CANADA FISH FARMS ENDANGER MARINE ENVIRONMENT

By Neville Judd

(ENS) � The Canadian government is reeling from two reports that criticize fish farming. EVS Environment Consultants of Vancouver examined more than 200 Canadian and international studies and found cases of high levels of drug residues in wild fish and shellfish collected near marine fish farms, including levels that exceeded acceptable levels for human consumption. �This means that fish and shellfish taken near these salmon farms posed a threat to the health of those who ate them,� the reports said, �But it also states unequivocally that not enough research is being conducted to quantify these effects on wild stocks,� added a spokesman. In another report, auditor general Denis Desautels concluded that the federal government is not protecting the wild salmon population from farmed fish and that a full environmental assessment of the industry is needed.

Aquaculture is the fastest growing sector of the world food economy and is increasing by 11 percent a year.

Three of the world�s largest salmon farming companies operate in British Columbia, where 17 companies manage 105 salmon farms. In 1999, these salmon farms contributed US$448 million to the provincial economy. Each farm typically consists of a series of open mesh net cages suspended from anchored metal cage frames. Seawater passes freely through the cages. In B.C. waters the aquaculture industry prefers to farm Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), because it grows faster and tolerates higher stocking densities. Critics say wild fish populations are at risk from the farming of non-native species that are fed a diet of fish protein, antibiotics and other drugs. The main risks include the spread of disease and competition for habitat from escaped farm fish, as well as alteration of the wild salmon gene pool. Between 1991 and 1999, more than 345,000 farmed Atlantic salmon escaped from B.C. salmon farms, because of net failures or tears. The David Suzuki Foundation [www.davidsuzuki.org], a Canadian environmental group that acquired the government report, is incensed that Canada continues to promote the salmon farming industry despite the findings of the two reports.