Taxpayers Pay for Diseased, Dead Fish-Farm Fish, Fish Farms Don't, Updated Jan 17, 2016

The purpose of this post is to gather together some recent references on the amount of our taxes paid to fish farms companies for diseased dead fish, which they don't have insurance for, and which they should be out of the water to prevent.

From the Conservation Council of NB, Jan 12, 2016: http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/fish-farm-biosecurity-inadequate-to-protect-wild-salmon/.

From 1997 to 2007 some $140 Million was paid to NB fish farm for diseased dead fish.Then another $33 million taxpayer money was paid in NF for diseased dead fish farm fish in 2013.

This does not include the millions paid in BC for IHN, IPN and so on. I update these figures below.

This is the newspaper article that references the east coast payouts, nearing $140 M: http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1194343-fish-farm-culls-cost-public-138m. There are other figures in the article.

This is the newspaper article that references the NL $33 M, Jan 11, 2014: http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2014-01-11/article-3571724/N.L.%26rsquo%3Bs-destroyed-salmon-tab%3A-$33M/1. There are a lot of strong words in the article, and like the NB article, the public in NL wants fish farms out of the water, or in impervious tanks.

Here is the link to the figures on my site for 2014: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.ca/2014/09/93-million-for-diseased-fish.html. The total was $93 Million and includes BC.

There is some over-counting in the two larger amounts, but do note that you can add the $140M + $33 M + the BC money to get the total payout of taxpayer dollars. The BC money is $2.84 million for Cermaq, and $1.752 for Grieg Seafood, or $4.6 Million, meaning the total is about $177 Million taxpayer dollars for diseased dead fish farm fish for billion dollar corps from Norway. Canadians don't want to pay. They can set up on land or go back to Norway, where the government is so unhappy with their environmental damage it is giving them free licences to set up on land - a $9- to $12-million subsidy over the in-ocean auction price.

Here is the Telegram comparison with my figures: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.ca/2014/09/93-million-for-diseased-fish.html.

Here is the article on the nitty gritty east coast costs, including the BC figures: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.ca/2014/02/key-document-taxpayer-money-for.html.

Lice Out of Control in Scotland, Updated Dec 29, 2015

A study out in December 2015 points out that lice are beyond control of operators in most of Scotland and wild salmonids suffer, and are in need of urgent protection. They recommend public inspectors take over lice counts and that fish farms move to closed containment.

Read the PDF: http://www.salmon-trout.org/pdf/THE%20CONTROL%20OF%20SEA%20LICE%20S&TCS%20REPORT%20December%202015.pdf.

Here is part of the Executive Summary:

... little consideration is being given to the consequent negative effects on wild salmonids.

Where there is evidence of early harvest or culling out of farmed fish, this appears only to be associated with unacceptable damage being caused to the farmed fish, causing either commercial losses or animal welfare issues for the farmed fish, rather than this occurring in order to protect wild fish.

Action by Scottish Government is required urgently to address the sea lice issue as it affects wild fish. The major barrier to proper scrutiny of the fish farms - the lack of published farm-specific sea lice data - needs to be removed and further information concerning newer control methods for sea lice should be recorded and published to ensure that a complete picture is obtained of the sea lice control methods used.

The voluntary CoGP should be made a statutory code, as provided for in the 2007 Act, and an upper tier sea lice threshold should be introduced, above which an immediate cull or harvest of farmed fish is mandated. It should not be possible for fish-farmers, where sea lice numbers have effectively gone out of control on their farms, to assert that they remain in compliance with the CoGP merely because they have instigated treatment, regardless of its efficacy in reducing lice numbers. 2

The Scottish Government should amend legislation with the express purpose of protecting wild fish from potential damage caused by fish-farms, with inspectors given a legal duty to control sea lice on fish-farms expressly in order to protect wild fish populations. Those farms consistently failing to control sea lice should be identified for closure and / or relocation.

In parallel, Scottish Government should focus on alternative more sustainable production methods with the ultimate objective of moving to full closed containment of farmed salmon production in Scotland to eliminate the biological interaction between farmed and wild fish.

You will recall  from a post a week or so ago on fishfarmnews that Marine Harvest is going for ASC accreditation in Scotland and Norway, resulting, it thinks, in a 'profound' change for fish farms. Sorry Jo Lunder et al, it just ain't so. See my post: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.ca/2015/12/marine-harvest-fix-image-not-problem.html.

Not to mention that the Norwegian government is so angry with fish farms, about lice and other problems, that it is giving out free licences to get them out of the water and set up on land, a saving of $9 to $12-Million for on-land. See:  https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2015/12/11/norway-to-make-land-based-aquaculture-easier/?utm_source=Undercurrent+News+Alerts&utm_campaign=33b8782ce8-Salmon_roundup_Dec_11_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_feb55e2e23-33b8782ce8-92426209.

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Here is a list of the chemicals used in Scotland to kill lice. Slice is used in BC, Cypermethrin is the illegal chemical that Cooke Aquaculture used for two years in Atlantic Canada - and paid a large fine of, as I recall, $500,000, which was far less, and no jail sentence, from the penalties that could have been handed out.

Azamethiphos is an organophosphorus pesticide, which works by interfering with the transmission of nerve impulses. It has been used in a spray form to control insects such as cockroaches and flies in buildings, warehouses and intensive farming installations10. Azamethiphos is highly toxic to birds and aquatic invertebrates and moderately toxic to fish11 .

Deltamethrin is a pyrethroid insecticide and is highly toxic to humans and other mammals and is a neurotoxin. It is relatively non-toxic to birds and earthworms although it presents a high risk to most aquatic organisms and honeybees12 .

Cypermethrin is an insecticide and is considered a serious marine pollutant. It is moderately toxic to mammals and there is some concern regarding its potential to bioaccumulate. It is highly toxic to most aquatic species and honeybees13 .

Emamectin benzoate [that is, SLICE] is a pesticide which works by interfering with nerve impulses in the body. It is used in agricultural settings to control insects amongst vegetable crops such as cabbage and broccoli and on cotton plants. Emamectin benzoate is toxic to birds, mammals, fish and other aquatic organisms (particularly those living on the sea bed)14 .

Teflubenzuron is used to control a wide range of insect pests and mites in fruit, vegetable, cereal and seed crops. It works by interfering with the synthesis of insect chitin, which is essential to their growth and development. Teflubenzuron is classed as having low toxicity for mammals, fish and birds. Other aquatic organisms (particularly crustaceans and those living in sediments) may however suffer adverse effects if exposed15 .

"These are administered either as a bath or in feed treatment. Bath treatments are applied using full enclosure, in a tarpaulin, at a marine cage site, or in a well-boat adjacent to the marine cages. Bath treatments include azamethiphos (Salmosan), deltamethrin (Alphamax), cypermethrin (Excis). Emamectin benzoate (Slice) or teflubenzuron (Calicide) can be administered as in-feed treatments. Hydrogen peroxide is also used to control sea lice as well as other diseases of farmed salmon, such as Amoebic Gill Disease."

Key Document - Land-Based Closed-Containment Fish Farm Science 2013, Updated Nov 3, 2013

International Summit on Farming Fish in Land-Based Closed-Containment Systems.

140 participants from 14 countries met in West Virginia in September, 2013 to share expertise on growing fish on land with recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) for the sake of the sustainable fish production and food security. 

This is the Tides Canada weblink for the 50 plus presentations:  http://tidescanada.org/salmon/aquaculture-innovation-workshops-and-reports/.

This is a major collection of current science on closed containment from around the world and I suggest you go take a look at some of the presentations. This is a wonderful collection of papers, and is a credit to both Tides Canada for assembling all this work in one place on the web, and to the Save Our Salmon group for being involved.

This is the SOS link: http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/636112/842c3263a6/281374055/0f24f2d8f3/.

It is clear that fish farms will have no choice but to move to closed containment RAS systems that eliminate the problems caused by in-ocean net-pens, such as spilling raw sewage into pristine oceans, diseases, parasites, chemicals, escaped fish, genetic issues with wild fish, passing disease and parasites to wild salmon and killing them. The latter is a big issue in the Pacific Ocean as 10 species of wild salmonids, and other species, are threatened, from California to Korea. 

The NGO Save Our Salmon sent Chief Bill Cranmer, SOS President Eric Hobson and Dr. Andrew Wright who presented on the ‘Namgis Closed Containment Project in order to help catalyze a shift to this more sustainable technology. The farm is located on land beside the Nimpkish River, Vancouver Island, BC. and aims to grow Atlantic salmon to market size and reap the benefit as a brand distinct from the open net-pen product that now sells for considerably less as most consumers in the western world now avoid buying it for the environmental damage it causes.

Three issues that the fish farm giants suggest why they don't want to use RAS on land are: cost of electricity used, carbon footprint and capitalization. Presentations show that heat pumps reduce the power of electricity used by a factor of ten for on-land systems. They also show that when the raw sewage spillage is taken into account that net-pen in-ocean operations have a carbon footprint ten times that of on-land systems. As for capitalization, the Standing Committee on Closed Containment, of the federal Canadian government, recommends programs for making capital available. 

But until the government legislates fish farms out of the ocean, they will not move. This is an issue like airbags in cars. Car manufacturers said it couldn't be done for competitive cost pressure reasons. The government legislated airbags into cars and now every car in the world has airbags. As soon as BC removes site licences, the farms will be out of the water in 60 days.

As fish farms are a net negative to the BC economy, if they move back to Norway, BC still comes out far ahead in Gross Provincial Product and revenue from the sport, commercial and processing sectors in BC. In an upcoming post, I will detail the numbers. Some are staggering, for example, my first estimate of the cost of raw sewage spilling into our pristine ocean, a cost that the citizens of BC bear, exceeds $11 Billion, with the industry revenue size of only $469 Million, and the very small GPP contribution of only $61.9 Million, and only 1700 jobs (this is a BC Stats econometric, multiplier number, and I accept it as accurate. But I have collected the actual job numbers in this very small industry and it was only 840, after Marine Harvest let 60 staff go just before Christmas in 2011. Marine Harvest in particular has a Kudoa, myoliquifaction problem, and lost $12 Million of its stock in 2012. In 2013, MH Norway notes only 400 Canadian employees in their published numbers).