Cohen Commission - Technical Report Project 5 – Impacts of salmon farms on Fraser River sockeye salmon
Key Findings: Project 5C: Results of the Noakes investigation
1. There is no significant correlation between farmed salmon production within the main migration path of Fraser River sockeye salmon, the waters between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, and the returns of Fraser River sockeye salmon. No causal relationship was found between the two time series and there was no apparent plausible link between farmed salmon production which is governed by condition of licence and the returns of Fraser River sockeye that are a function of the number of fish that spawned 4 years previous as well as a variety of environmental factors.
2. There is no evidence that escaped Atlantic salmon have contributed to the decline in Fraser River sockeye salmon stocks or that escaped Atlantic salmon pose any threat to sockeye or any other salmon stocks in the Fraser River. No juvenile Atlantic salmon have ever been observed in the Fraser River and only 2 adult Atlantic salmon have been found in the Fraser area (Area 29) in the last decade.
3. There is no obvious plausible link or evidence to support a link between the deposit of waste on the sea bed or into the water column and sockeye salmon survival. The impact of waste appears to be limited to the immediate vicinity of the farms (within 30m).
4. There is no significant correlation between the number of sea lice on farmed salmon and the return of Fraser River sockeye salmon. The average number of lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) on farmed salmon has decreased from approximately 3 lice/fish in 2004 to between 1.0 lice/fish (annual mean) and 0.5 lice/fish (the April – June average - the time period when juvenile sockeye salmon are migrating past the salmon farms) in 2010.
5. The evidence suggests that disease originating from salmon farms has not contributed to the decline of Fraser River sockeye salmon. Since 2003, no outbreaks of IHN have been reported on any salmon farm. Only 1 or 2 cases (per year) of vibrio were reported on salmon farms for 5 of the 9 years between 2002 and 2010. Since 2003, the majority (29 of 38) reported cases of furunculosis were from farms on the West Coast of Vancouver Island with an average of only 1.3 cases/year on farms located in the main migration path for Fraser River sockeye salmon. Since 2003, there has been a significant decline in the number of farms reporting BKD in BC Fish Health Area 3 (the main migration route for Fraser River sockeye salmon) with an average of 6 farms per year since 2006. In 2006, 3 farms from northern Queen Charlotte Strait, 2 farms from the Broughton, and 1 farm the Sechelt area reported BKD fish health events. Of the 20 cases of BKD reported between 2007 and 2009, 17 were from farms in the Jervis/Sechelt/Salmon inlets area with only 1 farm in each of the 3 years being located within the main migration route for Fraser River sockeye salmon. Overall, the incidence of diseases in farmed salmon that would be classified as high risk to sockeye salmon is very low and do not pose a significant risk.
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