John Cummins, M.P. Delta-South Richmond

News Release

November 25, 2002

Crisis Caused by Sea Lice
A Failure to Regulate Salmon Farms

OTTAWA– "The number of pink salmon spawners in the Broughton Archipelago collapsed this year, declining almost 100 per cent in some inlets," said John Cummins, M.P. (Delta-South Richmond) .

The Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council today warned the Minister of Fisheries that the decline was "unlikely to have been caused by chance alone". Sea lice were the problem, according to the Council, sea lice from nearby salmon farms.

The Council chaired by the Hon. John Fraser identified sea lice problems similar to those encountered in Ireland and Norway a decade ago. In those countries governments responded to the problem with effective regulation while in Canada both the federal and provincial governments deny a problem exists.

The ‘crisis' identified by the Council in the British Columbia pink salmon fishery is a crisis rooted in failed aquaculture policy initiatives. The Council's findings should serve as a wake-up call to both the federal and provincial governments, both of which have campaigned on a platform of fish farm expansion and both of which are devoid of ideas on how to regulate the industry.

The Council advises immediate action, calling for the complete removal of caged salmon from the Broughton Archipelago by the end of February. If such immediate action is not taken by the government, the Council concluded that "irreparable harm to the Broughton Archipelago pink salmon stocks" may result.

"In order to protect the juvenile pink salmon, the Council said that it is important that a response plan be developed by mid-January. The Minister should heed the Council's warning that urgent action is required to ensure the safe passage of fish through the Broughton Archipelago in April."

"Is the Minister going to regulate the salmon farm industry or will he just going sit around and wait until the Pacific salmon goes the way of East Coast cod?" Cummins concluded.

Contact: John Cummins, M.P.
(613) 922-2957 or cell (604) 970-0937