Press Clips

Salmon Farming May Doom Wild Populations, Study Says

admin — 2007-12-04T00:20:02Z

Intensive farming of salmon for American dinner plates is threatening some wild salmon populations with imminent extinction, according to the most detailed study ever done of the contentious issue. The report comes as the federal government and the aquaculture industry are pushing hard for a major expansion of fish farming in coastal areas.

The new research found a direct connection between the rapid growth of fish farming in the waters of the Broughton Archipelago off British Columbia and the abrupt decline of the region's wild pink salmon. What linked the two, the researchers found, were widespread infestations in the open-net salmon pens by sea lice. Older salmon easily tolerate the parasite, but young ones migrating through the same waters do not.

"These young salmon wouldn't be dying if it wasn't for the salmon farms and all those sea lice," said lead author Martin Krkosek, a fisheries ecologist at the University of Alberta. "The wild population is dropping so fast that there isn't much time left to act."

With Americans' increasing appetite for fresh salmon, and with the farmed variety making up almost three-quarters of all salmon served, the finding is an unwelcome guest at the feast. Salmon farms have been suspected in the declines of wild salmon for some time, but the study published online yesterday by the journal Science is seen by some as the strongest evidence so far of a significant connection.

"This is the broadest look so far at the effects on a total population" of salmon farms, said Andrew Rosenberg, a former deputy director at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and an expert in the field.

"We're not talking about being mean to some individual fish; we're talking about a possible extinction within the next few years" of an important local population of pink salmon, he said.

The study comes at an awkward time for aquaculture advocates, including NOAA, who drafted the National Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2007 now pending in Congress. The bill would set up procedures to streamline and regulate a major expansion of fish farming.

Advocates argue that with the demand for fish -- especially salmon and other nutritious species -- expanding quickly, aquaculture is the only way to respond. Advocates also say that American aquaculture is far behind that of many other nations. Eighty percent of seafood for consumption in the United States, and two-thirds of the salmon, is imported, and much of it is farmed.

Kevin Amos, aquatic health coordinator for NOAA's Marine Fisheries Service, said the conclusions of the new study are unwarranted and unsupported. He said pink salmon runs vary greatly from year to year and are affected by many factors, including the salinity of rivers, the number of predators present and the extent of fishing in the area.

"We have to consider all things when establishing a cause and effect in aquaculture, and in this case the authors did not do that," Amos said.

The researchers collected Canadian records dating back to 1970 on the numbers of adult wild salmon returning from the ocean to British Columbia's rivers each year. The count included 14 populations that were exposed to salmon farms and 128 that were not.

They found that populations in the areas with many salmon farms were collapsing, while those in areas without farms were not. In addition, researchers found that when salmon farms were temporarily closed or allowed to lie fallow, the wild salmon populations from those rivers rebounded and sea lice infestations declined.

The paper's findings have implications beyond the Broughton Archipelago, where juvenile salmon have to swim past a nearly 50-mile string of fish farms before they reach the open ocean.

With lucrative fish farming now widespread in Atlantic Canada and along the coast of Maine, northern Europe and Chile, the industry has become increasingly controversial. Sea lice is the problem off British Columbia and in some areas of northern Europe, but a dispute over infectious salmon anemia is the central issue off the Maine and Canadian Atlantic coast. The escape of penned salmon is a key problem in Chile, where salmon are an aggressive, invasive species.

As the world's population expands, authorities in the United States and abroad have promoted aquaculture as a way to sustain current levels of fish consumption. Last month, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization issued a statement suggesting the global seafood supply will have to increase by 37 million metric tons to satisfy demand, and much of the seafood will have to be farmed.

Sea lice are naturally occurring parasites that attach themselves to wild salmon in the open ocean and feed on skin and muscle tissue. They thrive in open-net salmon farms because the fish are crowded together. Adult salmon living far offshore can cope with the lice, but wild juveniles heading to sea are vulnerable because they are small and thin-skinned.

Daniel Pauly, who directs the University of British Columbia's fisheries center but was not involved in the study, said in an interview that he went into the archipelago a few years ago and collected 20 to 30 juvenile pink salmon, all of which were infected.

"It was like 'Alien,' " he recalled, referring to the movie in which an alien life form invades its victims' bodies before killing them. "They were destined to die."

Critics of current aquaculture practices in coastal areas generally propose two possible remedies: Building enclosed holding tanks that would contain diseases, parasites and escaping fish; and placing open-net farms much farther out to sea. Both alternatives are being studied, but officials say they would increase costs.

Oil spill inevitable, islanders hear

admin — 2008-01-08T07:25:36Z

Speaking at the meeting organized by the Living Oceans Society, Dr. Rick Steiner of the University of Alaska described the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989, and the economic, environmental and social consequences still affecting coastal Alaska 19-years later.
"The same thing could happen here, I'm afraid on the convoluted coast of British Columbia," said Dr. Steiner.

The Exxon Valdez hit a reef, causing it to spill more than 250,000 barrels of crude that spread to cover 1,900 km of coastline. Hundreds of thousands of marine birds, hundreds of sea otters, seals and sea lions, countless herring and salmon and 23-25 killer whales died. "It cost $2-billion in clean-up and maybe 7-percent of what spilled was recovered."

Many islanders believe there's a 35-year old federal moratorium keeping oil tankers out of Hecate Strait, but says Oonagh O'Connor of the Living Oceans Society, 10 oil tankers carrying condensate (a light oil that is highly flammable) have already passed through the Hecate and gone to Kitimat since 2006.

"The last eight Prime Ministers have supported the oil moratorium but Prime Minister Harper says condensate is not an oil and allows the tankers to come through," said Ms O'Connor. The material is transferred onto rail cars in Kitimat and taken to Alberta.

Ms O'Connor brought a computer model to demonstrate what would happen if there was an oil spill in the Hecate. The model uses data from Ottawa's Institute of Ocean Sciences on currents, winds, tidal and solar influences to illustrate where oil would move from four accident sites. In the animation, it spreads like a black cloud across the Hecate, along Haida Gwaii shorelines, covering valuable fish, marine bird and mammal habitats. In one of the scenarios, a spill occurs on Grenville Rock at the north-end of the Hecate and within 12 days, oil covers the Rose Spit shoreline and spreads north and south. (See the model at www.livingoceans.org).

Ms O'Connor encouraged islanders to develop a dialogue with government. "The Prime Minister says there's no moratorium only a voluntary exclusion zone. Nobody in the communities knew of this change...it is necessary to have consultations," she said.

Both speakers said once a spill happens, it could take several days before response teams reach it.

"There are only two tugs.to rescue a disabled tanker, and they are both based in the Seattle area," said Ms O'Connor.

At Coast Guard stations along the coast, there are booms, skimmers and clean-up equipment ready to respond. "But it needs ideal weather to clean-up the oil...a one knot wind would cause the boom to fail," Ms O'Connor said.

Despite poor recovery rates, Dr Steiner and Ms O'Connor say governments and communities need to put in spill response systems.

People at the meetings asked what could be done to prevent spills. Dr Steiner said a coastal Vessel Traffic System, better radar, keeping pilots onboard until well out in the ocean, better built vessels, weather restrictions on vessels moving into sensitive waters, alcohol and drug testing on crews would help but the risk of an accident would still be there. "There still will be human error...," he said.

In Alaska, ".decades later, there is still social and cultural disruption to native communities...we are finding oil markers in the blood chemistry of otters and other mammals," said Dr Steiner. "In beach substrates in Prince William Sound, oil is still there at 2-3m depth." He said the native communities in Alaska call the Exxon Valdez oil spill "The Day The Water Died."

The group was scheduled to make a presentation in Masset Tuesday evening.

How Carole Taylor can go green

admin — 2008-01-08T07:10:17Z

'It's not easy bein' green," sings Kermit the Frog, the Muppet stitched together from a discarded ladies' coat that puppeteer Jim Hensen fished out of the trash.

B.C. Finance Minister Carole Taylor, also a commendable fan of recycled attire when it comes to appropriate footwear for delivering provincial budgets, is probably singin' right along with Kermit this fall.

As she prepares the Liberals' much-anticipated 2008 climate-friendly budget, Taylor has the difficult task of harmonizing her government's stated intention to deliver a green budget with provincial policies that produce significant greenhouse gas emissions.
To meet Premier Gordon Campbell's goal of slashing B.C.'s greenhouse gas emissions 33 per cent by 2020, here is what the budget must contain to make sure we don't all end up singing the climate change blues. If the Liberals are finding the switch to green a bit challenging, they can always take a stanza from Kermit as he croons, "Green can be cool and friendly-like."

A carbon tax: Mention the word "tax" to most people and you'll often get a rant about how much the government skims from their paycheques. The carbon tax we're talking about, however, is revenue neutral. In other words, it won't add any money to government coffers and should even leave you with more money in your pocket. Here's how a carbon tax works.

A tax is placed on the use of all fossil fuels -- oil, gas, coal -- according to the amount of greenhouse gases they emit. The prices of goods and services, including the direct purchase of fossil fuels, will shift to reflect their contribution to global warming. Let's say you are trying to decide whether to continue heating your home with oil or to install an energy-efficient heat pump. The carbon tax might be the incentive you need to switch to a heat pump.

The goal is to foster carbon-friendly lifestyles, not to increase the total tax burden on British Columbians. To offset the carbon tax, provincial sales tax or income taxes would be reduced (with more of the return going to lower- and no-income tax brackets). If you choose goods and services that create fewer greenhouse gas emissions, the carbon tax could leave your bank account a little heftier. Notably, carbon taxes are already in place in Quebec, Norway, Finland, Holland, Denmark, Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy.

Legacy fund: Fossil fuel royalties generate an impressive $1.8 billion a year for B.C. coffers. Yet B.C. is one of the few oil-and-gas-producing jurisdictions that does not allocate a portion of fossil fuel revenues to a "rainy day fund" to use when the fossil fuel gold rush is over. Nor do we set aside any fossil fuel royalties for economic diversification or renewable energy initiatives. Alberta puts money from oil and gas revenues into a Heritage Fund. Alaska sets aside 25 per cent of its oil and gas revenues into its Permanent Fund, valued at almost $39 billion US. Chad, in central Africa, directs 10 per cent of its petroleum revenue into a "future generations fund."

B.C. oil and gas royalties must be channelled into a "Climate Solutions Legacy Fund." Half of the fund's revenues should be set aside for a "rainy day;" the other half should go toward climate change solutions, especially the transition to renewable energy sources. The 2008 budget should ensure that a minimum of 10 per cent of oil and gas revenues go into the fund, with that number increasing over time. The budget should also start to eliminate the more than $250 million in subsidies given to some of the most profitable companies on earth to drill for increasingly valuable fossil fuels.

Transit/transportation: At a whopping 40 per cent, transportation is B.C.'s biggest greenhouse gas emitter. B.C.'s 2008 budget must include funding to develop a 40-year vision for transportation -- one that will achieve more than a 90 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from light and heavy vehicles combined. This strategy should include significant transit system upgrades and development (particularly in the Lower Mainland), promotion of technologies such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and changes in land use regulation to encourage more compact and climate-friendly communities.

We also need tools and mechanisms to shift the lump-sum costs of driving, such as insurance, to variable costs linked to mileage. These might include Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD) vehicle insurance, otherwise known as distance-based insurance. In Houston, Texas, a new PAYD insurance scheme saved low-mileage drivers up to 20 per cent in insurance costs.
Biodiversity adaptation plan: We must make sure B.C.'s ecosystems and wildlife are resilient in the face of climate change. The budget should fund a range of biodiversity measures, including a climate change adaptation strategy, increased protection and connectivity for land and seascapes, and public education.

The provincial government is accepting budget submissions until Friday at www.leg.bc.ca/budgetconsultation. Kermit's book was titled, One Frog Can Make a Difference -- and so can you. Green might not be easy, but that's what most British Columbians want our province to be.

Government setting aside land for caribou

admin — 2008-01-08T07:34:14Z

More than two million hectares of land in the B.C. Interior will be off-limits to logging and road-building as part of a plan to restore the mountain caribou herd to its former glory, the government announced Tuesday.

Since 1995, the number of mountain caribou has dropped from 2,500 to 1,900, Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell told a news conference in Victoria. The government has been working with conservationists, recreational users of the land and the forest industry since 2004 on a plan to reverse the trend.

"We are working together in this historic collaborative approach to implement a balanced and effective plan that will succeed in recovering mountain caribou in this province to sustainable numbers," Bell said in a news release.

The main thrust of the plan is to set aside an additional 380,000 hectares of protected forest within the mountain caribou range, bringing the total area protected to 2.2 million hectares.

The plan also calls for managing human recreational activities in the area to ensure critical habitat areas are protected, and to manage predator populations of wolf and cougar that are contributing to the demise of the caribou.

The government will provide $1 million per year for three years to support adaptive management plans.

The announcement is good news for conservationists, but it is just a first step, said Candace Batycki, a director with Forest Ethics.

"There's 21 endangered species that share these forests with the mountain caribou, and the environmental community in British Columbia has been calling for over a year now for one strong law to protect endangered species habitat in this province," said Batycki, who joined Bell for the announcement.

B.C. funds study on using region's sewage for energy

admin — 2008-01-08T06:58:22Z

The B.C. government has launched a unique study to see whether a flush of your toilet could one day produce useable fuel, power and clean water.

The $100,000 project is believed to be one of the most comprehensive government reports on the benefits of recovering resources -- such as heat, biogas, electricity and water -- from human waste during the sewage treatment process.

"In order to deal with climate-change issues, and possible new technologies, we should look at possibilities for things such as water reuse, energy and heat recovery," said Ida Chong, minister of community services, which has commissioned the study. "If we were to recapture gas, we could resell or reuse energy. We could save future costs of payments or expenditures of energy."

Although disgusting, raw sewage can contain a wealth of resources. San Diego uses secondary sewage treatment and disinfection to extract irrigation-quality water that is sold to commercial businesses such as golf courses. Sweden mixes organic kitchen waste with sewage sludge and processes the resulting biogas to power municipal buses and private vehicles. Sweden also uses heat pumps to extract heat from warm waste for district heating in apartment radiators. And numerous treatment plants across North America, including in Vancouver, recover gas to partially power internal generators. Currently, Nanaimo is spending $6.8 million to upgrade its treatment plants to recover biogas.

B.C.'s study is being done with the participation of the Capital Regional District, which last year embarked on an ambitious -- and some argue expensive -- plan to build sewage treatment plants in Greater Victoria.

The plants will cost about $1.2 billion to build and treat the 129 million litres of raw waste currently discharged into the ocean every day through two underwater outfall pipes. The provincial and federal governments have agreed to cover two-thirds of the cost, with local municipalities covering the rest.

The costs do not include any resource-recovery technology, although it sets up some plants to be expanded for such things as water and energy recovery in the future.

"It wasn't just about the CRD, but it will also be helpful in the future for other projects we fund across the province," Chong said of the study.

Although advocates argue resource recovery can help pay for itself in the long run, the technology is often new and expensive.

The government's report will be a "high-level study" that particularly looks at the feasibility and economics of investing in resource recovery, said Dwayne

Kalynchuk, CRD general manager of environmental services. "Then based on that, we'll have to drill down and say what are our specific opportunities in the capital region," he said.

The CRD had planned to conduct its own study. However, it voted last week to help the provincial project and use those results instead. The report should be finished in mid-October.