Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association said there is no room for speculative science in the debate over realizing salmon farming's potential for Canada.
Photo: Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association.
Last week, two research scientists from the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) spoke to the media suggesting aquaculture was the main cause of the decline of wild salmon in the Conne River, on Newfoundland's south coast. The Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association (ACFFA) immediately urged them to retract what it considers biased statements against farmed salmon.
"On behalf of the thousands of Atlantic Canadian salmon farming employees and the hundreds of service companies that support them, the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association cannot remain silent as two Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientists show anti-salmon farming bias by putting damaging slants on their research in the media," the ACFFA said in a statement.
In public statements to the media regarding their examination of Atlantic salmon in the Conne River (NL), DFO research scientists Travis Van Leeuwen and Ian Bradbury, based in Newfoundland, noted that three main problems were causing the decline of wild salmon in that river.
Those three challenges included climate change and predation, but, according to ACFFA information, in addition, the scientists "subjectively deemed aquaculture the most significant without presenting any conclusive data to back up their claim."
"This is unacceptable coming from federal government scientists," the Association continued. "The future of Canada's economically important aquaculture sector is dependent on the quality and objectivity of sound science to inform regulatory and policy decisions that govern the sector."
Therefore, in response to the allegation by these Fisheries and Oceans Canada researchers, the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association called on them "to retract their biased comments." Moreover, the ACFFA also issued a five-point response.
The Atlantic Canada salmon farming industry began by recalling that wild Atlantic salmon populations throughout the Atlantic region, including the Conne River, have been in decline for decades, long before salmon aquaculture began, and for many reasons, including predation on rapidly growing seal populations.
Likewise, it added that Bay d'Espoir salmon farms are 15-20 km away from the Conne estuary, but very few farmed Atlantic salmon have been detected in the Conne River. "It is a well-known fact that genetic material from Atlantic salmon of European origin is regularly found in wild salmon populations in Newfoundland and the Maritimes," ACFFA said. "This is likely part of the naturally occurring drift of wild salmon populations in the North Atlantic being influenced by well documented south to north warming due to climate change."
Third, the Association pointed out the aquaculture industry adheres to a strict Code of Containment to prevent fish escapes, and these have been drastically reduced since the early 1990s, being well below one percent each year since 1995.
It then recalled sea lice parasites - which exist naturally in the ocean - are not a significant problem for salmon farms in D'Espoir Bay due to the influence of freshwater, and wild smolt run timing is out of seasonal sync with the appearance of gravid female lice on farms. This assertion is supported by statements by Dr. Kurt Samways, Parks Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Restoration at the University of New Brunswick.
"Post smolt salmon tend to migrate rapidly past aquaculture sites. The risk of disease transmission or sea lice transmission from farmed salmon to wild salmon is low even when the natal river empties into the same open bay occupied by the salmon farm. While mature wild salmon typically return from sea to their native river to spawn, approximately 12 to 15% of the returning mature salmon migrate to a different river," he explained.
Finally, the ACFFA said that over the past two decades, federal and provincial forums involving academia, ENGOs, First Nation communities, aquaculture professionals, and fisheries scientists, have reviewed the scientific literature detailing the benefits and risks of salmon aquaculture and found minimal impact on wild salmonids, the family of fish including subspecies of salmon, trout, char, and freshwater whitefish.
Like their colleagues in British Columbia, salmon farming professionals on Canada's Atlantic coast have also stated that the industry is committed to continuous improvement. "When scientific findings point to the need for any changes to address environmental risks, the sector will respond, as it always has, with innovation to address the risks," they said.
However, they also noted that, to continue making long-term investments, like all protein producers, the salmon aquaculture industry must also rely on regulators to use "robust unbiased science evaluation capabilities."
"As we move forward to realize the potential of salmon farming for Canada, governments and elected officials need to be able to defend the integrity of their scientists to shape effective regulatory systems going forward. There is no room in that discussion for speculative, biased science," ACFFA's statement read.
"The fact is climate change and predation have been occurring long before salmon farming. For these two researchers to point the finger at salmon farming alone as the major reason for wild salmon decline in the Conne River is irresponsible," it concluded.