Misinformation corrected
Opinion
Now that the 1,200 some pages of the Cohen report into the disappointing return of sockeye salmon to the Fraser River in 2009 have been released for everyone to read, one would think that most organizations and individuals concerned about the well-being of the fish would be focusing on things other than salmon farming, but not so. This industry seems to be a popular target for those with an axe to grind and for those that have not bothered to read the report’s 75 recommendations. But the industry was not credited with causing the 2010 run when around 35 million sockeye salmon came back to the Fraser to spawn. Rather, a volcano eruption in Alaska was said to spew a mix of nutrients into the ocean that again produced an unusual amount of food for those fish to eat. But how could these fish have made it to the offshore regions to eat all this food in the first place if they had been fatally exposed to those same salmon farms on their way out from the Fraser?
In order to counteract some of the never-ending flood of misinformation, industry insiders are taking to the media to try to get some facts set straight. In British Columbia for example, Mainstream Canada Communications Officer Grant Warkentin responded to a Letter to the Editor of the Campbell River Mirror;
Perennial aquaculture naysayers Leona Adams and Paul Dean seem to believe that if they repeat myths often enough, people will think they are facts. They make numerous claims about the Cohen Commission report which are plainly false at worst, and distortions of the truth at best. The good news is that anyone with a computer can easily test their claims for themselves. The entire report is available online for the public to read. In his report, Justice Bruce Cohen plainly states that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that salmon farms are in any way linked with the decline of sockeye salmon. He also points out that the decline is coast-wide, from Alaska to California, and that the “elephant in the room” is climate change.
Too bad that Adams and Dean, who are eager to play the role of our environmental guardians, have completely ignored the “elephant in the room.” Cohen’s report is a “proceed with caution” message for salmon farms. He suggests more research to show definitively that farms do not harm wild salmon runs, and we’re happy to follow his advice. Aquaculture is part of the solution to saving wild salmon. You can’t save wild fish by catching and eating them all. We provide a healthy, safe alternative source of seafood to meet the growing demand which capture fisheries just can’t meet. The Cohen report shows that farmed and wild salmon can co-exist in the same ocean. Now is the time to move on from the tired old debates and work together on tackling the “elephant in the room.”
In the same paper, Fish Pathologist for the BC Ministry of Agriculture Dr. Gary D. Marty pointed out to another letter submission that he disagreed with one Ms. Adams who claimed that “Provincial and federal government science proves net-pen salmon farms now pose more than a minimal risk of serious harm to the health of migrating Fraser River Sockeye Salmon.” In his letter, Dr. Marty also stated that “Ms. Adams also expressed concern about smolts being exposed to 650 billion infectious particles per hour during an IHN virus outbreak on a fish farm. That sounds like a lot of virus, but viruses are very small. It would take about 11,000 years for the infected farm to release enough IHN virus to fill a single sockeye salmon egg. More importantly, DFO research published in 1993 (Disease of Aquatic Organisms) showed that when sockeye salmon smolts were exposed to IHN-infected Atlantic salmon for 37 days, 96 per cent survived. Also, infected sockeye salmon did not spread the virus to other sockeye salmon”.
And in a response to a letter submitted to the Victoria Times Colonist, member of the Board of Directors of the BC Salmon Farmers Association Clare Backman suggests that the Cohen report and its recommendations cover a wide range of issues;
“Principal among them are the negative impacts of warming oceans and the non-implementation of DFO's wild-salmon policy. Cohen was clear in stating that there was no single cause and no "smoking gun" to explain the 2009 run. It is an oversimplification of this complex issue to assume the report zeroed in on any one factor. In contrast to Cohen's cautious but clear message are the responses from those opposed to aquaculture, who spin the report as an indictment of salmon farming. In fact, the report commends B.C. salmon farmers for collecting and providing an impressive 10-year fish-health database that allowed commission-appointed experts to conclude that there was no correlation between the health of farmed salmon and the decline of the sockeye”.
On Canada’s east coast, opponents to the expansion of salmon farming in that region- particularly in Nova Scotia- are increasingly vocal, using material and arguments regurgitated from the extreme segments of the environmental movement on the opposite coast. In a recent counterattack, the Executive Director of the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association, Pamela Parker responded to a letter posted in the Chronicle Herald;
“It’s unfortunate some organizations and individuals opposed to salmon farming perpetuate myths and misinformation about Atlantic Canada’s salmon farming;
Fact: Farmed Atlantic salmon do not contain dyes. Carotenoids (a natural ingredient found in carrots and egg yolks) are added to the diet of salmon to provide them with vitamin A, which gives them their pink colour.
Fact: Less than three per cent of the feed given to farmed salmon contains an antibiotic. Medication use is far lower on a salmon farm than in any other agricultural animal-producing industry. Regulated testing ensures salmon are free from any medication when harvested.
Fact: There are no sea lice treatments on Nova Scotia salmon farms. If bath treatments occur in other jurisdictions, they are topical with no residue.
Fact: Wild salmon populations fluctuate whether they are near a farm or not. International studies show that wild Atlantic salmon are impacted by a variety of issues, such as climate change, ocean mortality, acid rain, habitat loss, hydro dams, predators and over-fishing.
Fact: Our farmers follow strict regulations regarding waste management. Regular government-audited sediment testing of the ocean floor is conducted to ensure farms meet high environmental standards.
We welcome public scrutiny about our industry, but let’s base that discussion on facts, not false claims. To do otherwise is a disservice to consumers who rely on factual information to make healthy food choices”.
