supplied to its farms in Newfoundland, reports CBC.

Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Derrick Dalley also said it's not clear at this point what will happen to Newfoundland and Labrador's C$3.8 million equity share in the Gray Aqua Group given that the company has now filed for bankruptcy protection.

Mr Dalley said the company will go through a standard 30-day restructuring process, after which it will be more clear what will happen with the company — and the province's equity investment.

TheFishSite News Desk

 

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http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/09/01/landing-a-big-one/

Does the future of the fisheries rest on dry land?


How to meet a surging global demand for seafood

by Rosemary Westwood on Sunday, September 1, 2013 6:00am - 0 Comments










JR Rardon / Namgis Project

Fancy some Manitoba cod? How about Saskatchewan salmon? The idea of Prairie seafood may seem outlandish, but with soaring demand running headlong into environmental concerns over fish farms, some believe the future of the fisheries industry rests on dry land.

At the Cheslakees Indian Reserve near Port McNeill on Vancouver Island, environmental groups and the ’Namgis First Nation recently opened North America’s first commercial-scale Atlantic salmon farm based entirely on land. It’s already common for land-based farms to raise smolts, or baby salmon, before dumping them into ocean net pens. But the ’Namgis project mechanizes the entire fish-growing process from smolt to slaughter in a series of large tanks (using 98 per cent recycled water), covering about the same area as two Olympic-sized swimming pools. Every aspect of the fish’s environment is controlled, from water quality and temperature to light exposure and feed, all without the threat of predators or the risk of contaminating wild fish.

There’s clearly a market. For the first time ever, global production of farmed fish has surpassed that of farmed beef, according to a recent study by the Earth Policy Institute, and the gap is set to widen as demand soars. Yet Canada’s share of the booming global seafood market has shrunk by 40 per cent over the last decade, thanks in large part to changing legislation affecting ocean-based fish farms.



The $8.5-million ’Namgis project, financed in part by the federal and provincial governments, could help change that. It draws heavily on recent work by the U.S.-based Freshwater Institute, a research and economic development program. It found salmon can be grown in water with up to eight times the density of a net pen, in about half the time. There is less waste of expensive feed, and the fish require no vaccines, antibiotics or pesticides, despite a low mortality rate. “From a quality standpoint, it’s an excellent product that people will pay more for,” says research lead Steven Summerfelt.

The ’Namgis project says it expects to sell the fish at a 25 to 30 per cent premium over regular net-pen salmon. But proof will have to wait until the spring, and the first harvest of about 470 tonnes of fish. “The intent of this thing is to show the economics work well enough to attract private investment dollars,” says project chair Eric Holder. Expansion plans are in the works for the system to produce 2,350 tonnes of salmon annually, comparable to a net-pen operation.

There are concerns over the economics of the new industry. Ruth Salmon of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance argues only small-scale operations are seeing profits (she points to land-based farms growing arctic char, sturgeon and halibut). But proponents believe that raising healthy fish, close to markets, on a relatively small plot of land will make economic sense. Fish waste could also be sold for fertilizer, they argue, boosting profits. If the ’Namgis project proves those theories, fish farmers and environmentalists might finally find some common ground—perhaps even in the middle of the Prairies.

 

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http://www.namgis.bc.ca/CCP/Pages/default.aspx
'Namgis Closed Containment Salmon Farm

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.namgis.bc.ca/CCP/Pages/Dispelling-the-myths-around-closed-containment.aspx
Dispelling the myths around closed containment