Fish farm operator charged over dozens of seal, sea lion deaths
Mark Hume
February 22, 2012
Globe and Mail
A West Coast salmon farm has been charged in the drowning deaths of sea lions and seals that became entangled in nets surrounding fish pens.
Grieg Seafood BC Ltd., which operates 21 farms on the British Columbia coast, is charged with violating the Fisheries Act at three different locations.
“The charges appear to refer to the accidental drowning of 52 California sea lions and one harbour seal over a six-month period in early 2010, all of which were immediately reported to the DFO by Grieg Seafood B.C.,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
A court document filed by Gregory Barton Rusel, a fishery officer based in Gold River on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island, states the company “did unlawfully destroy marine animals ... by drowning.”
Seven counts deal with the deaths of an unspecified number of sea lions, and two counts are related to the deaths of an unspecified number of seals.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans did not immediately have a spokesperson available to discuss the case, but an official in the communications branch said it appears to be the first time such charges have been laid in B.C.
Read the full story in the Globe and Mail.
Posted February 23rd, 2012
