Fish farms are managed responsibily
By Ian Roberts, Courier-Islander October 28, 2011
Doug Millar and I agree on the importance of aquaculture to provide a healthy and efficient protein to a world population soon reaching seven billion ("Farm fish should be isolated"). That is exactly why I began my career in salmon farming 20 years ago.
And while I also agree with Mr. Millar that landbased (aka "closed containment") aquaculture farms are one method to grow seafood, I strongly disagree that this technology must replace ocean-based farms in order to protect wild fish.
BC salmon farmers have a very good understanding of land-based salmon farms because we grow all our fish in them for one third of their life. We acknowledge that there are benefits to this type of system not realized in ocean-based farms, but we also understand the limitations as well. It's not just about cost - other questions need to be answered as well and include; fish welfare, product quality, scale and location of production, and energy consumption (ocean-based system use tidal power whereas landbased farms require other energies to move water).
While BC salmon farming companies continue to invest in the latest aquaculture technologies including land-based recirculating aquaculture systems, we remain curious to see how this technology can be further integrated into our business.
In the meantime, we will ensure that our landbased and ocean-based operations are managed responsibly to ensure we look after our business, our fish and the environment.
Ian Roberts - Marine Harvest Canada C.R.
Ian responded to the following Letter to the Editor:
Farmed fish should be isolated
By Doug Millar, Courier-Islander October 26, 2011
I think that the published letters from the opponents to salmon farming miss two points, though I share their concerns for the health of the wild fish.
The first point is that if we are to be able to feed the burgeoning human population it is essential that we must farm fish as we do cattle, hogs, sheep and chickens. This morning I saw an item in the news that the human population will reach seven billion by the end of this month, and a large part of that population is close to starvation.
The second point I see is that the problem is not salmon farming per se, but the open pen system in use, which means that the wild salmon are effectively exposed to all the effluent and pathogens from the farmed fish. With the exception of the huge cattle ranches, our domestic livestock are generally segregated from their wild counterparts. Perhaps the advent of Mad Cow disease in the buffalo herds of the Wood Buffalo National Park might have been due to contact with infected ranch cattle. If that were the case, it would point out the danger of raising farmed livestock, including fish, in the same area as their wild counterparts.
I look forward to reading of the success of the closed-pen fish farms, and hope that it leads to all farmed fish being raised in isolation from the wild fish.
