Monday, August 15, 2005

For immediate release

St. Andrews – The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) is encouraged by the formation of an International Working Group on Cold Water Aquaculture to make continuous improvements in the environmental sustainability of aquaculture, particularly salmon farming.

ASF hopes that the purpose of the Working Group of six leading salmon aquaculture Nations – Canada, Norway, the United States, Chile, Scotland and Ireland - to establish better communications on food safety and environmental sustainability issues, will go even further and result in improved protection of wild Atlantic salmon from aquaculture impacts. ASF President Bill Taylor commented, “The anticipated result would be implementation of uniform and coordinated regulations to control the impacts of salmon aquaculture on the environment, including wild Atlantic salmon.”

The challenges faced by Canada with regard to salmon aquaculture regulations are largely the result of the industry’s heavy concentration of sites in the province of New Brunswick’s portion of the Bay of Fundy, where wild Atlantic salmon are especially vulnerable, and many rivers are losing their wild runs. The scarce availability of new sites – combined with pressures from the international farmed salmon market – has contributed to a culture of “overstocking”. In his report of October 2004, the Auditor General of New Brunswick Daryl Wilson indicated that the maximum stocking density was not being monitored or enforced. A high density of penned salmon generates considerable fish and food waste, as well as parasites and disease that threaten wild species in nearby salmon rivers.

Canada has promised “Containment Codes of Practice” that would provide “area-specific standards required by provincial licensing authorities as the basis for regulation” since 1998.

New Brunswick, representing 90 percent of Eastern Canada’s salmon aquaculture production, has only a draft Code of Containment that has not yet been officially adopted.

Dr. Gareth Porter, a Washington D.C. consultant, examined six different nations’ aquaculture regulatory policies, and reported his findings in two reports, issued in 2003 and 2005. He assigned scores based on the steps these Nations and their aquaculture industries have taken to minimize threats to wild Atlantic salmon populations in accordance with international protocols agreed to by the Nations. The countries examined were all parties to the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO), a convention dedicated to preserving wild Atlantic salmon, and they had all agreed to these protocols, passed by resolution at NASCO in 1994. Dr. Porter examined how each country was living up to its international obligations. The Nations examined were Canada, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Scotland, and the United States.

While none of the six Nations received a passing grade in 2003, there were vast improvements in 2005, especially in Norway, the United States and Iceland. Scotland and Ireland had advanced as well. However, Canada’s score had actually slipped by 26%. “We hope that the intent is for countries to share their experiences and regulatory framework through the International Working Group on Cold Water Aquaculture, and that Canada will benefit from the process,” continued Mr. Taylor.

“We are also pleased that Chile, who is not a member of NASCO, will be part of the Working Group,” concluded Mr. Taylor. “It is important that this large producer of farmed salmon be part of the process that promotes international environmental sustainability of the aquaculture industry. Expanding the responsibility for implementing sound regulatory measures to salmon aquaculture nations beyond those in the North Atlantic will create a more level playing field.”

ASF Contact:

Sue Scott

Vice President - Communications

506 529-1027 or 506 529-4581

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