Aboard the Martin Sheen: July 21, 2016
For immediate release
Yesterday’s publication of a new scientific paper brings further science to the measurable impact that salmon farming is having on wild salmon in BC. Alexandra Morton, one of the authors of the study, discovered a sea louse outbreak on juvenile wild salmon near the salmon farms in 2001. Since that time, she has been monitoring sea lice on juvenile wild salmon in Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw Territory, sometimes called the Broughton Archipelago.
The University of Toronto research paper identifies the failure to control sea lice on farmed salmon in the Broughton Archipelago in the spring of 2015 as a contributing factor to the sea louse outbreak that harmed or killed 40% of the young salmon leaving the rivers between Kingcome and Knights Inlet. In a “perfect storm” of rising seawater temperatures and failure by the salmon farming companies to remove sea lice on the farmed Atlantic salmon, all the progress to control sea lice over the past 15 years was lost.
“Sea louse outbreaks are the one impact of salmon farms that we thought we had fixed,” says Alexandra Morton. “Through enormous combined effort between government, First Nations, environmental organizations and myself, we put in place a limit on the number of sea lice allowed on farmed salmon during the juvenile wild salmon outmigration. This worked for seven years and now suddenly we are back to square one.”
Salmon farmers are supposed to treat farm salmon for sea lice with 15 days of exceeding the allowable number of sea lice per fish. The researchers were surprised to see that some of the farms don’t appear to be following their licence conditions. This contributed to the outbreak that cost local First Nations up to 40% of the wild salmon that left their territory in the spring of 2015.
Morton is currently aboard the Sea Shepherd research vessel Martin Sheen participating in Operation Virus Hunter, tracking farm salmon viruses and auditing the salmon farms along Canada’s biggest wild salmon migration route.
“The failure of the salmon farming industry to operate in a manner that does not kill wild salmon and the failure of government to protect wild salmon from salmon farms is why I, as a scientist, am on the Martin Sheen.”
Follow the expedition at www.voyageforsalmon.ca
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A summary of the research paper can be found at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160720122842.htm#.V4_btsK664Y.facebook
For further information on this research paper, Operation Virus Hunter or to join Morton on board the Martin Sheen, contact:
Alexandra Morton
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If Ms. Morton cannot be reached (she will be out of cell phone range for some periods), contact:
Judith Cullington
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Or:
Rita Fromholt
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