Salmon farming in BC explained- Take II
The document produced by the BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) was originally aimed at a U.S. television station whose popular program “60 Minutes” was about to air a segment about the industry in BC, but a program that the salmon farmers feared might end up paying lip service to sound science in favour of succumbing to the sensational utterances of the many salmon farming critics in the region. The document provided by the BCSFA- “CBS 60 Minutes Backgrounder: Salmon Farming in British Columbia” also proved to be useful during the current debate about the appropriateness of the federal government’s opening of its offices for the receipt of applications for an expansion of the salmon farming industry in BC.
Some of the popular issues addressed in the report- which is available on the BCSFA web site- include:
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Atlantic Salmon in the Pacific;
Many attempts have been made over the past 100 years to introduce Atlantic salmon in various water bodies throughout the Pacific Northwest. These attempts weren’t made by salmon farmers, but by sport fishing interests. None of these introductions were successful. In fact, all purposeful attempts by Canadian and U.S. governments and interest groups to colonize Atlantic salmon in the Pacific Northwest have failed because Atlantic salmon are poor colonizers outside their natural range.
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Carotenoids and the Colour of Salmon
Wild and farm-raised salmon require carotenoids for healthy growth and reproduction. In the wild, salmon get these nutrients from the seafood they eat. For farm-raised salmon, carotenoids - astaxanthin and/or canthaxanthin - are included in the feed to ensure the salmon are receiving all their nutritional requirements. A byproduct of these healthy carotenoids is a change in the pigmentation of the flesh – which occurs in both wild and farm-raised salmon
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Feed Conversion Ratios
Farm-raised salmon are amongst the most efficient users of feed; converting feed to “meat” at less than 1.2 : 1.0 (meaning 1.2 lbs of feed produce 1.0 lb of salmon). This efficiency is because salmon are cold blooded (conserve energy) and because they are neutrally buoyant in the water so they don’t require large bones to support their structure. Salmon farmers have also become much more skilled at feeding their salmon – using technology such as underwater cameras to ensure all of the feed is consumed.
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Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA)
Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) has never been confirmed in the North Pacific despite thousands of wild, hatchery and farm-raised fish being tested.
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Atlantic Veterinary College audit results
The lab that reported positive preliminary test results for ISAv in the North Pacific - from samples that were always negative after confirmatory tests - failed several quality audits performed by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). As a result of these failed audits, the Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) was removed as an IOE reference laboratory for ISAv in May 2013.
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(Sea lice and the )Use of Emamectin Benzoate (SLICE®)
Emamectin benzoate (product name SLICE®) has been used in British Columbia since 1999 and is an effective tool to control sea lice, and is only authorized for use under the professional guidance of a licensed veterinarian. It is milled directly into the feed and used sparingly to ensure sea lice levels on farm-raised salmon remain low and are not a threat to out-migrating juvenile wild salmon.
- Use of Antibiotics
Antibiotics are rarely used at BC salmon farms, and if required, can only be administered through the supervision of a veterinarian. Antibiotic use has declined over the last two decades
