August 8, 2006

Canadian enviromentalists dispute fish farm claims about escaped fish

Environmentalists in British Columbia are disputing the claims of a provincial aquaculture report released last week which said that the number of farm-raised salmon escaping from salmon farms in British Columbia has plunged from nearly 44,000 in 2004 to just 64 last year. 

Environmentalists expressed serious doubts about the numbers as they were obtained from industry self-reporting.

The David Suzuki Foundation said there is absolutely no basis to the numbers.

According to the report, the vast majority of the nearly 44,000 fishes which escaped in 2004 were Atlantic salmon. The Foundation said the global average for fish-farm escapes is about one escape for every 200 or 300 fish raised.

Based on that average, fish farms in the area would have lost only one fish for every 700,000 fish raised, an incredible figure.

Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell however, defended the figures, saying that the agencies noted a high compliance rate when it inspected fish farms for its reports. He said the industry largely complied with the more than 100 checks and balances set out by the provincial agriculture and environment ministries.

Bell cited a US$10,001 fine against Pan Fish Canada Ltd last year for introducing "business waste" into the marine environment shows the government meant business. He also noted three other companies currently face charges in court relating to salmon escapes that took place in 2004.

While the maximum penalty under the provincial Fisheries Act for escaped fishes is US$2,000, the maximum penalty under the federal Fisheries Act can reach as high as US$100,000 for a first offence and US$100,000 and up to one year in jail for the next offence.

Underwater dive inspections of selected fish farms were discontinued last year due to fiscal restraints, but the report said the programme would be renewed this year.

Bell said the government would release a report on the health of fish in the area in September. The report would look at the issue of sea lice which critics say can be transferred from farmed fish to wild fish.