Farmed and Dangerous - Reports & Research

2008, August - A Brief Response to the January 2008 Report "Overview of Sea Lice Issues and Risks to Farmed and Wild Salmon" prepared for Cermaq.
Stan Proboszcz and Dr. Craig Orr from Watershed Watch Salmon Society review an "Overview of Sea Lice Issues and Risks to Farmed and Wild Salmon" prepared by Saksida and Downey for Cermaq (Mainstream). The response addresses the lack of publicly available data in the form needed to effectively evaluate sea lice impacts as well as key published research and management details that Saksida and Downey failed to include in their review. Full Response. (pdf)

2008, May - Thriving Economies, Healthy Oceans, a summary of a Global Assessment of Closed System Aquaculture. (summary pdf)
This report, by the Georgia Strait Alliance and the David Suzuki Foundation, shows that a shift from open to closed-system fish farming is not only a viable alternative to open net cage farming, but is also a vibrant and rapidly developing global industry. Full Report. (pdf)

2008, March - Morton, A., R. Routledge, and M. Krkosek. 2008. Sea louse infestation in wild juvenile salmon and Pacific herring associated with fish farms off the east-central coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. Published online March 31, 2008. (pdf)
The authors report on 2 years of sea louse field surveys of wild juvenile pink and chum salmon, as well as wild sockeye salmon O. nerka and larval Pacific herring Clupea pallasii, in another salmon farming region, the Discovery Islands region of British Columbia. These results suggest that the association of salmon farms with sea lice infestations of wild juvenile fish in Pacific Canada now extends beyond juvenile pink and chum salmon in the Broughton Archipelago.

2008, February - CAAR Review of PSF Sea Lice Science Report
The CAAR review of "Science and Sea Lice: What do we know?" a report released by the BC Pacific Salmon Forum prepared by Brian Harvey, February 2008, reveals the lack of effective evaluation or synthesis of the science. Instead of resolving the "sea lice question," the review muddies the waters of what is clearly a relevant ecological and sociological topic. Link to the Pacific Salmon Forum report (pdf).

2008, February - Ford JS, Myers RA. A global assessment of salmon aquaculture impacts on wild salmonids. PLoS Biology 6(2): e33.
This study compared marine survival of salmon in areas with salmon farming to adjacent areas without farms in Scotland, Ireland, Atlantic Canada, and Pacific Canada to estimate changes in marine survival concurrent with the growth of salmon aquaculture. Through a meta-analysis they show a reduction in survival or abundance of Atlantic salmon; sea trout; and pink, chum, and coho salmon in association with increased production of farmed salmon. In many cases, these reductions in survival or abundance are greater than 50%. (pdf)

2008, January 3 - Andrew A. Rosenberg. The Price of Lice. NATURE. 451:23-24.
Wild salmon stocks in Canadian coastal waters are being severely affected by parasites from fish farms. So intense are these infestations that some populations of salmon are at risk of extinction. (pdf)

2007

2007, December - Salmon Farms Drive Wild Salmon Towards Extinction
A study appearing in the December 14 issue of the journal Science shows, for the first time, that parasitic sea lice infestations caused by salmon farms are driving nearby populations of wild salmon toward extinction. Read the research summary. (pdf)

2007, November 29 - Encouraging Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Salmon Aquaculture. Speaking for the Salmon Series, Simon Fraser University.
The purpose of this dialogue-based workshop is to examine and suggest innovative ways for the BC salmon aquaculture industry to move forward in a sustainable fashion, with minimal impacts on the existing wild stocks and coastal ecosystems. (pdf)

2007 - Joint letter to the COABC re: Organic Aquaculture. Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR).
Nineteen groups have signed onto a request to the Certified Organic Association of BC asking them to commit to subjecting revised organic aquaculture standards to a full public review process if they choose to proceed with development.

2007, May - NY Times Advertisement. Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR).
Smarten Up Safeway Campaign: Ingredients for Extinction. (pdf)

2007 - Orr, Craig. Estimated Sea Louse Egg Production from Marine Harvest Canada Farmed Atlantic Salmon in the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia, 2003–2004. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 27:187–197, 2007.

2007 - Sea Lice Scientific References. Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR).

2007 - Think Twice About Eating Farmed Salmon (brochure). Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR). (pdf)
A simple, easy to understand overview covering issue from antibiotics and pesticide use to organic farmed salmon.

2007 - Farmed Salmon Exposed (flyer).Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR). (pdf)

2006, July 31 - Fraser Institute Escapes Report Assessment. Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR). (pdf) "Escaped Farmed Salmon: A Threat to BC's Wild Salmon?" Despite a 26% jump in BC’s farmed salmon production in the past five years, the report concludes the number of escapes has not increased, dismisses fears that Atlantic salmon might establish breeding populations, and downplays other potential risks posed by escaped Atlantic salmon.

2006, June 20 - Speaking Points to the BC Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture. Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR). (pdf) CAAR's speaking points for public hearings held by the Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture in British Columbia.

2006, April 24 - CAAR response to Environmental Defense Farmed Salmon Purchasing Standards. Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform. (pdf)

2006, March 16 - Valuation of the Wild Salmon Economy of the Skeena River Watershed. IBM Consulting Services (Commissioned by the Northwest Institute). (pdf)

2005

2005, November - CAAR Response to the Salmon of the Americas, NY Times Advertisement: Is Farmed Salmon Really What the Doctor Ordered? Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR). (pdf)
In the November 27 weekend edition of the New York Times, Salmon of the Americas, a farmed salmon marketing association, launched a six-page ad claiming extensive health benefits of farmed salmon. The information in this document identifies inaccuracies in the industry-sponsored ad.

2005, October - Sea Lice and Salmon: BC Briefing Note. Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR). (pdf)
A succinct, 11-page analysis of the problem of sea lice including references for further reading.

2005 - Pink Salmon Escapement Graphs for Broughton Archipelago. Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform. (pdf)

2005, September 28 - Backgrounder: Pink Salmon and Sea Lice Chronology of Events. Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform. (pdf)

2005, September 28 - Backgrounder: Science Summary: Facts About Sea Lice, Fish Farms and Wild Salmon.Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform. (pdf)

2005, September 28 - Backgrounder: Solutions. Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform. (pdf)

2005, September - Broughton Fallow Map
Map of Broughton Archipelago outlining fallow route needed for 2006.

2005 - Sea Lice Are Real
PDF presentation on sea lice in the eastern Pacific.

2005, September - CAAR Closed Containment Transition Policy
CAAR is calling for a transition to closed containment over the next 5 years. To assist fish farm companies through this process, the government should offer tax incentives, loans and grant programs. In addition, a environmental levy on current production from net cage operations should be created to establish a fund for financing closed contained systems.

2005, September - CAAR Closed Containment Briefing
The Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) is calling on the provincial and federal governments to support the development of two commercial-scale closed containment demonstration projects. These demonstration projects are necessary in order to conduct a thorough cost/benefit analysis of closed containment technology and demonstrate its commercial and environmental viability.

2005, Spring - Fishy Policy Decisions, by Lynn Hunter, Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians
The federal government has made enormous policy errors in supporting net cage fish farming in Canada. Fisheries and Oceans Canada is now an active participant in the degradation of the world's oceans and wild fish stocks through willful, blind support of the net cage salmon industry.

2005, April - Salmon Farming Opinion Research Results by IMPACS (Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society)
Eighty percent of British Columbians agree that the government should stop subsidizing open net cage salmon farming and instead start investing in closed containment technology that separates farmed salmon from wild salmon and protects the marine environment.

2005, April 1 - Closing In On Environmentally Sound Aquaculture: A Fresh look at the Economics of Closed Containment Systems
This report examines the economic rationale for shifting the environmentally unsustainable open-netcage aquaculture industry (implicated in disease transfer, pollution, harm to wild fish populations and a global net loss of fish used in feed) towards a more sustainable, closed-tank model. This report was a joint project of the David Suzuki Foundation, Conservation Strategy Fund, Friends of Clayoquot Sound and the Raincoast Conservation Society.

2005, March - Transmission dynamics of parasitic sea lice from farm to wild salmon
Proceedings of Royal Society B March 30, 2005 Transmission dynamics of parasitic sea lice from farm to wild salmon. Authors: Martin Krkosek, Mark A. Lewis, John P. Volpe

2005, February 15 - Why the new Wild Salmon Policy fails to protect wild salmon and the public interest from aquaculture impacts.
CAAR's submission to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

2004

2004, December - Diminishing Returns
Raincoast Conservation Society’s new report, Diminishing Returns, is an investigation into the five multinational corporations that control British Columbia’s salmon farming industry. Diminishing Returns takes an in-depth look at drug use, disease outbreaks, financial woes, and the global track records of the biggest players in the industry. The report was produced for the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform.

2004, November 18 - Simon Fraser University Convenors Report: Scientists Roundtable on Sea Lice and Salmon in the Broughton Archipelago Area of British Columbia. Part of the Speaking for the Salmon Dialogue Series that includes sections on recommended research and future management.

2004, April - Sea Lice and Salmon: Elevating the dialogue on the farmed-wild salmon story.
This Watershed Watch report provides overviews of aquaculture, the biology and ecology of sea lice, links between sea lice and salmon farms, the Broughton Archipelago pink salmon collapse, current sea-lice treatments, roles of governments, the people involved, and the merits of conserving the biodiversity of wild salmon. And it does so with a science underpinning and easy-to-read language.

2004, March - Sea lice infection rates on juvenile pink and chum salmon in the nearshore marine environment of British Columbia, Canada. Published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (Vol. 61: 147-157). This study compared sea lice infestation rates on juvenile pink and chum salmon in five nearshore areas of the British Columbia coast selected on the basis of proximity to salmon farms. The authors: Alexandra Morton, Richard Routledge, Corey Peet, and Aleria Ladwig conducted a 10-week study in the Broughton Archipelago that found sea lice were 8.8 times more abundant on wild fish near farms holding adult salmon and 5.0 times more abundant on wild fish near farms holding smolts than in areas distant from salmon farms.

2004 - Regulating Salmon Aquaculture in BC—A Report Card
This colourful 75 page report by the Georgia Strait Alliance, includes a complete 22 page report summary, numerous revealing photographs, detailed assessments, tables and references. The 1.4 meg PDF file has internal linking for easy navigation.