Tag Archives: Broughton sea lice 2020

Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

The BC Salmon Farmers Association new ‘independent’ sea lice report 

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The BC Salmon Farmers Association has just released what they claim is an independent study of ‘Sea lice in the Discovery Islands.’ 

Their study is filled with terms like – “independent data,” “independently collected data,” “independent professional biological consultants,” “independently collected and analyzed scientific data,” “independent monitoring,” “independent sampling,” and “independent biologists” – but does not say who actually did the research. 

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Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

Fish farms underreport sea lice when not being audited, study says

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“Our results suggest that sea-louse counts reported by the salmon farming industry are lower than the true abundance of parasites on their fish. When the federal government audited a sea-louse count, the industry’s mean counts for that month increased by a factor of 1.18 for L. salmonis and by 1.95 for C. clemensi.” – Sean Godwin et al, Bias in self-reported parasite data from the salmon farming industry.

Dr Sean Godwin is the lead author of eight of the fifteen scientific papers listed on his website. The bulk of these explore interactions between wild and farmed salmon. One of the most troubling, published in the journal Ecological Application, is a survey that showed fish farms underreport sea lice when they are not audited by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

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Rivers & Oceans

Aquaculture sectors response to sea lice numbers from Discovery Islands

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The aquaculture sector’s response to Alexandra Morton’s report that there were low sea lice counts in the Discovery Islands arrived yesterday.

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Rivers & Oceans

Sea lice numbers plummeted 95% in Discovery Islands, scientist says

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Now that most of the fish farms in the Discovery Islands have closed down, sea lice numbers may have plummeted as much as 95%.

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Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

Closing down the Discovery Islands Salmon Farms

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The licenses for 19 salmon farms in the Discovery lslands expired today.  Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is reissuing licenses for 18 months, during which time “no new fish of any size may be introduced into Discovery Islands.” “Fish at the sites can complete their growth-cycle and be harvested,” but “all farms be free of fish by June 30th, 2022.”

The Minister added, “The federal government will continue working collaboratively with partners on the responsible transition from open-net pen salmon farming in coastal British Columbia waters by 2025.” 

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