Salmon Farming

Sointula and Campbell River - Preliminary results from the joint Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) and Marine Harvest Canada (MHC) sea lice monitoring program in the Broughton Archipelago indicate that sea lice levels in 2009 on juvenile pink and chum salmon migrating through the region are lower than in recent years.

VANCOUVER, SOINTULA, B.C. - Very quietly, with no announcement and no media release, the Government of British Columbia has just relinquished regulatory control of marine fin-fish aquaculture in B.C., handing over jurisdiction to the federal government. Living Oceans Society regards the Province’s abdication as an opportunity for significant change and progress on sustainable aquaculture. 



SOINTULA, B.C. – Just days after the Norwegian government reported a 380 percent increase in escapes from open net-cage fish farms over this time last year, Marine Harvest Canada has admitted to another mass escape of approximately 40,000 farmed salmon in the beleaguered Broughton Archipelago.

VANCOUVER – The federal government is facing a lawsuit for their failure to assess the environmental impacts of a proposed fish farm expansion that would create one of the biggest salmon farms in British Columbia. 

VANCOUVER – Facing the threat of a lawsuit from environmental groups, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has withdrawn its approval authorizing the expansion of the Doyle Island salmon farm near Port Hardy, B.C. The project, which sought to expand production at the facility by 37 percent, will now undergo an environmental assessment which will examine its impacts on wild salmon stocks and the health of the ocean. 

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Over 40 organizations from across Canada and the U.S. submitted a joint letter opposing the Canada General Standards Board (CGSB) proposed organic standards that allow antibiotic and chemical treatments of farmed fish. The signatories reflect a broad cross section of the scientific, conservation, consumer, and organic communities, and represent a collective membership of over one million people. The CGSB period for public comment closed yesterday and a revised draft of the standard will soon be released.

OTTAWA - Today in the House of Commons, New Democratic Party Fisheries and Oceans Critic Fin Donnelly tabled a motion asking for transparency and more study before genetically modified (GM) Atlantic salmon are approved for human consumption.

US company AquaBounty has genetically modified a faster growing Atlantic salmon by inserting a growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon and genetic material from ocean pout.

VANCOUVER – Today Living Oceans Society and the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) released a new report – Better than the Rest? A Resource Guide to Farmed Salmon Certifications. Largely written for retailers, this guide assesses the five eco-certifications on the market, two certifications in draft and the organic labels in use and in development for farmed salmon. Unfortunately all five eco-certifications fail to fully meet the requirements of credible standards.

VANCOUVER ─ A new open net-cage salmon farm proposed by Mainstream Canada near Plover Point in the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve seeks to more than triple the size of the farm it will replace. The company has been characterizing the farm as a “replacement” site for their Cormorant tenure. But after protracted delays, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has made existing B.C.

VANCOUVER--Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has posted the counts of marine mammals shot or drowned at active salmon farms in B.C. during the first quarter (Jan.-Mar.) of 2011. The numbers are shocking.