Farmed salmon processors set high standards
Odd Grydeland, FishfarmingXpert, December 30, 2013
Operators of plants purposefully built for processing farmed salmon in British Columbia have gone beyond regulatory requirements aimed at protecting the environment and wild fish
After the latest battle with the Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus, the aquaculture companies voluntarily embarked on a process that would all but eliminate any risk of pathogen discharge from their salmon processing plants and well boats. A recently publicized report written by a group of long-term industry critics was itself criticized last week as being based on four year old samples and ignoring major technology improvement at the plant in question. Said a joint media statement issued by Walcan Seafood Ltd. and Grieg Seafood Ltd.:
A fish farming study released earlier this week by anti-salmon farming activists and other researchers and published in the Journal of Aquatic Animal Heath is based on water samples taken almost four years ago in February 2010 at the family owned Walcan fish processing facility located on Quadra Island.
As an industry leader Walcan has been working on the development of a wastewater treatment system since 2003. Walcan investigated technologies that led to UV pilot testing in 2005. A full scale system was tested in 2010 and the final completed system commissioned in 2011. The new, $950,000 (~€648,000), state of the art tertiary water treatment facility effectively cleans and manages water used during fish processing. While the equipment in place in 2010 met industry standards that are still in effect today, this new equipment exceeds all regulatory requirements. The new tertiary equipment has been tested by Trojan UV who, through independent testing, found that the equipment installed effectively deactivates common salmon pathogens.
This advanced water treatment technology incorporates a three-step treatment process: a settling and skimming step that removes large and small particles from the water, filtering through a 200-micron fine mesh screen to remove any remaining particles and finally disinfection of the water with ultraviolet light that kills bacteria and viruses. The Walcan team are also proud to have achieved Best Aquaculture Practices certification by the Global Aquaculture Alliance in June 2013 and water treatment is a key component of this standard.
The study highlighted well known and well understood concerns about the potential transmission of fish pathogens through fish processing facilities; however the focus was isolated, dated and no longer accurate. The salmon farming community itself recognized this well known risk and, through a sector MOU requires all of its processing facilities to treat effluent water to remove potential pathogens. British Columbia’s wild fish processing plants are not subject to the salmon farming sector’s self-imposed treatment standards and, in many cases, do not employ any treatment beyond basic filtering of waste water consistent with the current industry standard. The salmon farming community has raised the bar and is proud to be showing leadership on this important issue.
Wild fish can’t keep up with demand for healthy seafood due to the increasing world population. Salmon farming in BC provides and alternative to wild caught fish that will help ensure that seafood remains affordable for British Columbian families into the future.
