Activists distort data to attack B.C. salmon farmers
Years of continuous data collection near salmon farms show a pattern of exaggeration by anti-fish farming activists.
By Fabian Dawson
SeaWestNews
Anti-fish farming activists have long weaponized misconceptions to vilify salmon aquaculture, and the recent high returns of wild salmon in some British Columbia rivers have become another tool in their arsenal.
By oversimplifying complex ecological dynamics, they perpetuate the myth that “when salmon farms are removed, sea lice numbers drop, and wild salmon populations numbers rise.”
Years of continuous data collection on sea lice and wild stocks near salmon farms shows this isn’t true, said the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association.
In the Broughton Archipelago, where salmon farms were removed under a phased withdrawal between 2019 and 2023, newly released data points to the activists twisting the facts to fit their agenda.
The 2024 data from the Broughton Archipelago wild juvenile salmonoid monitoring program illustrates that salmon farms do not drive sea lice levels on wild salmon, as the variability in the percentage of sea lice on wild Pacific salmon remains unchanged, despite the removal of salmon farms in the area.
Additional data from the Salmon Coast Research Station, released this week, found “the number of {salmon lice} per fish remained relatively the same between 2023 and 2024, going from 0.0584 to 0.0658.”
A 2023 Science Response from the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) and long-term data collected by registered professional biologists have also concluded that sea lice on farm-raised salmon do not impact sea lice levels on wild juvenile salmon in B.C.
Sea lice are naturally occurring parasites found on many species of marine fish and they pose no risk to humans.
Studies have shown that in B.C., regardless of the presence or absence of salmon farms, there is wide variability in sea lice prevalence in coastal locations.
Farm-raised salmon are free of sea lice when they are entered into the ocean, but during the migration season adult wild salmon may pass sea lice to farm-raised salmon.
The new data, highlighting a persistent trend of exaggeration by anti-fish farming activists, mirrors a recent comprehensive literature review that challenges claims about the significant impact of sea lice from fish farms on wild salmon populations.
The study, published in the journal Reviews in Aquaculture, examined the regulatory management of salmon farming in Norway and found no measurable impact of sea lice infections from farms on wild salmon.
“This is an important finding, as it aligns with the research and data we are seeing on sea lice in Canada,” said Simon Jones, Emeritus Scientist of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and co-author of the published review.
“The highly variable relationship between lice levels on wild salmon and salmon aquaculture in B.C. indicates the need for a greater understanding of all factors affecting the survival of wild salmon,” he said.
The data distortion by the activists comes as the Federal Liberal government, yielding to activist pressures to get votes, advances a transition plan for ocean-based salmon farms in B.C.
“The activists’ rhetoric is meant to muddy the transition process, scapegoat salmon farmers and ignore variables such as ocean temperature, overfishing, and habitat degradation, which have a far greater impact on wild salmon health and numbers,” said an industry observer.
“The new data also shows that modern salmon farming operations employing stringent sea lice management practices have significantly mitigated the risk of lice transmission to wild fish,” he said.
In a statement today, the BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) said its members continue to rely on the most up-to-date science, from experts in Canada and around the world, as they move through the ongoing transition process with the Federal government.
“As every salmon raised in B.C. is raised in partnership with First Nation rightsholders, traditional ecological knowledge also plays in a key role in how modern salmon farms operate today,” said BCSFA.
“By bringing both of these scientific approaches together in our operations, the salmon farming sector in B.C. can continue to bring positive impacts to rural coastal communities, provincial and national economies and food security for all Canadians.”
(File image of a salmon smolt)