Sea Lice AND Salmon - Farmed And Dangerous

The government’s pink salmon corridor calledfor fallowing 11 farms during the springmigration of pink salmon juveniles that beginsat Thompson Sound, passes through TribuneChannel, Fife Sound, and reaches into QueenCharlotte Strait. [101] However, Tribune channelsplits into two arms at Gilford Island, the northarm of which continues under the same nameand the south arm of which goes around thesouth of Gilford Island, and into Knight Inlet.Pink salmon smolts use both arms. [72] Fallowingonly the north arm was a practical compromisebetween economics and biological effectiveness.Likewise, the government selectedonly 16 farms for routine sea lice monitoring,to be conducted every two to four weeks fromJanuary to March. The farms conducted thereported counts themselves and reported onlyto the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food andFisheries (MAFF). [102] Proper statistical samplingprocedures seem not to have been used.A small number of farms was sampled, andthe data MAFF made public seem to confuselice load per fish with lice load per farm. Thenumber of fish sampled at each remainsunknown. In short, the data lack neededtransparency.In respect of its research and policy activities,MAFF sponsored a Science Forum at theUniversity of British Columbia in February2003. Eminent fisheries scientists from aroundthe world reviewed and discussed sea liceresearch priorities.As for the aim to improve communication,what the First Nations in the Broughton Archipelagoexperienced is instructive. Despiterepeatedly telling federal and provincial ministersthat they don’t want fish farms on theirtraditional territory largely because of thethreat to wild salmon, and despite provincialgovernment assurances that fish farms wouldbe removed from their territory, the GilfordIsland First Nations were not even told of aStolt Sea Farm application for a new fish farmnear Humphrey Rock. The provincial governmentapproved the Stolt application, andanother fish farm will soon appear in theBroughton Archipelago. [103]4. ARE THERE ANY OTHER PLANS FORDEALING WITH SEA LICE ON FARMS?The BC government is not the only agencyimplementing or recommending plans forcontrolling sea lice in the Broughton Archipelago.DFO, the Pacific Fisheries ResourceConservation Council (PFRCC), and gatheringsof academic and governmental scientists havealso addressed the problem.In 2003, DFO developed a $700,000 PinkSalmon Action Plan to determine exactly why2002’s pink salmon returns were so low. DFO’sfive key recommendations are that:■ A freshwater monitoring program beconducted in addition to DFO’s usualassessment of salmon stock abundance inthe Broughton Archipelago;■ A marine monitoring program determinewhere and how badly sea lice infect juvenilesalmon in the Broughton Archipelago, andidentify migration corridors more clearly;■ A strategic fallowing plan create a juvenilepink salmon migratory corridor;■ A long-term research plan, to set prioritiesfor research, be developed with input fromFirst Nations, environmental organizations,the aquaculture industry, academic institutions,and different levels of government;■ A public consultation process enable FirstNations, environmental organizations, theaquaculture industry, academic institutions,and different levels of government to discussscience, policy, and regulatory issues(both DFO and the provincial governmenthave agreed to co-chair a committee thatwill oversee this process).The PFRCC, an independent, governmentappointed advisory council, recommended that:■ The precautionary principle be applied morerigorously in the evaluation of risks;■ The aquaculture industry and governmentsundertake a wide-ranging research andmonitoring program on wild/farmed salmoninteraction, and develop better managementDFO appearsto be unwillingand unableto enforce theFisheries Act.Sea Lice and Salmon: Elevating the Dialogue19