Fisheries Minister downplays fish farms in local visit

Neil Judson
December 18, 2009
The Squamish Chief

Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea downplayed the effects fish farms have on British Columbia wild salmon stocks when fielding questions and concerns at a roundtable discussion with local experts at the Adventure Centre on Tuesday (Dec. 15).

"The jury is still out on that," Shea responded after Squamish Streamkeeper co-ordinator Jack Cooley pointed to a study that reports 50 per cent of the millions of sockeye salmon that failed to return this year were likely killed by sea lice from fish farms.

"I don't think we can say unequivocally that sea lice kills salmon. We can say, sure, it's a factor but it's safe to say we have to do more research."

Cooley responded with a loud sigh.

Shea's visit came shortly after Prime Minister Stephen Harper called for an 18-month judicial inquiry into the collapse of Fraser River sockeye. Only about a million of the anticipated 10 million fish returned to the Fraser River and its tributaries this past summerms.

Read the full story in The Squamish Chief

Read background stories on the collapse of the Fraser River sockeye