Salmon farmers say protesters are 'oversimplifying issues'
By Philip Round, Comox Valley Echo, April 16, 2010
The challenges faced by the province's wild salmon population need attention - but shouldn't be oversimplified by targeting one unconfirmed linkage, the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association said this week.
"B.C.'s wild salmon are a marvel of nature and an important cultural symbol," said Mary Ellen Walling, executive director of the association.
"We want to see them protected and their populations enhanced as well."
She was responding to a new 'salmon are sacred' campaign calling for the elimination of fish farms in B.C. waters because of the alleged threat of sea lice.
As reported in Tuesday's Echo, the campaign includes a 'human migration' protest walk led by Alexandra Morton covering the length of Vancouver Island, passing through Courtenay on April 30.
Walling said the campaign was misdirected. B.C.'s wild salmon were facing many challenges - particularly climate change and rising water temperatures, urbanization and habitat loss.
While studies had shown there was a relationship between sea lice on farmed and wild salmon, a clear impact had not been proven, she insisted.
She cited a study by Dr. Richard Beamish, published last year, which showed that sea lice numbers on wild salmon were the same, and in some cases higher, in areas far away from salmon farms as those counted on wild salmon near farms.
Sea lice were a naturally occurring marine parasite found on wild salmon, herring, stickleback and other fin fish, and introduced to farmed salmon that are put in the ocean lice-free.
B.C. Salmon Farmers insist they don't want sea lice to be a problem - and companies continue to contribute to research on the topic, monitor their farms regularly with reports audited by government agencies, and treat when required under the guidance of a veterinarian.
Getting rid of salmon farms might seem like an easy answer, said Walling, but it wasn't a solution to the bigger issue of wild stock protection.
"We believe that salmon farming is a sustainable source for the world's increasing demand for fish," she added. "We're serious about making the right environmental choices and protecting the wild fish population."
