download - Wavelength Paddling Magazine

SPECIAL REPORT:Failure to ProtectOn June 5th a fishing lodge owner andkeen observer of fish brought me twotiny salmon, a pink and a chum. One had16 small sea lice sucking its life juices away,the other 19. They looked like pincushions.I knew from my research on salmon farmingthat infestations are one of the industry’smost indelible signatures. And I wasworried. After the Department of Fisheriesand Oceans was contacted, I began systematicallydipping up juvenile salmon smoltsand examining them for lice. These salmonwere on their way to sea and no time couldbe wasted waiting for DFO to act or theevidence would be gone.I started at the Ahta River in Bond Sound,a good producer of pink salmon. In BondSound I found large, 7cm smolts that werefat, slick and sassy. There was an occasionalsea louse on them for an average of 2.7 perfish. Their sides were clean and bright,sheathed in a glistening protective mucousmembrane.When I left the Sound, turned west in thedirection the migrating salmon were goingand sampled Miller Point out in TribuneChannel, I found 6.58 lice per fish, but theywere still looking clean and bright. Next Isampled behind the first fish farm on thisroute at Watson Cove.Looking at each tiny fish under a magnifyingglass, my heart broke. The averageload of lice was 10.77 per fish with somecovered in 65 lice! In addition, they hadraw open wounds, teeth rake marks downtheir sides, black dents where lice had eatenthrough their sides. It appeared that the wildsalmon had not only been attacked by lice,but also by fish. Likely this was due to theuse of the fish farms’ bright lights at nightPhoto by Alexandra Mortonattracting them into lethal, unnaturalaggregations of aggressive farm salmon.I went on and found the same pattern inFife Sound and Wells Pass—no lice east ofthe farms where the smolts were emanatingfrom their birthplaces, but many licewest of the farms, among the surviving fishwhich had passed the netcages.After two weeks and over 600 samplesfrom 44 sites, a strong pattern and warningemerged. On 12cm salmon, a load of 10-11 lice is considered lethal. But here I wasseeing fish half the size with double theload! It was obvious they would die. Peeringdown at the schools of minute salmon Iwas tracking, I could sea lice hanging offmost. Below the pinks, out of reach of mydip net, larger chinook smolts could be seenwith lice on them too.Pink salmon researchers in Alaska tell methey have never seen such an infestation oflice in wild pink salmon and remarked, “WeAlexandra Mortonknew this would happen as soon as BC letthose salmon farms in.”Through this period of research DFOasked for my samples, but did not appearon the grounds until virtually all the pinkshad migrated out of the area. DFO failedto act and failed to protect the wild salmonthat belong to us all. The salmon farmershave also failed to act responsibly. In theirhome country, Norway, they must reducetheir lice loads to 0.5 female lice per fishduring spring to protect the outgoing babywild salmon, but not in BC.On a recent school tour of a local salmonfarm, ten to fifteen adult lice were seen oneach farm salmon. The low rainfall of thiswinter caused salinity levels to rise, favouringlice production. In addition, lice growand reproduce faster under lights, whichthe salmon farms use all winter and spring.There are a million salmon in many farms,growing a billion sea lice. Every 30 days orless the number of lice explodesexponentially. The only way to stop this isto remove the hosts. The wild salmon willdo this, as most will die, but their deathswill not solve this problem because the farmsalmon will remain.Each fish farm should have been immediately“diapered” in tarps and the fish removed.This entire Archipelago must go “fallow”if the salmon whales, bears and eaglesare to survive. The fish farms of the Broughtonhave lived up to their worldwide legacy—they are killing off their competition. ❏Natural West Coast AdventuresKayak Instruction, Tours & Rentals1308 Everall St., White Rock, BC V4B 3S6Ph: (604) 535-7985NEW Victoria location Ph: (250) 391-0331www.kayak.bc.ca nwca@kayak.bc.caNatural West Coast Adventure Gear“Reflecting our passion for paddling”NEWPaddling Gearfor the 21st centurywww.bckayaks.comnwca@kayak.bc.caPh: (250) 391-0331PAGE’S RESORT MARINASilva Bay—Gabriola IslandCottages, Campground, Fuel, Moorage,Laundromat, Showers, Diveshop,Artwork, Charts, Books andPRIME PADDLING!near Drumbeg provincial parkand the Flat Top Islands.Call 250-247-8931mail@pagesresort.comwww.pagesresort.comSECHELT INLETPaddlers’ ParadiseAccessible wilderness only 2 hoursfrom Vancouver. Escape by the hour,day or week. Ocean kayak & canoerentals, sales, lessons & trip planning.Free camping at five MarineParks up Sechelt InletToll free: 1-877-885-6440pedals_paddles@sunshine.netwww.sunshine.net/paddle30 WaveLength August/September 2001