More louse trouble for Eastern fish farmer
Already under scrutiny for its alleged use of non-licensed therapeutants in its fight against an unusually severe occurrence of sea lice, the largest salmon farming company on Canada’s East Coast is once again in the limelight, as Business Reporter Bruce Erskine of The Chronicle Herald explains;
Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd., a division of Cooke Aquaculture of New Brunswick, has been fined $40,000 (~€29,000)by Health Canada for not using a pesticide properly. Kelly Cove, which has come under fire from critics of its aquaculture expansion plans in Nova Scotia, was issued 10 notices on Sept. 29 for violating Health Canada’s pesticide compliance program. The infractions occurred in New Brunswick. The company was found to have applied the pest control product Salmosan 50 WP at rates that exceeded label directions for controlling sea lice on salmon.
Pesticide users are required to follow the directions on the pesticide label so as not to create an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. Health Canada determined that the increased pesticide application rate wasn’t a risk to anyone eating the treated fish. The company didn’t contest the findings or the penalty and chose an early payment option, which cut the fine in half. Cooke Aquaculture spokeswoman Nell Halse could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Health Canada also fined 620309 N.B. Inc. (formerly known as Northern Harvest Sea Farms Ltd.) $24,000 (~€17,400) for similar pesticide compliance violation notices issued in New Brunswick on Aug. 16. The federal department also determined in that case that the increased pesticide application rate wasn’t a risk to consumers. The numbered company didn’t contest the findings and also opted for the early payment option.
Pam Parker, executive director of the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association, said Tuesday the violations arose from a packaging problem. Parker said the pesticide came in 100-gram water soluble packages and the farmers, who reported the problem to Health Canada, couldn’t extract 10 grams to meet the 90-gram dose stipulated under label directions. She noted that there have been no sea lice treatments used on Cooke salmon farms in Nova Scotia for at least the past six years. Parker said the pesticide penalties have nothing to do with recent environmental charges laid against three Cooke Aquaculture executives, including company chief executive officer Glenn Cooke in New Brunswick.
