Drew Chery - Was I Wrong About Fish Farming? Yes.

Hi Drew Cherry

In your above column that asks for comments, you mention the ‘jobs and revenue’ spin so commonly stated by fish farms but that is actually false. Your link is: https://www.intrafish.com/commentary/was-i-wrong-about-salmon-farming-/2-1-708899?fbclid=IwAR1Abxywy0RKyy0C8ym8pJL5g6vwc_WHuaw2x-nSGjy95u-AQtDbz1PM5uw.

You have to crunch the numbers to find the truth.

Here are my comments: this is just one post I have made on this communications’ spin that dates all the way back to the 1970s: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/11/brett-bundale-26-million-salmon-die.html.

It wasn’t right then and it’s not right now. But fish farms keep spewing it out and govts fall for it around the world, rather than doing their homework. Then, 20 years after the farms go in the public hates them.

The second link in the post is for the east coast of Canada, and I can tell you that the Inka Milewski article is persuasive and clear that not only do fish farms bring only a fraction of the jobs they claim, these  numbers will collapse some 80% more when Norway’s automation gets to east coast Canada. She is particularly good on social licence analysis. I suggest reading it as it is very interesting.

The third link in the post takes you to the BC Stats reports on jobs and revenue. In BC, industry’s employment claim is almost 400% higher than it actually is, the govt’s figure being 1800. I used to do that kind of number crunching when I worked for the BC govt. The link to the tables also covers the revenue claim pointing out that revenue far exceeds GDP in BC and thus most revenue leaves the province and goes back to Norway to shareholders, but leaving our ocean defiled.

So, the jobs and revenue spin is just that: spin.

And my list of on-land fish farms now has more than 300 on-land farms around the world. The fourth link in the  post directs you to the list.

I’d say the story is different from what is claimed by the industry, and in the long run, if they don’t get on land, the zero social licence they have for in-water, will wipe them out. Atlantic Sapphire here we come.

DC (Dennis) Reid