Campbell Liberals & BC Fish Farms

[maplesyrup]

Farmed Salmon Raise Concerns

Farmed salmon accumulate much higher levels of chemical flame retardants than wild salmon, according to a scientific study published yesterday in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Flame retardants known as PBDEs have come under increased scrutiny as their level in human blood has doubled over the past five years. They are similar in structure to PCBs, a carcinogenic chemical once used as an insulator in electric equipment. In laboratory studies, flame retardants have been shown to impair development of young rats and rat fetuses and disrupted their hormone systems, but there have been no similar studies in humans. 

"I'm very concerned," said Jeffery A. Foran, one of the authors of the study and a professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

I wonder what the connection is between the Campbell Liberals and the Fish Farming Industry in BC. I have heard these Fish Farm operators are big donors to the Campbell Liberals.

There is no way these farms should be operating, yet they continue to do so, creating more and more problems. People better find out where their salmon comes from when they purchase it from now on if they don't already. What an absolute nightmare these fish farms are turning out to be.

[willy]

This study had questionable methodology and did not assess the possible health impacts. They only measured that a level existed in all salmon.

They only tested three fish in BC. The levels were the highest in BC but not significantly. There is no guideline for safe consumption of PBDEs. They are found in wild salmon as well. In fact they are found in a number of things we eat.

A representative of the fishing industry was commenting on the ability to change feed to reduce this in farmed salmon. How can you manage this in the wild salmon?

There are many questions into the management of farmed salmon but a lot of this is also politically motivated. It is becoming hard on this issue to trust any source on information.

[maplesyrup]

Your response reminds me of the tobacco industry. Denial and attempt to confuse. There have been major problems with fish farming from day one. It is just that we are now beginning to see concretely the devastation that is being created by their presence. It is time to put an end to this industry that is poisoning our natural fish and also jeopardising our food chain.

[caesar]

The Fish farms are believed to be contaminating wild stocks with sea lice. Campbell did quietly arrange to forgive fish farms from paying fines for past misdeeds and he lowered their rents??????

[Cartman]

The Fish farms are believed to be contaminating wild stocks with sea lice.

I watched a program on this some time back and never, ever seen anything as sick as that. Wonder why the supermarkets are dying salmon?

It blows my mind how we keep obviously destroying our resources yet never change anything. Will entire sectors of the economy have to be totally destroyed? Have we not learned anything from the east coast experience?

[willy]

Was this program on the CBC?

Did they have one very concerned lady who was out to prove her version of events?

Did that program discount the value of the ministry studies? These studies that were done by scientists and came back with opposite conclusions.

This one lady on the island is the only one to find the truth.

Other possible reasons for the increase in lice were glossed over. E.g. increase water temperatures over the last 10 years.

I don't know what the science says but I do see some political attacks being made from the environment community. These attacks would cause me to look carefully at the studies that come forward as proof.

[caesar]

The belief that sea lice pose a danger to wild stock problem does not just come from one source. It is not some wild idea; it is common knowledge.

[willy]

Well Caesar, if it is common knowledge I wont question where it came from.

[maplesyrup]

Well Caesar, if it is common knowledge I wont question where it came from.

Willly...........chill man. You come across as attempting to be an authority on everything.

One has to have had their head buried in the sand to not be aware of all the problems that have arisen from these Fish Farms in BC.

Threats - Open Netcage Fish Farming

It is Raincoast’s position that current salmon farming practices are a serious threat to wild salmon stocks and the marine environment. Recently, serious questions have been raised about the potential health risks posed by consuming farmed salmon.

Fish Farming

The fish are reared for about 1 year.  As they grow, their environment becomes more crowded.  Wild salmon migrate up to hundreds of miles and end their lives leaping upstream to spawn in the rivers where they were born.  Contrast this to a life in which a salmon has the equivalent of a bathtub or two of water.  The resulting problems include bullying from other fish, abrasions on fins, tails, skin and gills from rubbing against each other and the walls of the pen, stereotypic behaviours similar to that of zoo animals who pace, circle, rub or bite obsessively due to frustration, infestations of sea lice and other parasites, diseases, oxygen starvation due to hot weather and/or waste build-up and deformities.  Caged fish must sometimes be handled to redistribute for size grading, medical treatments and salmon lice removal.  Fish suffer extreme stress when handled.

Fish Farming

I could go on and on but I think you get the point.

[willy]

Willly...........chill man. You come across as attempting to be an authority on everything.

I am not an authority on fish farming.

This was a timely topic as I just saw the 1h long CBC documentary on this topic.

I happened to also hear the CBC radio coverage of the recent study.

I was just noting that the other side of the argument has not been represented.

New measures have been taken for safety of wild stocks, for instance they remove the farmed fish when the small fries are coming out of the rivers.

I was surprised to learn that the sea lice actually come from the wild fish when they come back in from deep water and they are killed when they get in fresh water.

Like any other farming, techniques may be changed for health and environmental benefits.

Other side:

These anti- groups keep recycling food-scare rhetoric. Maybe folks like Hunter should spend their time and money supporting sustainable industries such as fish farming and work towards making them better, not harassing hardworking coastal community folks by slandering their product.

It is time for a new environmentalism, one that embraces sensible solutions and sustainable solutions. If these activists really cared about the environment and the workers, they would enter into dialogue with industry instead of bullying hardworking people.

People need to check the facts when it comes to aquaculture, and not rely on the food-scare innuendos of special interest groups.

Visit our Web site www.farmfreshsalmon.org for more information.

Laurie Jensen,

President,

Positive Aquaculture Awareness,

Campbell River.

[Cartman]

Was this program on the CBC?

Did they have one very concerned lady who was out to prove her version of events?

Did that program discount the value of the ministry studies? These studies that were done by scientists and came back with opposite conclusions.

This was a CBC program, but it was some time ago. I do not think it was the most recent one (though I could be wrong).

I do agree with you on one point Willy. When these issues of risk hit the media (Avian flu, BSE, SARS, flesh-eating etc), it is hard to know who to trust and what to think. In my opinion, however, gov't regulatory agencies (esp. BC) have lost a great deal of credibility.

[maplesyrup]

I think the scientific journals are a good place to start:

Nature Magazine

Do a search on fish farms although you may have to go through a library to access.