The federal government isn’t properly managing the risks that farmed salmon pose to their wild counterparts, nor is it doing enough to ensure Canada is meeting its international commitments on biodiversity and sustainable development, Canada’s environmental watchdog says.
In a series of new audits released Tuesday, environment commissioner Julie Gelfand takes a closer look at Canada’s management of the $1-billion salmon farming industry, which she warns is lacking when it comes to assessing the risk that diseases among farmed fish pose to wild salmon.
The department has no requirement to monitor the health of wild salmon or the status of the ocean floor beneath penned salmon farms, said Gelfand, and the department is also providing better funding for research related to fish farms than it is for research to help monitor their impact.
“The department is at risk of being seen to promote aquaculture over the protection of wild salmon,” Gelfand said after the reports were tabled in Parliament.
Mia Rabson – Times Colonist – April 24, 2018.
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