The concerns continue to spread.
http://cwf-fcf.org/en/discover-wildlife/resources/online-articles/funding-stories/our-beef-with-aquaculture.html#.UcDbvaZ4sIU.facebook
Unlike land-based farming practices however, diseases, parasites, and food and pharmaceutical waste from finfish aquaculture operations freely flow from the open-pens into the surrounding marine environment.
Yep...no risk of diseases or parasites spreading from land-based farming.
http://www.oie.int/for-the-media/animal-diseases/animal-disease-information-summaries/http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/influenza/avian-eng.phpMany populations of Atlantic salmon in NB and NS and several Pacific salmon species are at risk of extinction according to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), so the risks from open-pen salmon aquaculture are especially important.
I agree with Dave that this part of the article is ambiguous. As outline in the Cohen Final Report, Pacific Salmon may experience a wide range of stressors which can include aquaculture. While Cohen did conclude that diseases from fish farm operations can pose a risk he also did say that there was no evidence that diseases were spreading out of control from BC fish farms. Cohen made many recommendations and they included more than just aquaculture. If the author is going to start talking about Pacific salmon species at risk then he needs to not leave out the other stressors as they are important also.
For instance, there was no mention of climate change, marine conditions, contaminants, loss of habitat, migratory conditions along the Fraser (water temperatures and discharge). In fact, Cohen concluded that the single greatest risk to Fraser Sockeye during upstream migration is increasing water temperatures (Volume 2; Chapter 5 Findings, page 117). Late-run Sockeye that have been entering the Fraser 3 to 6 weeks earlier than normal are experiencing water temperatures 5 deg. C. warmer than normal. There was also no mention of declining productivity which is not exclusive to Fraser River Sockeye. By avoiding a balanced discussion of the available evidence, the author tends to lead the reader to there being one cause for declines (aquaculture), but it is unrealistic to (in my opinion) to believe that one single thing leads to a decline or a mortality event. It is more likely a interplay of different factors that leads to these declines or mortality event. Many of the salmon carcasses you see on the spawning grounds can have many endemic pathogens in them, so it is often difficult to say what killed the fish.
TB, instead of saying something that Dave clearly didn't say, why don't you try to understand what he was getting at in this quote.
This position is in alignment with the conclusions of many other agencies concerned with the state of wildlife in Canada including Atlantic Salmon Federation, the Royal Society of Canada, and the federally appointed Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River (i.e. the Cohen Commission).
Actually part of this position is not in alignment with the recommendations from Justice Cohen. This is what Cohen actually said:
Recommendation #18:
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 (fish health sub-zone 3-2) 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.Recommendation #19:
On September 30, 2020, the minister of fisheries and oceans should prohibit net-pen salmon farming in the Discovery Islands (fish health sub-zone 3-2) unless he or she is satisfied that such farms pose at most a minimal risk of serious harm to the health of migrating Fraser River sockeye salmon. The minister’s decision should summarize the information relied on and include detailed reasons. The decision should be published on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ website.
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Topic: Aquaculture (Read 84733 times)