PoweredJust read an AP article (sorry - unable to post a link) about a "fish spill" off Cypress Island in the straight (near south end of Vancouver Isl.). About 200K farmed Atlantic salmon ready for harvest escaped when the fish pen net collapsed, and now both WA & BC are begging anglers to help nab 'em before they, possibly catastophically, interfere with native wild salmon runs. Anyone here ever land an Atlantic Salmon out there before this current situation? Could this really potentially be as bad as it sounds? Should BC & WA ban offshore aquaculture like Alaska already has?
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/oops-after-accidental-release-of-atlantic-salmon-fisherman-being-told-catch-as-many-as-you-want/
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/state-to-oversee-containment-of-farmed-fish/
My brother lives in Washington and sent me a link to this.
My first thought is why would they farm Atlantic Salmon on this side of the States? The second was Holey cow there are how many 8-10 pound fish swimming in the area.
There are no limits to the Atlantic salmon to be kept.
Interesting situation. All laws are still in force there the only exception is Atlantic Salmon are all to be kept. You must stop fishing once you limit out on Native species.
The more I learn the more I am disappointed in the power of money over the govt and laws that should be in place to protect people and the environment instead of corporations.
It is all perspective!
Acer Home Inspections
That sucks, but man I wish I was back home in WA right now..........
It absolutely needs to be banned! The biggest issue with these cesspool fish farms is their capacity for producing disease, particularly some kind of heart disease that can be transmitted to wild salmon. This disease causes the wild fish to have heart-attacks when they are running upstream to spawn, resulting in dead fish that never spawn out. The other big issue is the rampant breeding of sea lice which are deadly to salmon smolts.
And that's not even considering the human impact. Look on you-tube. There's plenty of footage showing just how unhealthy and deformed those farmed fish really are. I wouldn't eat it if you paid me.
The Natives have been farming sockeye and sturgeon in-land for decades without any issues. The Scandanavian companies are just trying to cut costs by farming right in the ocean...a practice that is no longer legal in Norway, etc. Canada should give them the boot in the not too distant future.
Eli
Yeah, Eli's right. It's time for that crap to be banned; our wild salmon resource is more important recreationally then a bunch of lazy fish farmers who could move their operations with relative ease.
I watched a really good documentary about this a couple of years ago, but I can't remember what it's called.
SomewhereDownstream
Yup, nasty shit. I only eat wild caught fish. Or at least what I think is wild caught. Sounds like I might have to do some research to be sure what I'm eating is legit. Farmed fish like channel catfish and tilapia are pure poison. I actually had no idea there was fish farms for salmon. But it doesn't suprise me one bit in this greedy, cut-throat world we live in.
If you are going to do Aquaculture, you should at least do it with fish native to the area. Hopefully the captive raised fish are too stupid to know how to defend themselves and a pod of Orca gets nice and fat.
Life list goals for 2023: Silver Redhorse, Greater Redhorse, and River Redhorse
After a bit of reading, it turns out that they farm a strain of Atlantic Salmon that have been bred to be more docile and to cope with crowded conditions. We don't deserve this planet.
Life list goals for 2023: Silver Redhorse, Greater Redhorse, and River Redhorse