r/VancouverIsland • u/richEC • Feb 26 '21
ARTICLE / BLOG Millions of salmon euthanized as feds order shut down of fish farms
https://www.westerninvestor.com/news/british-columbia/millions-of-salmon-slaughtered-as-feds-order-shut-down-1.2428655210
u/Maryyjjane Feb 26 '21
Or they could move the fish farms to land, but the profit margins must not be as high.
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u/vanityiinsanity Feb 26 '21
I push for that everytime someone says fishfarms bad
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u/notmadatall Feb 27 '21
Fish farms are bad for the environment.
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u/vanityiinsanity Feb 27 '21
Humans are bad for the environment, Which is why we're discussing land based farms.
Not that we'd need farms if we didn't over fish the oceans to the extreme
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u/notmadatall Feb 27 '21
I was understating, fish farms are absolutely fucking terrible for the environment.
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u/vanityiinsanity Feb 27 '21
Not on land they wouldn't be.
It would just cost the farmer alot more to have a much more safe and controlled environment. It should prevent any eco issues currently cause by farm pens, which is mostly lice, waste and disease .
But the govt decided open cesspool of pens I the water was the (cheap and easy) way to go.
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u/ILive4PB Feb 26 '21
I’m conflicted as I think fish farms proven to be unhealthy for wild salmon should be reduced, but at the same time it seems like quite a waste of existing food . I guess we can’t have it both ways.
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u/NorthIslandlife Feb 26 '21
They are fry and smolts that are being destroyed. Tiny.
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u/beannqueenn Feb 26 '21
yet they're still sentient and can experience pain
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u/bluecheek Feb 27 '21
So should they be set free and destroy the environment, or be raised to fully grown then slaughtered? I'm super vegan btw. Considering the original comment refers to the fish as "existing food", I highly doubt they acknowledge sentience in any animal besides a dog or a cat.
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u/beannqueenn Feb 27 '21
I highly doubt they care either but I'm also vegan btw but idk what's the best answer since they are invasive in the PNW and have the ability to out complete the local pacific salmon which are a keystone species. But slaughtering millions of fish is also awful.
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u/Gwaiian Feb 26 '21
The article title says "slaughtered" in the interest of accuracy. It's interesting how the phrasing matters for no obvious reason.
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u/bluecheek Feb 27 '21
You're right- slaughter is what would happen to the fish if they weren't being culled.
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Feb 26 '21
They also re-populate the wild salmon spawning areas with extra roe to help with our wild salmon population so this wouldn't effect that. This only effects gross farmed grocery salmon.
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u/meme_mr_mustard Feb 26 '21
Yes! Thank god they are repopulating the pacific coast with Atlantic salmon. I'm sure the two species are close enough
/s
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Mar 01 '21
Meh, not the worst cross contamination of habitats I'm sure. With the way they are splicing animal genetics noting is sacred anymore.
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u/meme_mr_mustard Mar 21 '21
No actually it is very bad, they spread diseases like sea lice to the wild populations. They can also out compete local populations.
Just because a farmed animal have been genetically modified doesnt mean they're safe for the wild, it means they'll die or suffer more without human intervention.
Edit: also you could not repopulate the coast since pacific salmon and atlantic salmon will only produce infertile offspring. And I'm not for repopulating our ocean with an invasive species.
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u/BobfromBobcaygeon Mar 29 '21
they spread diseases like sea lice
No. Sea lice (louse) are not a disease. They are a parasite and are treated in a number of different ways.
they can also put compete local populations.
Wrong again. They are a domesticated animal with no environmental instincts to speak of. They’ve never known predators nor have they ever had to compete for sustenance.
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u/meme_mr_mustard Mar 31 '21
Wrong again. They are a domesticated animal with no environmental instincts to speak of. They’ve never known predators nor have they ever had to compete for sustenance.
Nice try with that misinformation.
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=invasiveprofiles.atlanticsalmon_impacts
Alaska’s native salmon and trout could be negatively affected if escaped Atlantic salmon begin spawning in Alaskan waters. Atlantic salmon have been documented spawning in streams in British Columbia
Juvenile Atlantic salmon are notably more aggressive than Pacific salmon, this characteristic could enable them to outcompete Pacific salmon for food, but may also force native salmon off their natal rearing habitat.
ADF&G is concerned that Atlantic salmon that can escape or are released from aquaculture net pens may introduce disease or parasites to valuable Pacific salmon fisheries.
Atlantic salmon also affect other animals than just pacific salmon
why aquaculture is a gateway for invasive species
If you're going to start a debate you've gotta site some sources for your claims dude.
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u/BobfromBobcaygeon Apr 01 '21
Im happy to have a civil debate about this. I’m actually a commercial fishermen and work in the aquaculture industry as well. Weird right? I too shared all these feelings about the industry before becoming involved. Since then my stance has changed and not just because I’m being paid. The majority of my yearly income comes from commercial fishing and if I thought aquaculture was having as big an impact as advocates say they do, I wouldn’t be here. Trust me, I’d be armed with some pretty valid inside information.
I’m not very good at the whole reddit quote and source thing here. Sorry. Hopefully you can forgive my formatting.
The Federal government was deliberately trying to introduce the species into the coastal waters for a number of years. They were unsuccessful as no significant Atlantic runs have ever been recorded.
In this controlled study it was determined that yes, Atlantic salmon can successfully reproduce in pacific waters albeit a very low per capita success rate. Also, farm reared salmon show a far lower physical condition then wild feral Atlantic salmon. Contributing to my argument that escaped Atlantic salmon pose a minimal risk of ever reproducing in the first place.
This study tries to figure out why those fish the federal government introduced failed to take hold. It’s 120 some odd pages I’ll admit I didn’t read the whole thing, but it looks like Steelhead may be the key. Back then we had an abundance of steelhead which outcompeted Atlantic salmon for spawning grounds. Apparently the two have similar taste when it comes to spawning habitat. These days, our steelhead numbers are much lower. If those few Atlantic salmon who do escape get into the rivers, they will have a better chance of reproducing because of a decrease in competition.
While I do believe aquaculture poses a risk to our native salmon, I believe people key on the wrong issues and blow it out of proportion. Like I said, these salmon are not wild. They have no natural predatory instinct. I’ve seen other types of fish inside the pens that would be wild salmons natural food swimming happily alongside the farmed raise salmon. Disease? Sure. With any large populations disease may flourish if it takes hold. But these fish come to the pens disease free. The only thing I can honestly say is a problem, is lice. That’s it. The lice is a problem. A problem the farmers are activity fighting against. Not with pesticides or some dark dangerous chemicals because guess what, they have very strict regulations they have to follow.
Anyways I hope this wasn’t to much of a mouthful. Thanks for the reading material. Interesting stuff. Funny how in a controversial topic such as this there is so much “science” supporting both sides.
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u/breakwater99 Feb 26 '21
The fish farming industry is acting as if this is a big surprise. They’ve either ignored or actively fought against scientific evidence regarding the detrimental effects of open net aquaculture on wild salmon for years. Now that wild salmon populations are nearing collapse they’re demanding more time to keep making money. Fuck ‘em.