The problem with salmon farming in BC

[sgrdpdrsn]

Healthy salmon and wealthy wrasse-farmers:

US$200 paid for each live fish weighing 0.3 kg!

Google this:(fvn.no > Ny oppdrettsfisk er gull verdt) This money will be paid in Norway for delivery of wrasse-fishes to the salmon farming of fish! These fishes eliminates the need for chemicals and antibiotics in salmon farming, because they eat lice (Gyrodactilus salaris) directly from the skin of salmon.

See 2 friends diving among this kind of fish at the Norwegian coast:

DIVING IN BISHOP HARBOR

[sgrdpdrsn]

@sgrdpdrsn Also look at this video:

"Marine Harvest Norway: Our People and Our Salmon"

[buggyks]

how about we stop fishing wild salmon , for a change and then try solutions for destroying lice , i heard there are fish which eat them , i think its called a wrasse . cud also think of farming salmon in closed water bodies.

[wildsalmonhero]

record runs have returned because those salmon turned left out of the fraser river and then headed around Victoria and the west side of the island.....the ones that didn't make it, turned right and had to swim past the gauntlet of filthy diseased fish farms.....and fyi....alexandra is not being funding whatsoever ....where did you hear that propaganda?

[IamreallySybil]

A grossly exaggerated view of an American activist. Record runs have returned the past two years.

[superbex1]

i cant believe that norwegian govermentally owned companies have been allowed to run their buissness this recklessly both in norway and abroad. this is like coca cola stealing drinking water in 3rd world countries, when did we become as bad as these capitalist villans?

[darkmossie633]

Wild Atlantic Salmon being destroyed in Western Scotland-they will never return

one day -problem sea lice-damn you fish farmers!-your greed is insatiable

[rakettfua]

I'm ashamed of being Norwegian due to the farmed salmon industry we have here. There are people working against this industry, but it's a hard fight.

Corruption in Norwegian politics? Oh yes. :(



[robin44]

How is one to believe such nonsense when it comes from a politically motived group of people who would rather fish the planet's ocean clean than build a sustainable aqua culture industry that could feed all of the fish demanding populations in the world. I shake my head in disbelief.

[AlaskaRanchedSalmon]

@robin44 There was a typo at the beginning. Instead of starting with "in a nutshell", it should have said "by a nutter".

[IamreallySybil]

@AlaskaRanchedSalmon You,ve got that right. A well financed nutter at that. Roll another dubie Alex

[scrubjay93]

@robin44 It takes three pounds of fish to create one pound of farmed salmon, which pretty much destroys your argument.

[bimmjim]

The salmon farming industry lies about how much feed it takes to grow one kilo of farmed salmon. The truth is that the salmon farming industry kills about 10 kilograms of living marine biomass to grow one kilo of farmed salmon. This figure includes by catch and compares wet weight to wet weight.

[viper10011]

theres nothing wrong with salmon farming if you read the actaul reports done by real scientists not people payed off like this bitch.

[devnullsd]

aquaculture is bad even in a "closed" system. It takes 6lbs of anchovy to create 1lb of salmon. It is never "sustainable" if the fish you are trying to grow eats other fish.

[AquacultureAwareness]

It's now 2010!!!

We have an update for you...and it's going to blow you away. Click on our name and see what's happened since you posted this video on salmon in British Columbia.

[losmaces]

Wow I had no idea about that. Could salmon be farmed in ponds instead? I guess in a closed system the wild salmon would not be affected

[nuffzed]

I care about my health, the health of my family and friends, and the health of the environment. I would never knowingly feed my family or friends farmed salmon.

Buy only wild salmon and learn to identify wild from farmed so that you know you really are getting what you pay for.

[marychs42]

i have just about quit eating it. i don't believe what the vendors say.

[HalibutHarry]

This is a compelling story about people with nothing better to do with their spare time then to discredit an industry that has already proven to make many effective strives to minimize their effect to the wild.

An industry that continues to spend large amounts of money and time researching ways to further minimize their effect in the wild.

I WILL CONTINUE TO EAT FARM RAISED SALMON. BECAUSE IT IS A SAFE & HEALTHY PRODUCT.

[Alaskrab]

@HalibutHarry that's great harry. hopefully the hormones that are in that fish will take care of you so we don't have to listen to your crap anymore.

[madscirat]

Interesting vid. A bit bemused at this biologist who points out that the government is protecting the industry and then bemoans the fact that the government wont do its job.Taking bribes and making deals is their job, silly-willy.

The local residents should sue the companies involved, that should cut into their profits and give an edge to cleaner operations.Tho I do honestly think a well engineered aquaponics ranch could beat them at profits fair and square.

[GERALDMANFRED]

I see alot of comments below, typed by people with obviously no information on this issue ! The sea lice are only one of the many problems that we here in B.C are worried about..Disease..bacteria..poll­ution..accidental by catch..the use of grow lights..The fact that Atlantic salmon have been found spawning in our rivers and atlantic smolts have been captured in rivers on vancouver island are proof of this.. If the Norwegians say there is no problem with these farms. Than take them back to norway

[daveyboi03]

umm last time i checked last years salmons run population levels were one of the highest in recorded history with over 10 mill estimated salmon

[doktorhipp]

That the norwegians have "contaminated" the BC is BS. To say that norwegian multinational companies have no regard for the fragile ecosystem is also wrong.

In norway it is a public discussion on how to deal with the lice problem, and with the environmental focus currently in Norway you shold all be happy we showed up to teach you how to do it without hurting the environment even more.

[thesone1965]

The science on sea lice is far from complete. Most of Mortons research methodology is extremely flawed..i.e. reference sites with lower salinities, in vitro mortality rates of infected wild salmon, improper interpretation of numbers of long-term wild salmon return. Just because science is peer-reviewed doesn't mean it is correct. The peer-reviewed process is a long-one and many studies must be considered together to understand an issue as complex as this. Read Brooks and Jones paper.

[soko63]

I understand the frustration that the conservationist are feeling but can you imagine being a Cleveland Browns fan and having to watch that team. That is really sad....

[abbeyhilary]

just showed my friend this vid and he doesn't care im so upset right now!

[Zachry86]

This is sad. The same thing is happening here in norway. But we are now moving the fish farms further and further into the open sea. This means that the wild salmon wont have to go past all these farms on their way growing up.

[1984prorider]

i am posting this to say that im a former employee of mainstream industries i watched the guys from cypress harbour burn wildlife with gas dump infected and diseased morts into the ocean with no containment i watched seagulls get gutshot so they would die slower as well as saw a multitude of drugs and alcahol on the site i counted about 30 regulations that were flat out disregarded i watched crows have thier beeks snapped so they would starve and you no what when i said why i got fired

[chingvang559]

Why can't they farm salmon like how they farm trout? is that not possible?

[madscirat]

@chingvang559 It can be done but it is difficult and expensive bc/ of saline regulation and waste removal.

[happyscorpio]

OMG! This is so good!!!  Thanks for posting.

[Simeonlee]

This is great for my exam today. Thanks!

[positivebob]

Part 3...

Aquaculture will save wild fisheries and not destroy them. Wild-caught, at current harvest levels, is destroying fisheries at rates much faster than aquaculture can. Unless you have a major global apocalyptic reduction in population, the hunting and gathering romanticism will only remain a fantasy plaything of the intellectual elite. The rest of the 99.9 percent of culture will be fed by farmed foods. Let's move toward a sustainable aquaculture by putting energy organic aquaculture.

[Alaskrab]

By doing that Bob, we are annialating wild stocks which are ever so important. Bob, do some more research before you open your mouth or touch the keyboard.

[positivebob]

No. The threats to wild salmon are in the following priority order (1.) Over-harvesting (2.) Habitat destruction and fragmentation (3.) Water quality and quantity degradation (4.) Aquaculture. I am not arguing that aquaculture is not a threat, just that it is not the biggest threat. It also will be an essential tool in saving wild salmon. Lastly, aquaculture is an inevitability. It is one of the fastest growing industries, in all sectors, globally. It is coming, let's make it better.

[Alaskrab]

Habitat destruction - see Salmon Farming. Look at what salmon farming is doing to wild stocks in BC...Honestly man. How can you deny the negative impact. And saying that aquaculture is going to save our fisheries is an oxymoron. These farms are killing what's left of BC'S wild fish.

Yes, over harvesting has been a major problem, but there will be no harvesting at all once these farms completely wipe out our wild runs...

[positivebob]

Again. I did not say that aquaculture has no negative impact on wild populations. It is a threat. But...you must pick the right fight with regards to salmon. Aquaculture is not the right fight. Even a cursory review of the relevant scholarly literature will prove to you that overfishing and habitat destruction are tops (non-aquaculture related, we're talking sprawl and resulting water quality and quantity issues). Aquaculture is way, way, down on this list. "Honestly man"...check it out.

[Alaskrab]

I don't know how you take yourself seriously. I can't argue with ignorance...Good luck.

[positivebob]

No. You argue just fine. You just aren't willing to have a serious informed debate. Whatever...I still hold my position that if you are really into saving wild salmon, the best route is not to spend your energy slamming the farmers. We can make farming work, just look at community supported ag and organic farming in land based systems. Farming can be improved and will with innovative thinking and hard science. It will also take an involved community not hell bent on destroying farming.

[Alaskrab]

An informed debate requires more than one informed party, bob. It is being proven right this very moment that salmon farming in the ocean cannot work - at least not without seriously damaging our our oceans...

[positivebob]

Salmon farming will have to get in the back of a very long line of things that destroy our oceans. As a strategic conservationist, I like to rank threats and tackle the big ones first. My whole point is this. Fighting aquaculture is like worrying about getting bitten by the fleas on a dog that is about to attack you. What about the sharp teeth? Farming is the least of our worries. Aquaculture, done right, is a great hope for humanity, not the scourge that you and others cast it as.

[Alaskrab]

I'm not fighting aquaculture. I'm fighting salmon farming. Any idiot knows that there are lots of factors that are contributing to dwindling fish populations. But it is obvious that salmon farming is doing damage. I would be fine with salmon farming if it weren't causing so many problems. The competition that farmed salmon give commercial fishermen like me doesn't bother me a bit. It's my disappearing fish that gets me.

[positivebob]

Part 2...

I think we need to face up to the fact that aquaculture is an inevitable part of the evolution from a hunting and gathering culture to one that is agriculture based. Wild-caught products from the sea will go the way of wild caught / gathered products from the land. I'm not saying this is good or right, it just is. The better path would be to accelerate progress towards sustainable organic aquaculture. The sooner we do this the better.

[positivebob]

Part 1....

Great video. Thanks! My opinion is that wild caught sea food will go the way of wild caught/gathered land-food eventually. It will be a hobby and a recreation, except for maybe a few remaining remote cultures. We pretty much switched from hunting and gathering fed culture, for better or worse, to a totally farm-fed culture. It is not all bad really. Take the entire sustainable and organic agriculture movement for example. That is a really positive thing!

[jdiddler]

Well what am i suppose to do? Eat farm salmon to protect the depleating stocks of sockeye? or eat sockeye and reduce its population by more?

[leadoverdistance]

Eat only wild Salmon, and no farmed Salmon. Sign Morton's petition, and tell the Norwegians to take their farms back to their rivers in Norway (from whence they were chased away!) This and Pebble mine are my pet peaves...Foreign companies jerking the strings of local government, to soil a land they have no heart in.

[obominog]

You have a point there. Think what would happen to Moose and Deer populations if North America didn't farm Cattle. I don't think that shutting down Fish Farming is going to help the wild stock. As for Moose and Deer, there is no commercial opening on them,Hmmmmm.......

There are a lot of factors affecting the wild stock, I think farming salmon is relieving the pressure on supply and demand for salmon. On the price of salmon, lets just say it is not only a rich man's food any longer.

[danbit5]

if you lose the wild salmon its a diaster for the other creatures,there should be hundreds thousand them in all parts the world(as a fisherman you dont wanna be feeling quilty you have got a gem of speieces on your rod,you only feel right knowing they are plentiful, hard fish to catch as well , there life cycle is remarkable

[HLCpromow]

The fire that feeds humanity consumes all in the end! There in truth is no stoping or turning back! Its onward into the light at god speed! Some thing are beyond mans control as it should and must be!!! But everone knows that ,,,,right???? Thanks

[bimmjim]

Why don't people get it? If we don't chose a sustainable level to live at then a level, not to our liking, will be imposed on us by the universe.

Historically, over fishing has been the biggest mistake and continues to be a large factor. The whole coast should be an MPA. There is only a remnant of the wild salmon and their genome left. Drastic changes a should be made now.

Click on my hot link on my page to see more on the Stream Keepers and logging.

[chromersportfishing]

thank you for this.

[ble86n]

Goddamm the almighty dollar...and our idiocy