Presentation Abstract
Commercial finfish aquaculture has endured a turbulent thirty years since its arrival in British Columbia. The international record on the state of wild salmonid populations exposed to salmon farms is not encouraging as there is no region where salmon farming and stable wild salmonid populations coexist. The industry has made changes as it matures, reporting better siting, sea lice control and vaccines. However at the same time the number of fish per farm has risen to 1.7 million, adjacent commercial fisheries are largely closed, orca are increasing failing to carry offspring full term and First Nations are without food fish. In this presentation we review the current state of two of the most controversial public concerns regarding impact of salmon farms on wild salmon: sea louse management and exposure to farm-origin disease agents. Is there visible progress? Are there indicators that equilibrium between farmed and wild salmon populations can be reached? What is the scientific record telling us and where do we go from here?
Session Title
The Impacts of Open Net Pen Salmon Farming on Wild Salmon
Keywords
Piscine reovirus, Sea lice, Salmon farm, Aquaculture
Conference Track
SSE11: Species and Food Webs
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE11-298
Start Date
4-4-2018 2:15 PM
End Date
4-4-2018 2:30 PM
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Salmon--Parasites--Monitoring--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Pacific salmon fisheries--Economic aspects--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Salmon farms: are we making progress
Commercial finfish aquaculture has endured a turbulent thirty years since its arrival in British Columbia. The international record on the state of wild salmonid populations exposed to salmon farms is not encouraging as there is no region where salmon farming and stable wild salmonid populations coexist. The industry has made changes as it matures, reporting better siting, sea lice control and vaccines. However at the same time the number of fish per farm has risen to 1.7 million, adjacent commercial fisheries are largely closed, orca are increasing failing to carry offspring full term and First Nations are without food fish. In this presentation we review the current state of two of the most controversial public concerns regarding impact of salmon farms on wild salmon: sea louse management and exposure to farm-origin disease agents. Is there visible progress? Are there indicators that equilibrium between farmed and wild salmon populations can be reached? What is the scientific record telling us and where do we go from here?
