BC salmon farms are temporarily off the hook after a Federal Court judge suspended a ban on restocking a trio of fish farms in British Columbia’s Discovery Islands..The ban would cause Mowi Canada West and Saltstream irreparable harm if they were unable to restock farms located at Doctor Bay, Phillips Arm and off Hardwicke Island, Justice Peter George Pamel said in his April 5 decision..The suspension is in response to Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan’s announcement in December that nearly 20 fish farms in the area off norther Vancouver Island’s east coast would be phased out by summer 2022 and no new fish could be transferred to the farms in the interim..That resulted in a February cull by Mowi when nearly one million year-and-a-half old juvenile salmon from its Discovery Islands were destroyed..Experts said those salmon represented about three million meals, and instead became fertilizer..At the time, head veterinarian Terra MacDonald, in charge of the cull, said she was not pleased..“These fish are healthy, they have good welfare, they’re not carrying a disease and so to see them have to be euthanized is really difficult,” she said..“I’m not generally in the business of killing healthy fish.”.Pamel’s decision noted fish farms say the transfer of fish is an essential part of operations, and they would remove the fish when their licences expire, pending a proposed judicial review of the decision..Pamel also noted the consequences for local communities eclipse any evidence he heard on the environmental impacts of fish farming. Fisheries Department investigations found the farms pose “no more than a minimal risk” to wild salmon stocks..“The harm to Mowi and Saltstream, as well as their employees, their families and other businesses in the community, in particular First Nations businesses, will be real and substantial if the injunction is not granted,” Pamel said in his decision..Farmed salmon are raised in freshwater hatcheries, then, after a year, are transferred to open-net nurseries, and then are transferred again to other open-net pen site until they reach harvest size..Evidence at the hearing included Mowi asserting it would suffer financially — to the tune of about $26 million — be forced to lay off close to 80 employees and cancel local contracts if it was forced to cull 1.18 million salmon smolts instead of transferring them to the Discovery Island farms..BC open net fish farms have long been a contentious issue in the province..Among the claims are the farms are injurious to wild stocks, cause disease and are an environmental blight..However, the main opposition to open-net salmon farms is the worry they transmit sea lice and viruses to wild salmon..The industry has has worked hard to improve its management of sea lice outbreaks, and at the end of September, Fisheries and Oceans Canada released findings of several scientific studies of nine pathogens, including the piscine orthoreovirus, and concluded that they pose “minimal risk” to wild salmon. .The Cohen Commission — established In 2009 to conduct an inquiry into the decline of sockeye salmon in the Fraser River — concurred, saying, in part: “Late last year the DFO assessed all scientific research done in the decade since and concluded the pathogens found on farms pose no more than a minimal risk … the science indicated salmon farms are not harming wild salmon populations.”.Jordan’s order to phase out fish farms in the Discovery Islands affects about 30 per cent of Mowi Canada’s operation in B.C., and would have a financial impact of close to $200 million. Saltstream, a smaller operation that has a lone salmon farm in the area, would also be affected..Fast facts:.• 24 per cent of B.C.’s salmon farming sector — where 600 workers produce 45,000 tonnes of sustainable farm-raised Atlantic salmon each year — could be shut down;.• That means 1,535 BC jobs are lost;.• Gone too is $21.5 million in annual tax revenue;.• As many as 10.7 million salmon would have to be euthanized;.• 267 suppliers of goods and services — representing $20.47 million in trade — will be affected..Mike D’Amour is the British Columbia Bureau Chief for the Western Standard..,.mdamour@westernstandardonline.com
