Rival groups debate fish farms' merits

Salmon farming hasn’t reached the U.S. portion of the Pacific Northwest, but in Canada’s British Columbia debate on the merits versus the environmental effects of aquaculture is raging.

A report from Victoria-based Raincoast Conservation Society (RCS) called “Diminishing Returns” found that five large multinational companies dominate 80 percent of salmon farming in the province — Nutreco, Stolt, Cermaq, Pan Fish and Heritage. The RCS report details antibiotic and other chemical use in B.C. salmon farms, and it outlines the financial downturn the five took in the last two years as salmon prices have fallen.

Positive Aquaculture Awareness (PAA) fired back with its own report attacking the RCS report and the U.S.-based Lazar Foundation that helped finance RCS’ work. PAA, an industry group of professional fish farmers and suppliers, said in its own report that RCS’ study is filled with myths and unsubstantiated allegations against British Columbia’s “sustainable aquaculture industry.” Portland-based conservation group Ecotrust has critiqued salmon fish farming in its publications, but biologist Ed Backus said more recently the organization has tried to steer clear of the contentious issue.

“Aquaculture is seen as such a catfight,” Backus said. “We’ve just tried to stay out of it.” Backus added that even if a group such as PAA addresses some of the genetic issues in wild versus farmed salmon, as well as farmed fish escapes, fecal material load in waterways, and antibiotic usage, salmon fish farming doesn’t qualify as ecologically sustainable.

“The abiding issue is one pound of protein [input] does not equal one pound of farmed salmon,” he said. “Ecologically, that’s a net loss.”

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