Tourism group points fingers at fish farms for low abundance of wild salmon
In a full page, $70,000 advertisement in one of Canada's national newspapers, a group of tourism operators and others claimed that there are few wild salmon available for their customers to catch, and that the reason for this is the infection and subsequent mortality of out-migrating salmon smolts by sea lice from salmon farms.
The advertisement quotes "billionaire John Fredriksen" as stating that "fish farming should not be allowed in fjords with salmon rivers". To date, no salmon farms have been removed from fjords in Norway due to the concerns over wild salmon, while many farms in B.C. have been relocated due to environmental and other concerns.
Most of the facilities and individuals that signed off on the advertisement in the Canadian paper are located in the area of the Broughton Archipelago- a hotbed of anti-salmon farming sentiment. The advertisement is based on information provided by Alexandra Morton- one of the best known activists involved in the campaign to shut down conventional salmon farms in B.C.
The latest estimates from surveys conducted by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans shows tha returns of pink salmon to the Broughton Archipelago this year is equal to or higher than the returns registered two years ago, when the parents of this year's fish were spawning in the area.
urged the Canadian Minister of Fisheries as well as the B.C. Provincial Government
