British Columbia Farmed Atlantic Salmon Seafood Watch Report Review

Seafood Scout, SeaChoice at odds over farmed salmon 'adept alternative' rating

B.C. salmon farmers are jubilant their industry'south upgrade by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, only the local seafood watchdog SeaChoice is raining on their parade.

Sep eighteen, 2017 • September 18, 2017 • 3 minute read • Join the chat

An Atlantic salmon leaps in an aquaculture farm pen. Photo by Robert F. Bukaty /Associated Press files

B.C. salmon farmers are celebrating their manufacture'due south upgrade by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Scout program, but the local seafood watchdog SeaChoice is raining on their parade.

Seafood Picket has rated B.C.'s farmed Atlantic salmon a "good alternative," citing low pesticide use, fewer escapes and improved transparency.

And while the written report notes that the industry is vulnerable to sea-lice infestation, "there is currently insufficient evidence to conclude that population-level impacts to wild salmon are occurring due to pathogen and/or parasite transfer from salmon farms."

But that kind of uncertainty is unacceptable to SeaChoice — a coalition of the David Suzuki Foundation, Living Oceans and the Ecology Action Centre — which has its own seafood rankings and places B.C.-farmed Atlantic salmon on its '"avoid" list.

"This comes down to a unmarried part of their criteria," said Scott Wallace, senior research scientist at the David Suzuki Foundation. "It's non about whether sea lice accept an event on individuals, but whether that translates to a coast-broad, population-level impact."

In the complex ecology of the bounding main, cause and effect relationships are notoriously difficult to discern.

"(Sea lice) pose a risk, they cause mortality, merely to say they don't have a population-level impact, we merely don't know for sure," he said. "Nosotros'd rather take a precautionary approach."

The industry was quick to dismiss SeaChoice as an opponent of ocean-based salmon farming.

"The organizations that are involved in SeaChoice are fundamentally opposed to farming salmon in the body of water, regardless of the environmental functioning and the science," said Jeremy Dunn, executive director of the B.C. Salmon Farmers Clan.

The Seafood Watch upgrade is recognition of the industry'due south "world leading" practices, he said.

"They admit there is a degree of uncertainty almost the interactions between wild and farmed salmon, there is still work to be done from a scientific perspective," said Dunn. "And nosotros agree with that."

The industry's push to accept all B.C. salmon farms certified past the Aquaculture Stewardship Council by 2020 means that information on pesticide and antibiotic utilise, sea-lice counts and escapes are freely available.

"(Seafood Watch) has reviewed a lot of data over the by five years and the improvements they've seen are providing a body of evidence that immune them to raise our score," he said.

Dzawada̱ʼenux̱w Commencement Nation hereditary principal Willie Moon was "surprised" to hear of the Seafood Sentry upgrade for farmed salmon.

"Mayhap sea lice aren't much a trouble for adult fish, merely when they get on the smolts it'south really bad for them," he said. "I'm losing 40 to fifty per cent of the smolts coming out of our river organisation."

Members of the Dzawada̱ʼenux̱w have occupied two salmon farms in their traditional territories, maxim their presence is damaging to wild fish and has called on the province to revoke their licenses.

"Female parent Nature takes intendance of (affliction and infestation) when information technology happens in the wild, but when it happens on these farms the treatments are dangerous," he said. "Mother Nature will bite us in the barrel for this eventually."

A coalition of First Nations is pressing the provincial regime to meet with them and they have vowed to stay at the ii farms operated past Marine Harvest until they are heard.

"Nosotros don't only want these 2 farms removed, we desire them all gone," said Moon.

rshore@postmedia.com

Pacific coast's warm waters having bear upon on salmon numbers
Nearly l escaped Atlantic salmon defenseless in B.C. waters
National principal speaks in back up of occupiers on B.C. fish farms

CLICK Here to written report a typo.

Is at that place more to this story? We'd like to hear from you nigh this or whatever other stories yous call up we should know almost. Email vantips@postmedia.com.