The province’s salmon farmers have released thousands of pages of information about fish health in an effort to clear the industry of any culpability associated with the death of Fraser River salmon stocks.
BC Salmon Farmers Association executive director Mary Ellen Walling said the “robust” data set should help the public understand the “good” management practices at the province’s coastal fish farms.
“There is nothing to connect the health of our farmed fish to the challenges faced by Fraser River sockeye,” said Walling.
The data was handed over to the Cohen Commission of Inquiry last week, which resumed evidentiary hearings earlier this month into the decline of Fraser River sockeye stocks.
Environmental groups and anti-fish-farming activists have long contended that sea lice associated with the farms have negatively affected the health of B.C. salmon.
Although the fish farmers maintain that accusation is untrue, Walling did warn that the release of the information poses some risk for farmers given that campaigners could use it to “undermine” the industry.
The provincial government opposed the release of the data.
“We appreciate the province’s concern – but feel that in the interest of our industry’s goals of transparency, we needed to support this release.”
Last week, a leading Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientist testified that B.C. fish farmers had agreed to have their stocks tested for a mystery virus that could be linked with the decline in salmon stocks. (See “Aquaculture to search for salmon virus” – BIV Business Today, August 26.)
Joel McKay
Twitter:jmckaybiv