Aquaculture is a rising industry and includes ventures such as fish farming which can be found around the world in countries such as Norway, Australia and New Zealand (Global Salmon Initiative, 2021). I’ll be focusing on problems closer to home, specifically the salmon farms located around the Discovery Islands in British Columbia. In this entry, I want to highlight some of the ecological and social issues as well as my opinions on the future of salmon farming.

Ecological Issues

Sea pens are known for generating diseases, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, sea lice, as well as producing large amounts of waste excreted by the salmon. I will be discussing the problems with sea lice and disease transmission further as they are the two most popular areas of concern for salmon farms.

The high concentration of fish in sea pens make it easier for diseases, such as Piscene reovirus, to be transmitted (Pacific Wild, 2018). The major concern of having sea pens located around the Discovery Islands is that wild salmon populations, such as the Fraser River sockeye salmon, migrate through the islands and can be infected along the way (Pacific Wild, 2018).

Sockeye Salmon Migration Route. Red dots note the salmon farms in the Discovery Islands and Broughton Archipelago. Image by Morton (2017).

In addition to the diseases, the high concentration of fish allows for more sea lice to jump from fish to fish more readily (Pacific Wild, 2018). These parasites can be especially harmful to juvenile salmonids as their small size and lack of scales make it hard to survive parasitic attacks (Gill, 2019).

Clayoquot Sound wild smolts covered in sea lice, May 2019. Photo by Campbell (2020).

Unfortunately, all of these issues can increase the mortality of both juvenile and adult wild salmon. Salmon are an anadromous keystone species and their continued decline will be felt in trophic levels both in freshwater and marine ecosystems (Pacific Wild, 2020).

Social Issues

Unfortunately, in addition to these ecological issues, the downfall of salmon populations causes social issues as well. The ecological issues of fish farms are a major concern for First Nations living around the coast of British Columbia as salmon are culturally significant and provide food security for local communities (Chrumka, 2020).

The Discovery Islands fish farms are located in Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw Nation’s territory and operate freely without the prior and informed consent of the Indigenous peoples living in the area; thus, violating the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Pacific Wild, 2018). Fortunately, after consultation of the seven Indigenous Nations living in the Campbell River area, the Minister of Fisheries decided to permanently phase out the farms by June 2022 (Larsen, 2020).

The Future of Salmon Farming

Weir Fence in the Koeye River. Photo by Deroy (2020)

There are a lot of problems associated with salmon farming not only ecologically but socially as well. Although aquaculture creates jobs and can aid in Canada’s blue economy, there should be more consultation of the Indigenous communities before further aquacultural practices are implemented.

Moreover, consulting with First Nations on the coast of BC may allow fisheries to learn and acquire Indigenous sustainable harvesting practices such as using weir fences. These fences are made of cedar and are placed along the width of the river, allowing salmon to be trapped and caught (Wood, 2021). These practices do not require the mass use of antibiotics or other chemicals like salmon farms and seem to allow for a more ethical harvesting practice.

References

Bugas, H. (2020, November 13). Salmon: A Keystone Species. Pacific Wild. https://pacificwild.org/salmon-a-keystone-species/

Campbell, T. (2019). [Photograph]. The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/war-on-the-waters-salmon-farms-losing-battle-with-sea-lice-as-wild-fish-pay-the-price/

Chrumka, J. (2020, December 04). First Nations try to turn the tide on ‘heartbreaking’ decline in salmon population. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/deep-dive-what-happens-when-the-salmon-stop-coming-home-1.5827424/first-nations-try-to-turn-the-tide-on-heartbreaking-decline-in-salmon-population-1.5828721

Deroy, B. (2020). [Photograph]. The Narwhal.  https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-salmon-fishing-indigenous-systems-report/

Gill, I. (2019, September 13). War on the waters: salmon farms losing battle with sea lice as wild fish pay the price. The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/war-on-the-waters-salmon-farms-losing-battle-with-sea-lice-as-wild-fish-pay-the-price/

Global Salmon Initiative. (2021). About Salmon Farming. Global Salmon Initiative. https://globalsalmoninitiative.org/en/about-salmon-farming/

Larsen, K. (2020, December 17). Discovery Islands salmon farms to be phased out of existence over next 18 months. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/salmon-farms-discovery-islands-closing-1.5845502#:~:text=Canada-,Discovery%20Islands%20salmon%20farms%20to%20be%20phased%20out%20of%20existence,months%20after%20First%20Nations%20consultation

Lindsay, B. (2020, September 10). B.C. fish farms regularly under-count sea lice potentially putting wild salmon at risk: study. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-fish-farms-undercount-sea-lice-salmon-risk-1.5718322

Morton, A. (2017). [Photograph]. The Tyee. https://thetyee.ca/News/2017/03/04/Norwegian-Disease-BC-Fish-Farm/

Pacific Wild. (2018, May 25). Nine reasons we want fish farms out of B.C waters. Pacific Wild. https://pacificwild.org/nine-reasons-we-want-fish-farms-out-of-b-c-waters/

Wood, S. (2021, January 6). Want to save B.C. salmon? Bring back Indigenous fishing systems, study says. The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-salmon-fishing-indigenous-systems-report/