Title: Salmon Aquaculture: Lessons from New Brunswick
1Salmon Aquaculture Lessons from New Brunswick
- Inka Milewski, Science Advisor
- Conservation Council of New Brunswick
- Port Mouton, Nova Scotia
- November 15, 2006
2Salmon Aquaculture Lessons from New Brunswick
- Economically sustainable?
- Ecologically sustainable?
- Well-regulated?
3Economically Sustainable? mom and pop to
Multinational
1986 1996 2006
Number of Farm Sites 28 74 98
Production 727 mt 16,300 mt 35,000 mt
Number of fish per farm 7,000 70,000 300,000 400,000
Price per pound (wholesale) 12.82 CND 7.55 CND 2.50 CND
Value of salmon sales 9.2 million 122.5 million 200 million
Number of Companies 28 (1 corporations control 1 farm) 45 (3 corporations control 53 farms) 12 (1 corporation controls and/or contracts from all farms)
42006 Salmon Farm Sites
5Economically Sustainable? Government Driven and
subsidized
- From 1985 to 1996, ACOA pumped over 34 million
into NBs salmon aquaculture 60 was direct
contributions and grants - In 1987, NB Salmon Growers Association formed
the Association received 4.3 million from
government for their work between 87-96 - Beginning in 1996, outbreaks of ISA resulted in
the slaughter of millions of fish in 1997- 98
federal government paid out 32.5 million and the
province 8 million in compensation - In 2000 DFO launched Program for Sustainable
Aquaculture and dedicated 75-million over five
years with 15-million per year thereafter - In 2004, DFO Minister, Gerald Regan, creates
Aquaculture Management Directorate within DFO to
ensure aquaculture is more of a priority
6Ecologically Sustainable? Impacts of Salmon
Farms
- Environmental impacts are associated with net
pens, fish feed and use of chemicals and drugs - Many effects still not studied
- impacts of net pens structures on the behaviour
of migratory species - loss of foraging, spawning and/or nursery habitat
for wild species as a result of waste
accumulation - sub-lethal effects of pesticides on non-target
species
7Ecologically Sustainable? Waste Impacts of Farms
- By volume, largest component of waste discharges
from finfish aquaculture operations are fecal
wastes - 95-98 of wastes deposited on the bottom are
re-suspended in days and transported elsewhere
8How much Fecal waste is released from salmon
farms?
Equivalent to fecal wastes from 2667 people1
1 salmon farm1 200,000 fish 1000 mt
182 mt of fecal waste/year1
93 salmon farms in S.W.N.B. 33,600 mt in 20012
Equivalent to fecal wastes from 89,611 people
6115 mt of fecal waste/year
1Source Hardy 2001 2NB. Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture
9Changes in Benthic Diversity with Increased
Organic Loading
10 More sulphur compounds like H2S are produced
More nitrogen compounds like ammonia (NH4 ) are
produced
More methane compounds (CH4 ) are produced
Animals and bacteria in sediments produce H2O
and C02
O2 levels drop, C02 levels increase, Redox values
drop
Ammonia and sulphide levels increase
Microbial community changes to bacteria tolerant
of low 02
Animals diversity decreases, pollution tolerant
species increase
Organic loading
11Area of seafloor potentially impacted by wastes
1 salmon farm (200,000 fish) 2
X 10 net pens
9680 m2 2.5 acres
29,120 m2 7.5 acres
30 m Mixing Zone
Each net pen is 22 m in diameter
104 m
44 m
220 m
280 m
12Former Fish Farm
Control or Reference Site
13N
14Mean Redox -154.38 mVNHE
Mean Redox 34.92 mVNHE
Mean Sulphides 1308 µM
Mean Sulphides 29.73 µM
Mean no. of species 14
Mean no. of species 31
Species diversity 3.85
Species diversity 2.58
Crow Harbour Samples
Control Site Samples
15Control site sediment core (2003)
Farm site sediment core (2003)
16Mean sediment Eh at a former fish farm in Crow
Harbour and a Reference Site (2002-2004)
Sediment Depth
17Mean Surface Sediment Sulphides at a former fish
farm in Crow Harbour and a reference site
(2002-2004)
18Crow Harbour (CH)farm vs reference site
(RS)Species Numbers and Diversity 2002-2004
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21Well-Regulated?
- the first 10 years (1979-1989) salmon aquaculture
was virtually unregulated - Province signed an MOU with DFO in 1989 which
gave province development and licensing
responsibility - DFO and EC still retained responsibility for
enforcing section 35 (prohibits a HADD - harmful
alteration, degradation or destruction of fish
habitat) and section 36(3) (prohibits release of
deleterious substances) of Fisheries Act - Monitoring of farms sites by province began in
1989 as a pilot project - First monitoring report in 1992 found 37 or 48
farms had moderate to high environmental impact
ratings
22Well-Regulated?
- In 1991 New Brunswick gets an Aquaculture Act
that sets site allocation rules (by then there
are already 57 farms) confidentially provisions
of the Act prevent public release of monitoring
data - By 1997, disease and sea lice outbreaks,
conflicts with local fishermen over allocations
of farm sites prompt a review of the Site
Allocation Policy moratorium on new sites
imposed - In 2002 environmental monitoring transferred to
provincial Environment Department and
environmental performance guidelines are finally
established annual monitoring results are
finally made public - In 2003 Provincial Department of Fisheries and
Aquaculture finally establishes a Compliance and
Enforcement section
23Well-Regulated?
- In 2005, DFO Regional Director General (Atlantic
Region) finally requests DFO Science Branch
prepare an expert opinion on the effect of
sulfides on diversity of benthic community - According to expert opinion
- 60-70 of biodiversity is lost when sulfides are
1500 3000 µM, - 70-90 of biodiversity is lost when sulfides are
greater than 3000 µM, - 2006,province changes environmental rating system
for sulfide levels that constitute a HADD under
the Fisheries Act (from 6000 µM to 4500 µM) the
level is set higher than the expert advice
provided by a DFO scientist in 2005
24Well-Regulated?
Annually, 25-30 of farms are allowed to operate
even though sulfide levels in sediments are in
the high impact category and would likely be in
violation of section 35 of federal Fisheries Act.
25New Brunswicks Salmon Aquaculture Industry
- Economically sustainable? not without
government subsidies - Ecologically sustainable? not without
environmental subsidies - Well-regulated? not for ecological impacts
262005 Nova Scotia Industry Consultation
- Complaints by industry that application and
approval process was too burdensome and too long - Federal EA process was viewed as a problem
- Scarcity of suitable inshore sites, federal
restrictions on movement of eggs and fish, public
opposition on sites, lack of government support
to reduce financial risk of disease other
catastrophic problems and lack of direction
from government seen as problems by industry
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282005 - 48 salmon sites - 16 in Gulf of Maine
Region - Rest along the South Shore and Bras dOr
Lakes
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