New World News and Informtion Data Base on Salmon Resources

Data Base:
Drastic changes are beginning to take place to the salmon
stocks due to various human interfrerences with Nature

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How to Use This Data Base:
  1. The information contained in this data base are provided by those around the world who are concerned over what's happening to the salmon stocks of the Northern Pacific region.
  2. All articles are going to be made available in various languages we time goes by, and the readers are welcome to quote from them as long as the original news sources are clearly mentioned.
If any reader has access to important information contained in publications in his or her language and not well known in other countries, please feel free to send them to our Clearinghouse Secretariat by e-mail or fax.

[Important News and Events during May, 1999]

(1) Fish Farming Update - Fri, 21 May 1999
(2) Don't Buy The (Fish) Farm - Fri, 21 May 1999
(3) Salmon showdown in Maine Update - Tue, 25 May 1999
(4) Antibiotics resistance - call to action from EDF - Mon, 31 May 1999
(5) Maine salmon farming scrutinized - Mon, 31 May 1999
(6) Atlantic salmon at all-time low - Mon, 31 May 1999
(7) Salmon (and other fish) farming news from around the world - Fri, 28 May 1999

[Important News and Events during June, 1999]

(1) Salmon farming news from around the world - Fri, 4 Jun 1999
(2) A warning from Scotland - Letter to the Editor, Sport Fishing BC, Canada - Fri, 4 Jun 1999
(3) Food Safety Associated with Aquaculture Products - Mon, 7 Jun 1999 A>
(4) Monsanto getting into aquaculture - Thu, 10 Jun 1999
(5) The chilling impact of global warming - Thu, 10 Jun 1999
(6) Massive escape of Atlantic salmon in Washington State - Tue, 15 Jun 1999
(7) Useful website on large marine ecosystems - Fri, 18 Jun 1999
(8) Eking Out a Life in Land of Wealth - Monday, June 21, 1999
(9) Interaction Between Wild /Farmed Atlantic Salmon Workshop Proceedings - Mon, 21 Jun 1999

[Important News and Events during July, 1999]

(1) LAWMAKERS LACK BROAD VIEW OF WORLD SALMON MARKETS - Tue, 6 Jul 1999
(2) Aquaculture and Food Safety Issues - Tue, 6 Jul 1999
(3) Salmon farming news from around the world - Tue, 15 Jul 1999
(4) Upcoming events related to salmon farming and aquaculture - Thu, 15 Jul 1999
(5) Salmon farming news from Maine - Mon, 19 Jul 1999
(6) 'Organic' salmon - Mon, 19 Jul 1999
(7) Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning outbreak - Mon, 20 Jul 1999
(8) Chairman of the Norwegian Fish Farmers' Association comments on Infectious Salmon Anemia - Fri, 23 Jul 1999
(9) Tasmanian Salmonid Growers Association upset about allowing import of uncooked Canadian salmon - Fri, 23 Jul 1999
(10) NZ salmon farmers celebrate an end to Australia's long ban on salmon imports - Fri, 23 Jul 1999
(11) Regulation of Scottish fish farming industry questioned - Fri, 23 Jul 1999
(12) Inquiry to investigate the use of insecticide Ivermectin in Scotland - Fri, 23 Jul 1999
(13) Scottish anglers challenge salmon farming industry - Fri, 23 Jul 1999
(14) Outbreak of ISA in Chile denied - Fri, 23 Jul 1999
(15) Report on Maine salmon farming expansion proposal from an agribusiness angle - Fri, 23 Jul 1999
(16) Genetically modified foods, including salmon - Fri, 23 Jul 1999
(17) Research on flounder aquaculture - Fri, 23 Jul 1999
(18) Poaching in Kamchatka, Russia - Sun, 25 Jul 1999
(19) Boston Globe: Proposed salmon farm sparks opposition - Tue, 27 Jul 1999
(20) Nutreco Acquires fish feed business in Scotland - Thu, 29 Jul 1999
(21) Australia`s salmon ban Canada fights back - Thu, 29 Jul 1999
(22) Shetland year 2000 will produce commercial halibut - Thu, 29 Jul 1999
(23) Norway doubling farm salmon production - Thu, 29 Jul 1999
(24) Turbot Farming Introduced to Iceland - Thu, 29 Jul 1999
(25) A new race of genetically modified salmon? - Thu, 29 Jul 1999
(26) U.K.Controversy over Genetically Modified Salmon - Thu, 29 Jul 1999
(27) Atlantic Salmon Aquaculture in the EEZ - Thu, 29 Jul 1999
(28) Agency opposes proposed Maine salmon farms - Fri, 30 Jul 1999

[Important News and Events during August, 1999]

(1) The Way to Save Good Salmon - Mon, 2 Aug 1999
(2) Infectious Salmon Anaemia Disease -- Thu, 12 Aug 1999
(3) Lack of Salmon in Kamchatka -- Thu, 12 Aug 1999
(4) Atlantic Salmon Found in BC Streams -- Thu, 12 Aug 1999
(5) Various Important News and Facts Involving Atlantic Salmon -- Fri, 13 Aug 1999
(6) Symposium on the Environmental Effects of Mariculture -- Mon, 16 Aug 1999
(7) Maine denies proposed salmon farms -- Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999

[Important News and Events during September, 1999]

(1) Aquaculture is the future -- Sep 28,1999
(2) Streifel signs fisheries and aquaculture agreement -- Wednesday, September 29, 1999
(3) Sea lice reduction -- September 29, 1999
(4) SSGA merges and becomes SSPO -- September 27, 1999
(5) New Halibut Venture in Shetland --September 15, 1999
(6) More halibut in Shetland -- September 29, 1999
(7) Lower dioxin limits -- September 20, 1999
(8) Norwagean salmon export up by 30 per cent -- September 17, 1999
(9) Easier entrance for Norwegian salmon to the U.S. -- Monday, September 20, 1999
(10) Fish farmers amongst Norway's wealthiest -- September 16, 1999
(11) Chilean Salmon Exports Rise 11% -- Sept. 27, 1999
(12) Antarctic Queen Hake farming project advances -- Tuesday, September 21, 1999
(13) Salmon and salmon farming news -- Tue, 14 Sep 1999
(14) Confusion sinking Atlantic salmon project -- September 14, 1999
(15) Aquaculture's limits -- Wed, 15 Sep 1999

[Important News and Events during October, 1999]

(1) Worldwide Atlantic Salmon production 1.3 million tonnes in 2005 -- October 1, 1999
(2) Aquaculture Outlook from USDA -- Mon, 4 Oct 1999
(3) Secondary School Aquaculture Competition -- Tue, 5 Oct 1999
(4) Escaped fish and genetic interactions -- Thu, 28 Oct 1999
(5) ESA listing for Atl. Salmon -- Fri, 15 Oct 1999
(6) BC expected to allow expansion of salmon-farming operations -- Mon, 18 Oct 1999
(7)AK salmon and ESA -- Tue, 19 Oct 1999
(8) AK salmon numbers -- Tue, 19 Oct 1999
(9)ISA Found in Wild Salmon -- Fri, 22 Oct 1999
(10) Whoriskeys report: "Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) now detected in aquaculture escapees and wild fish" -- 11 October 1999
(11) Upcoming aquaculture events -- Fri, 22 Oct 1999
(12) Upcoming Workshops in 2000 -- 20 Oct 1999
(13) Nominations for Recovery Science Review Panel -- Fri, 22 Oct 1999
(14) Interesting west coast perspective on east coast salmon -- Tue, 26 Oct 1999
(15) Salmon Hatchery issues -- Wed, 27 Oct 1999

[Important News and Events during November, 1999]

(1) Organic Salmon in Scotland - Tue, 2 Nov 1999
(2) Salmon farming news stories from Maine - Tue, 2 Nov 1999
(3) President Clinton Announcement on Pacific Salmon - Fri, 5 Nov 1999
(4) FoES PR - INTENSIVE SALMON FARMING:A FALSE - Tue, 9 Nov 1999
(5) Scotland: ISA spreads - Tue, 9 Nov 1999
(6) ISA-infected salmon refused by British supermarkets - 12 Nov 1999
(7) Changing diets for farmed fish - Mon, 15 Nov 1999
(8) New Vaccines - Mon, 15 Nov 1999
(9) Portland Press Herald salmon news story - Tue, 16 Nov 1999
(10) Latest salmon news from Maine - Thu, 18 Nov 1999
(11) Federal Register notice on proposed listing of Atlantic salmon in Maine - Thu, 18 Nov 1999
(12) King can blame self for salmon's listing: editorial - Fri, 19 Nov 1999
(13) Fish farming and modern technology - Fri, 19 Nov 1999
(14) Salmon farming to be restricted in Scotland - Tue, 23 Nov 1999
(15) Washington Post article on salmon issue in Maine - Mon, 29 Nov 1999 Mon, 29 Nov 1999

[Important News and Events during December, 1999]

(1) GMO Supersalmon -- Wed, 1 Dec 1999
(2) GM species terminators -- Fri, 3 Dec 1999
(3) Maine salmon battle -- Sat, 4 Dec 1999
(4) Federal Agency Session at Aquaculture America Conference -- Mon, 6 Dec 1999
(5) Impacts and Management Plan for Cormorants -- Tue, 7 Dec 1999
(6) Duke of Edinburgh under fire for verbal attack on fish farmers -- Tue, 7 Dec 1999
(7) DC Press Release of "Earth Report 2000" -- Thu, 9 Dec 1999
(8) Fishing lower down the food chain for fish oils -- Sat, 11 Dec 1999
(9) Fish farming on shelves -- Mon, 13 Dec 1999
(10) Norway hopes to double farmed fish production -- Mon, 13 Dec 1999
(11) Market Trends: New Norwegian Report on Farmed Salmon -- Tue, 14 Dec 1999
(12) Calgary - the fish capital of Canada? -- 16 Dec 1999
(13) Allergic reaction to packaged salmon -- Mon, 20 Dec 1999
(14) Maine salmon news -- Tue, 28 Dec 1999

(End of December 199 data --> Click: January 2000 data)



(1) [MULTILINGUAL INFO CLEARINGHOUSE] -- Back to the Table of Contents --

SUBJECT: Fish Farming Update

Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 12:07:27 -0400
From: Bill Mott
To: FishFarmRev

1) Poll released by British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association claims wide suport for expansion

2) Pan Fish grows in Scotland; may expand into Washington State

3) Fewer sea lice in Norway so far this year

4) EWOS update

5) Norwegian research-institute chosen to lead development of Brazilian aquaculture industry

6) George Weston figures

7) Omega-3 fatty acids help with depression

________________________________________

From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
________________________________________

Does anyone have the full script and results of this poll?

1) Poll Shows Support for 'responsible' BC Salmon Farm Expansion VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada, May 20, 1999 (ENS) - A poll released today at the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association annual meeting in Vancouver found that 69 per cent of British Columbians support the growth of salmon farming in B.C., while 13 per cent are opposed.

Aerial view of B.C. inland waters shows salmon farm in the foreground (Photos courtesy BCSFA)

MarkTrend asked a representative sample of 504 British Columbians whether they would support the expansion of salmon farming in B.C. if the 49 recommendations identified in the recently completed Salmon Aquaculture Review were turned into workable solutions. By a majority of five to one, respondents in all demographic groups and geographic regions supported the responsible expansion of salmon farming in B.C.

Approximately 80 salmon farms exist in B.C. today. A moratorium on permits for new aquaculture operations has been in effect since 1995. A Cabinet decision on the industry's application to lift the moratorium has been anticipated for well over a year.

"It's extremely heartening that British Columbians have come to understand both the economic potential of salmon farming, and to appreciate that it is an environmentally sound and sustainable industry," said Anne McMullin executive director of the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA).

The survey found that 71 percent of those polled agree that salmon farming is an environmentally sound and sustainable industry.

Seventy-eight percent agreed that salmon farming is an important part of the province's future economic development and job creation. Farmed salmon is a premium quality food product said 72 percent.

Fish farm workers

The MarkTrend poll is considered accurate within +/- 4.4%, 19 times out of 20.

But critics of B.C.'s type of open net salmon farming say it is not environmentally safe. David Hocking, communications director with the Vancouver based David Suzuki Foundation says there are dangers to the health of wild fish from the transfer of disease from open net cages.

Hocking cites the possible contamination of the wild salmon gene pool from escapees that get out of the open net cages and could colonize west coast streams. The farm fish are Atlantic salmon and Hocking says they could displace Pacific salmon from their home streams.

There is also a danger to the health of humans and other marine life from the antibiotics used to keep farm fish free of disease, Hocking says. "The antibiotics dropped into the open ocean are ingested by other passing aquatic species, and diseases can mutate to deal with these antibiotics," he told ENS in an interview.

Hocking also said that as humans eat farm fish laced with antibiotics, they can develop resistance to the drugs so that when antibiotics are prescribed by physicians they may not be as effective as they are expected to be.

To avoid these problems fish farmers should use closed systems, Hockings says. "Instead of an open cage, a hard system completely separates the farmed from the wild environment. All sewage is treated. You won't have the mingling between wild and farmed fish. You won't have escapes. You won't have sewage fish fecesn and uneaten food. You won't have problem of predators such as seals and the programs farmers use to keep predators away."

"You don't need antibiotics as much, and if you ever do they would stay in the one pen where they are needed."

Hard-sided systems that have been tested are more expensive to set up but have lower operating costs, Hocking says.

Norwegian marine design firm PROCEAN contracted Vancouver Shipyard in December 1998 to build its innovative design ocean catamaran system for Omega Seafarms of Port Hardy, B.C. This first six-cage unit was completed in March.

But the Salmon Farmers Association feels that the poll results justify their current methods of operation. "McMullin told the BCSFA meeting, "Salmon farmers have invested heavily in state-of-the-art technology and environmental practices, and in strengthening relationships with the coastal communities in which we operate. These results confirm that we're on the right track for fostering a world-class salmon aquaculture industry here in B.C."

But Hocking disagrees. "When we can see the pollution from industries such as those on land we don't allow them to pollute," he says. "Industry must bear its environmental costs. We're not against aquaculture; it's extrmely important. We're against any industry that assumes it can grow by passing its environmental costs onto the general public."

The B.C. aquaculture industry rang up sales revenues for 1998 of Cdn$298 million.

B.C. produced 39,255 tonnes of fresh farmed salmon in 1998, up more than 20 percent over 32,514 tonnes in 1997.

The industry's total contribution to the B.C. economy was Cdn$613 million in 1998, up more than 25 per cent over $487.8 million in 1997.

PricewaterhouseCoopers consultant Dave Egan said the B.C. industry's increased production last year primarily served the growing U.S. market.

The 1999 B.C. Salmon Farmers Association annual meeting was attended by B.C. Fisheries Minister Dennis Streifel, federal Aquaculture Commissioner Yves Bastien, as well as representatives of municipal governments, coastal communities, First Nations and salmon farm workers.

© Environment News Service (ENS) 1999. All Rights Reserved.

>From IntraFish:

2) Pan Fish growth: The multinational aquaculture company Pan Fish ASA has had its largest growth last year in Scotland.

05/18/99 07:00

"Good growth conditions for the fish and buying of new fish farms - the latest one in March this year - have created the foundation for a profitable business in Scotland. The production capacity has increased 6-fold since Pan Fish came to Scotland.

Pan Fish also has a strategy to grow salmonids in North-America. To reach that goal, the company has made an agreement of intention to buy a company in the State of Washington, USA. This will increase Pan Fish's production capacity by 50% to 15,000t, and the company will become the largest salmon producer in that part of the world," Sunnmorsposten, a Norwegian newspaper, wrote.

3) Fewer sea-lice

So far this year, fish farmers and veterinarians along the coast of Norway report on better fish health than in recent year, also with fewer sea-lice in the salmon cages.

05/19/99 07:00

Veterinarian Paal Haldorsen from Hydro Seafood Rogaland said in the newsletter Scan Vacc-info that there has been very few sea-lice last winter and this spring.

The colleagues of Mr Haldorsen along the coast are giving similar positive news about improving fish-health and lower amount of sea-lice.

4) EWOS sold as a whole?

Mr Carl Seip Hanevold, MD of feed-producer EWOS in Norway, believes that the EWOS factories around the world will be sold as a whole, not in pieces, as some have predicted.

05/20/99 07:00

"I assume the the Danisco-Cultor (which owns EWOS) merger will be completed in about one to two months. A sale of EWOS will not be decided until the merger is done. And after that, a sale will take quite a long time," Mr Seip Hanevold told SBR.

"I have not received any signals from potential EWOS-buyers, but I am not insecure about the future for the Norwegian EWOS fish-feed plant. In my time, I have experienced the sale of this factory twice before. Both times it has resulted in a vitalisation of our activities and of the plant," Mr Seip Hanevold said.

5) Brazil chooses Akvaforsk

After making a full survey of Brazils' aquaculture industry, the Norwegian research-institute Akvaforsk were chosen by the Brazilian government to lead the building and development of the aquaculture industry in the country.

05/18/99 07:00

"This is a unique opportunity, where most of the Akvaforsk know-how can be implemented," Akvaforsk said in their 1998 annual report.

6) George Weston Ltd

Sales from continuing operations for the first quarter of 1999 reached CAD $4.70 billion, which ise CAD $1.60 billion, or 52% higher than last year's $3.09 billion.

05/14/99 07:00

Farmed salmon pricing among some other higher sales more than offset the negative sales impact of the B.C. Packers disposal.

7) Salmon on your mind..

The fatty oil found in salmon, may alleviate the symptoms of manic depressives, researchers said yesterday.

05/17/99 07:00

Researchers found that patients suffering from manic depression given capsules containing fish oil experienced a marked improvement over a four-month period. (Reuters)


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SUBJECT: Don't Buy The (Fish) Farm

Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 13:04:59 -0700
From: "David Gordon"

I thought you might all be interested in this article -- David

Don't Buy The (Fish) Farm

by Richard Manning

On the dock over the Columbia river at the end of 11th street in Astoria. No farm salmon sold here, but not everyone has this kind of fresh fish in their neighborhood.

We northwesterners say that salmon define us. These fish are icons that set us apart from the rest of the world and anchor our existence in this sodden place, especially now when the struggle to preserve salmon emerges as emblem of the deeper struggle to preserve the integrity of our entire landscape.

Yet this local focus misses something: Salmon are not ours alone, but are and have been ensnared in a global net, an even stiffer challenge to their survival.

My context for this is Astoria, Oregon, my home and a place local if ever one was. The wooden gillnet boats, the rubber boots, the crab traps and net floats piled in pickups all announce that the maritime culture that once permeated the whole Pacific coastal strip survives here in refugium.

I can still buy local fish from local fishermen who are my neighbors. There's a little market on the pier that prides itself on its community-based food chain, but in all too many recent days its shelves have been empty. On such days, the helpful people who run the place send me up the street to a chain supermarket where one can buy fresh prawns from Thailand and farmed Atlantic salmon from Chile. I think locally, but I eat globally. Nothing new in this, even for my isolated little town.

In 1820, Astoria packed its first commercial salmon in barrels and shipped them to London, which is where most of the town's catch--and that from the Columbia, Fraser, and Skeena rivers and Puget Sound--flowed for nearly a century, sponsoring a decimation of the fishery from which the whole Columbia Basin has never recovered.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is not a conflict between the environment and the economic realities of feeding the world.

Salmon farming fails the economic test as well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canned Pacific salmon in working-class lunch buckets fueled England's industrial revolution, as surely as coal did. World War I fed on salmon, literally. The coastal streams of our region began flowing downhill into a global pool long before GATT or NAFTA were glimmers in a freetrader's eye.

So how do global forces bear on us today? The news is, the dominant force is not scarcity (as empty market shelves would suggest) but excess (as the price local fishermen receive for their catch would suggest). Chinook salmon, for instance, have fallen from $5 a pound twenty years ago to $1 a pound now (see graph below). In recent years, Alaskan waters have been producing well, an increase in supply that is one factor in the low price, but not the dominant one.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ex-Vessel prices averaged annually for Chinook salmon harvested using troll gear in the open ocean and landed in Oregon, 1976-1996. Prices shown are adjusted for inflation using a 1996 base year. Click here for year by year figures supporting this graph.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. April 1998

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The biggest factor is aquaculture: farmed fish, salmon kept captive their whole lives in floating pens that are the maritime equivalent of cattle feedlots.

In 1980, fish farms accounted for about 1 percent of all salmon production; fourteen years later, the share was 36 percent, the result of a boom in Norway, Scotland, and Chile. Farmed salmon are expected to account for more than half of all salmon production in as few as five years.

The marketers, especially those who would expand beyond the salmon farming already practiced in the Puget Sound and around Vancouver Island (a small part of the global picture), tell us aquaculture is good because artificially raised fish will take pressure off the beleaguered wild stocks and at the same time provide a hungry world with more food. The environmentalists counter that salmon farms pollute, and fish that escape the pens (mostly Atlantic salmon) can spread disease to wild fish and compete with them for food. The environmentalists are right, but set their arguments aside for a second. This is not a conflict between the environment and the economic realities of feeding the world. Salmon farming fails the economic test as well.

Does salmon farming take pressure off wild stocks? A commercial fisherman is generally less interested in the number of fish caught than in the total income the catch generates. If a fishermen earns one-fifth the amount per fish, he must catch five times as many to maintain his income (which regulations, of course, forbid). So regulations are opposed and violated more frequently, and more fishers go broke than a decade ago.

Yet this supply-demand-price haggle is but a small part of this picture, a narrow view of economics. Despite what you may have heard in the incessant jobs-versus environment debate, biology respects an economic logic, ordering its market with the food chain. Species use resources according to their positions in the chain. The chain serves no free lunch, particularly a free protein lunch, which is to say that the protein of a farmed salmon does not come out of thin air.

Animals low on the food chain eat plants. Cows eat the carbohydrates in grass to make protein. Animals higher on the chain eat animals. They eat protein to make protein, losing as much as 90 percent of it in the process of maintaining life forces. This is why we don't, as a rule, raise predators for food. We don't farm lions because it would be stunningly inefficient.

But we do farm salmon, and salmon are predators. They derive their protein from protein; they eat fish. Estimates vary, but there is a metabolic loss in each step up the food chain. For instance, the Worldwatch Institute says it takes about five grams of captured fish protein -- converted to fishmeal -- to make each gram of farmed fish protein. Fishmeal is produced globally, especially from sardines off South America and especially from herring in the North Pacific.

Worldwide, aquaculture is sponsoring a secondary fishery that vacuums the ocean floor like a Shop Vac. Ocean fisheries historically have depleted fish stocks, but until recently were at least somewhat selective to marketable species. However, when the end product is fishmeal, most of what shows up in a net can be ground into the mix, setting the stage for a decimation of the ecosystem the way markets for wood pulp set the stage for clearcuts. Wild salmon graze this ecosystem selectively, efficiently harvesting its protein for us. Our blundering nets know only how to destroy it and move on.

Fish farming takes the relatively low-cost protein of species like sardines and herring (much of it once consumed directly by the world's poor), reduces its volume by a factor of five, and then sells it to the world's wealthiest consumers. Meanwhile, wild salmon, those few that are left, hatch to fingerlings and migrate to oceans only to find that the fishmeal trawlers have beat them to the herring.

Locally, one does what one can. To date it has taken all we can muster, maybe more, to begin putting the salmon's world back together watershed by watershed, piece by piece. Our attention has been drawn to logging and dams and the restoration of streamside habitat. We'll go on with this work.

Yet if we are to take a reasonably realistic view of the job ahead, larger issues must be faced. One can travel to remote villages on Thailand's Andaman Sea and find fishermen reduced to using cyanide and dynamite to wring the last ounce out of a subsistence fishery hosed out by a passing factory trawler seeking fishmeal. The air of desperation in this scene rings just the same in First Nations villages fighting both fish farms and low salmon prices on Vancouver Island, and it echoes, too, in the empty shelves and empty nets of Astoria.

Yet just off the Interstate anywhere at all, the "salmon and shrimp special" at the fast-food chain is still $4.95, and everywhere it tastes the same.

It's hard, sitting here in Astoria, to decide what one ought to do about this. At the very least, I know where I'll buy my fish, even if it means going without some days. And I know how I will react when someone proposes starting a fish farm in this town.

BACK TO TIDEPOOL

Astoria resident Richard Manning's most recent book is One Round River (Henry Holt, 1998). Click here to read the New York Times Review or read the first chapter. This essay is based on his work with Interrain Pacific and Ecotrust on The New Pacific Salmonscape, a regional atlas of salmon that will be published next year.

----------------------------------------- David Gordon Pacific Environment and Resources Center 1440 Broadway, Suite 306 Oakland, CA 94612 Tel: 510-251-8800 x 304 Fax: 510-251-8838 www.pacenv.org


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SUBJECT: Salmon showdown in MaineUpdate

Date: Tue, 25 May 1999 14:10:41 -0400
From: Bill Mott
To: FishFarmRev

Things heating up in Maine...

________________________________________

Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
________________________________________

Copyright 1999 Guy Gannett Communications, Inc. Portland Press Herald

May 23, 1999, Sunday, CITY EDITION

SECTION: MAINE/NEW ENGLAND, Pg. 1B
LENGTH: 1571 words
HEADLINE: SALMON BATTLE PITS STATE AGAINST FEDERAL AGENCIES; KING RESISTS EFFORTS TO PUT RESTRICTIONS ON FISH FARMS IN ORDER TO PROTECT WILD ATLANTIC SALMON.

BYLINE: DIETER BRADBURY Staff Writer

BODY:

A showdown is looming between the state of Maine and federal fisheries agencies over Gov. Angus King's refusal to put restrictions on fish farms to protect endangered populations of wild Atlantic salmon.

The federal agencies, supported by private conservationists, want the state to ban foreign strains of salmon from fish pens on the coast so escaped fish won't interbreed with wild salmon in Maine rivers.

But King and other state officials are lining up behind fish farmers, who say the foreign strains produce bigger, healthier salmon that are essential to the survival of Maine's $ 60 million aquaculture industry.

The outcome of the dispute will have a major impact on the future of the industry, as well as the state's effort to protect dwindling populations of wild salmon in coastal rivers.

King has made jobs -- especially in economically stagnant areas such as eastern Maine -- a top priority of his administration. The governor also defeated a federal effort to put wild salmon on the Endangered Species List so the state could retain control over salmon with its own conservation plan.

The federal agencies are now reviewing Maine's plan. If the aquaculture issue isn't settled to their satisfaction, they could put salmon on the Endangered Species List, giving federal officials ultimate authority over fish farming, logging, blueberry growing and other land uses near salmon rivers.

"That's something we're really concerned about," said George D. Lapointe, commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources, who has been trying to negotiate an agreement on the issue.

Farmers are raising about 1 million salmon in pens scattered among 27 sites on the eastern Maine coast. The farmed fish have become an increasingly popular food item, while wild fish are protected by catch-and-release regulations to conserve their depleted stocks.

Joseph McGonigle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association, said a third of the farmed fish contain European strains of genetic material. He said the industry uses foreign strains partly because there are not enough local fish or eggs to meet the farmers' needs, and partly for genetic reasons.

When Maine and European bloodlines are mixed, they produce a fish that weighs 8 to 10 pounds at the end of the growing season, rather than 4 to 6 pounds. The hybrid fish are also more resistant to the bacterial infections and other diseases that can ravage farm operations.

"That's the edge we need to have in order to be able to compete in our home market," McGonigle said.

But fisheries' biologists worry about the impact of farmed fish on Maine's dwindling population of wild salmon.

Many pens are located near the mouths of five rivers in Washington County that still support migratory runs of wild fish: the Narraguagus, Pleasant, Dennys, Machias and East Machias.

If aquaculture fish escape from pens and interbreed with wild fish, they can spread disease or introduce genetic material that could weaken the wild salmon's ability to adapt to its environment.

In a letter to the state in April, the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service described aquaculture fish as a "major potential threat" to wild salmon. The agencies urged the state to ban foreign strains and take other steps that would prevent disease and escapes from pens.

The Department of Marine Resources responded last month by agreeing to adopt into regulations a code of practices that the aquaculture industry had developed voluntarily. The code will require farmers to use hardened pens for European strains of fish, among other measures.

But the federal agencies are not satisfied.

Mary Colligan, a fisheries biologist at the National Marine Fisheries Service, said the proposed regulations do not solve all of the concerns about genetic intrusion by European strains.

"Our preferred approach is that they not be used at all," she said.

Lapointe, the state's marine resources commissioner, has been trying to negotiate a settlement among state and federal officials and the aquaculture industry. He praised fish farmers last week for agreeing to regulations that will authorize the state to enforce the industry's voluntary code of practices.

But he said he could not say whether the genetics issue would be resolved.

"I'm still working on it," he said. "It's a tough issue for the aquaculture industry and the fisheries service, and we will continue to do everything we can to push that issue (to an agreement)."

Much is at stake for fish farmers. The aquaculture industry provides 960 jobs and an average annual wage of $ 35,000, mostly in Washington County, where the per capita income is only $ 7,300.

It pays another $ 2 million in revenues to the transportation industry and ships products as far away as Los Angeles and Atlanta. But McGonigle says Maine farmers can't compete with operations in Chile or Norway unless they are allowed to use foreign strains to boost weight and maintain health.

"We are doing everything we can to hang onto our share of the domestic market," he said.

McGonigle also questioned the assumptions behind the government's concerns about fish farms.

He said only one fish has been known to escape from a Maine pen, and it was captured in a weir in the Narraguagus River before it could spawn. He said there is no evidence farmed fish have spread disease to wild Maine salmon.

McGonigle accused biologists of blaming aquaculture for the failures of government fish management plans.

But others point to the chronic depletion of wild salmon stocks as reason for federal intervention.

Last year, only 1,353 salmon are known to have returned to Maine rivers, based on weir or fishway counts. That includes 22 fish on the Narraguagus and one on the Dennys. The three other Downeast rivers did not have weirs.

The state is trying to restore wild salmon runs in the rivers under a 1997 conservation plan that links residents, industry, landowners and public officials in a coordinated effort to protect fish and their habitat.

The plan relies largely on voluntary efforts to prevent erosion, pesticide exposure and irrigation drawdowns, and to use other measures to protect the fish and their spawning and feeding habitats.

Lately, biologists have devoted much of their attention to investigating anew virus that killed a number of wild salmon from the Pleasant River at a federal hatchery in Massachusetts last year.

The same virus was recently found at the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery in Orland, among fish from the Narraguagus, Machias and East Machias rivers.

No hatchery fish are known to have been killed by the disease in Maine, and biologists allowed the stocking of 3 million young fish to proceed this month after samples tested negative for the virus.

But officials know little about where the disease came from or how it is transmitted.

Federal agencies are studying the virus as part of a review of the status of wild salmon populations in Maine. At the same time, they are also analyzing the state's first-year progress report on the conservation plan to see whether it's working, or whether the fish needs to be placed on the Endangered Species List.

The agencies expect to finish the review in June.

Colligan, the federal fisheries biologist, said the aquaculture issue will play an important role in the federal government's evaluation of Maine's conservation efforts. But she would not say whether the government will list the fish if Maine doesn't ban European strains from fish farms.

Private conservation groups, however, are urging the federal government to do just that.

Trout Unlimited, a national coldwater fisheries group with several Maine chapters, said the wild salmon need federal protection because the state conservation plan is inadequate.

"Where salmon farming is concerned, the state's approach is 'see no evil, hear no evil,' " said Charles F. Gauvin, national president of the 100,000-member organization.

The Atlantic Salmon Federation, a conservation group with chapters in Maine and Canada, said it would support a listing unless King bans the use of European strains in fish farms.

In a letter this month to King, federation President William Taylor said Maine's Department of Marine Resources "appears to be oblivious" to the genetic contamination issue.

The federation's move is significant because it has been a strong supporter of the state plan. Many of its members serve on local watershed councils that are trying to carry out the plan.

And when other conservation groups sued the federal government last year for accepting Maine's plan in lieu of a listing under the Endangered Species Act, the federation refused to join in the suit.

King, in a recent letter to Taylor, pointed to progress the state has made on the new code for fish farmers and additional funding for salmon conservation programs. "We're making real progress," reads a handwritten note at the end of the governor's letter. "Stick with us!"

But Sue Scott, a spokeswoman for the council in New Brunswick, said the organization is running out of patience.

She said the state only seems to act when outside groups apply pressure.

"More and more, we're coming to a conclusion that the plan was more a public relations exercise by the state than a feeling that wild salmon are important to save," she said.


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SUBJECT: Antibiotics resistance - call to action from EDF

Date: Mon, 31 May 1999 18:44:52 -0400
From: Bill Mott
To: FishFarmRev

The following comes from Dr. Becky Goldburg (with the Environmental Defense Fund and co-author of Murky Waters: Environmental Effects of Aquaculture in the U.S.) The issue is a serious concern with modern, intensive agriculture and aquaculture.

________________________________________

Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
________________________________________

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE: A GRAVE THREAT TO HUMAN HEALTH--

By Dr. Rebecca J. Goldburg, EDF ecologist in the New York office.

Imagine that you accidentally cut yourself. The cut becomes infected. No one can treat the infection, and it moves into your bloodstream. You become extremely ill and die.

Dying from a cut seems highly unlikely to most Americans today. But it was a frightening possibility only 60 years ago, before the development of antibiotic drugs. In the near future, as more and more disease-causing bacteria become resistant to treatment by antibiotics, some bacterial infections could again become untreatable.

For example, more than 90% of strains of Staphyloccous aureus bacteria, a common cause of hospital Staph infections, are now resistant to penicillin. More than 30% are resistant not only to penicillin but also to every other antibiotic used to treat Staph infections--except one, vancomycin. Now a vancomycin-resistant strain of Staph has emerged, which is untreatable (but, luckily, still rare). Last year in New York, a man in his 70's died after being infected by vancomycin-resistant Staph.

Even when antibiotic-resistant infections are not deadly, they are costly to treat and debilitating to patients. Doctors now must often treat patients with a series of antibiotics before finding one that is effective.

The Problem: Overuse of Antibiotics

Bacteria develop their antibiotic resistance as an evolutionary response to the widespread use--and overuse--of antibiotics. Human medicine is the major user of antibiotics, but not by much. Farmers actually use more than 40% of all antibiotics sold in the United States today. Both sectors need to reduce the use of antibiotics.

In human medicine, doctors too often prescribe antibiotics imprudently, such as when patients with colds demand them. (Colds are viral infections against which antibiotics have no effect.) Antibiotics should be prescribed only when medically necessary.

About 80% of the antibiotics used in agriculture are added to poultry, hog, and cattle feed, not to treat sick animals but to promote growth and prevent disease. This indiscriminate and non-essential use of antibiotics in agriculture dangerously increases the possibility that these antibiotics (and other closely related ones) will be ineffective when needed to treat people.

Overuse of antibiotics in agriculture has led to serious antibiotic-resistance problems in foods. Strains of Salmonella and other disease-causing organisms found in raw and undercooked meat are increasingly resistant to several antibiotics. One strain of Salmonella that is resistant to five different antibiotics increased from 0.6% of specimens tested in 1980 to 34% in 1997.

Because of these increasing levels of resistance, a relatively new class of antibiotics, the fluoroquinolones, has become the top choice for treating life-threatening Salmonella infections. But these drugs could also be lost to resistance. Despite strong opposition from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved use of fluoroquinolones for poultry in 1995. In Britain, use of fluoroquinolones on animals has already led to resistant Salmonella.

U.S. Lags Europe in Curtailing Antibiotics on Farms

Few people would choose to allow drugs to be robbed of their life-saving effectiveness in exchange for small benefits to agribusiness, particularly for non-essential uses such as promoting weight gain in farm animals. Sweden banned all non- therapeutic use of antibiotics in agriculture in 1986, and the country has evolved a highly successful system of meat production that does not depend on these drugs.

A 1997 World Health Organization report recommended ending the use in animal feed of all antibiotics used in human medicine, as well as closely related drugs. In an initial response, the use of four antibiotics in animal feed was banned throughout Europe last year.

The U.S. government, unfortunately, has been reluctant to reduce the widespread use of antibiotics in agriculture. In the 1970's, the FDA proposed to ban certain uses of penicillin and other antibiotics in animal feed. The proposals raised a storm of protest from legislators representing agribusiness interests, and they were never made final. Since then, health threats from antibiotic-resistant bacteria have continued to mount. As more and more people suffer infections that are difficult to treat and occasionally deadly, these problems are approaching a crisis stage.

EDF has gathered the support of more than two dozen organizations to urge FDA to strengthen its proposal on limiting new uses of antibiotics in agriculture. Even though FDA's current proposal is far too weak to protect human health, it has already been strenuously attacked by the pharmaceutical industry and agricultural interests.

Furthermore, it is not sufficient merely to limit new uses of antibiotics. The current overuse of antibiotics both in human medicine and in animal feeds must be quickly curtailed. EDF has joined several prominent public interest organizations in petitioning FDA to revoke its approvals for existing uses of six antibiotics in animal feed, consistent with the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control.

EDF MEMBER ACTION ALERT

The Food and Drug Administration is unlikely to revoke currently approved uses without strong public support. EDF members can support EDF's petition by urging FDA to ban human antibiotics in animal feeds. Write to Dr. Jane Henney, Commissioner, U.S. FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 1471, Rockville, MD 20857.

[Caption: Becky Goldburg]

[Caption: Cattle and other farm animals such as hogs and poultry are routinely dosed with antibiotics to promote growth and prevent disease.]


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SUBJECT: Maine salmon farming scrutinized

Date: Mon, 31 May 1999 18:45:02 -0400
From: Bill Mott
To: FishFarmRev

Good article on the current situation in Maine.

________________________________________

Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
________________________________________ From: Ellsworth American Thursday, May 27, 1999

Blue Hill Bay Under the Microscope Over Atlantic Salmon Farming Plans

By Gregory Williams

BLUE HILL To farm or not to farm (salmon that is.)

That is the question floating around Blue Hill Bay these days as proposals to raise more than a million finfish in the bay meet with concerns from scientists, state and federal organizations and residents.

Many concerns expressed to date revolve around the environmental impact finfish farms may have on the health of the bays waters and marine life.

The aquaculture proposals, made by Atlantic Salmon of Maine and Acadia Aquaculture, involve raising salmon to be sold in larger consumer markets, using net pen aquaculture techniques.

The fish would be raised from smolts to market size within 24-square-meter steel pens. They then would be harvested, processed and trucked to markets primarily along the eastern seaboard of the United States.

Potential Impacts

Area residents in recent weeks have expressed concern about a variety of potential impact farms may have on the surrounding environment. Among the concerns are low-current velocities, the bays ability to flush waste produced by the fish into the Gulf of Maine, increased algal and bacterial growth and the loss of biodiversity.

"My feeling is if we have reasonable doubts, it is better to look for sites we can be more confident in," says Neal Pettigrew, an associate professor of physical oceanography at the University of Maine in Orono and a Blue Hill resident. "We have the technology to study this bay in plenty of detail."

Pettigrew, who has served as a coastal circulation specialist in a five-year study of Penobscot Bay begun in 1996, says more should be understood about Blue Hill Bays circulation before more leases are granted.

The parties involved in the debate agree that the current rates are low and that little is known about the bays circulation patterns, but they disagree on whether that means finfish aquaculture is unacceptable for Blue Hill Bay.

Officials from the Department of Marine Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Department of Environmental Protection say they are concerned by the low current rates in the bay because they may result in the buildup of waste under the pens, depleting the biodiversity of the surrounding marine environment.

Reducing Footprint

They also agree that if site managers practice good husbandry such as reducing the spillage of food pellets, producing an acceptable number of fish and moving the pens around within the lease sites the "footprint" on the sea floor could be reduced.

Pettigrew is not convinced, saying that before the state grants leases to companies wanting to farm finfish in Blue Hill Bay, more research must be done on the flushing cycle between the bay and the Gulf of Maine.

Pettigrew says he understands that the state monitors sites for environmental impact, but he fears that if leases are granted, the result will be that the state will be in the position of having to close down the sites.

This, he says, would generate significant resistance from companies, given their investment. The cost of Atlantic Salmons 28 proposed pens, barge and accessories off Long Island would exceed $1.6 million, the application states.

Pettigrew says the currents may not be strong enough to sufficiently disperse the spilled feed and fish waste falling through the water column under the operation. This, he says, could lead to the formation of bacterial mats and environmental degradation of the sea floor community directly under the pens. Such mats, he says, indicate a "complete loss of the macrofaunal community" consisting of a variety of marine creatures, such as crustaceans, fish, worms and anemones.

Serve as Caution

"We really dont understand much of anything concerning circulation in Blue Hill Bay," Pettigrew says. "Im afraid, frankly, we could have a problem."

This, he says, "should serve as a caution to slow down" the process of granting permits for finfish farms in the bay.

Pettigrew says he is not opposed to aquaculture enterprises per se, but simply wants them to be located in suitable sites. Blue Hill Bays "very low currents," he says, suggest that the area is not suitable for finfish farming.

John Sowles, a biologist and director of the Department of Environmental Protections marine program, agrees with Pettigrews claim that there is little understanding of the bays circulation patterns and that the bays currents are slower than at existing aquaculture sites.

Sowles says that his department judges aquaculture operations solely on their impact on water quality and habitat. He says the department is concerned about the potential environmental impacts, but that it does not have a sound basis to deny the proposals up front.

Sowles says the fine-grained silt and mud sediments off Long Island suggest low current rates incapable of dispersing the fish waste. Those found off Bartlett Island, he says, suggest a "slightly better" location.

Classified Waters

The state legislature, he says, has classified Maines inland and coastal waters to protect water quality and marine habitat. Blue Hill Bay, Sowles says, is classified as an "all purpose" area, in which the loss of any indigenous marine species is unacceptable.

Slow currents, shallow depths and inadequate husbandry can lead to the build up of organic matter such as bacterial mats resulting in the elimination of indigenous species. He says that when and if a sites impact gets to this point, the DEP is required by law to correct the situation.

"Most people know I am a firm promoter of aquaculture, but I hold the line when it comes to environmental impact," Sowles says. "It has a place on the coast, but we cant get so enthusiastic that we forget about the natural resource [the marine environment]."

After hearing news a decade ago about "severe" environmental impacts from finfish operations in Norway, British Columbia and other areas of the world, Sowles says the department began to conduct studies along the Downeast coast. Some sites, he says, were found to impact the marine environment in an "unacceptable" manner and were downsized or abandoned.

Unacceptable impact, he says, primarily means a resulting formation of bacterial mats, dominance of one or two species and the subsequent elimination of other sea life and the presence of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas, not considered a danger to humans, but rather to sea life including the very finfish being farmed, he says.

When a Concern Such activities, he says, do occur naturally on an occasional basis without the presence of finfish farming. It is when the evidence becomes more regular that it is of concern to the department, he says.

Sowles says that finfish operations contribute "quite a load" of nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus, which when in excess can lead to increased algal growth, in addition to the bacterial mats. He says such enrichment can be beneficial as it may also lead to increased numbers of fish until it begins to dominate other sea life.

Jon Lewis, aquaculture specialist for the Department of Marine Resources, agrees with the claim that the currents at the sites have "very low" rates. Lewis says he has a concern about the currents and that the Blue Hill Bay site reviews are the first in which he has commented on current speed and sedimentation.

He reports that "periodic storm driven waves may substantially increase the water velocity" at the sites, though the muddy sediments on the bottom suggest otherwise.

Lewis says that, if approved, the Long Island site with a maximum production of 10 million pounds of fish would be the largest site in Maine.

"At 10 million pounds, I anticipate that that is a large load for that site," Lewis says. Sowles agrees.

Impact Method Needed

Lewis says his department has discussed and recognized the need for a method of looking at the cumulative impact of finfish aquaculture proposals, but currently has nothing in place. Sowles says his department has had similar discussions with no results and that it is up to the legislature to implement a plan.

"Its a classic case of a lack of a long-term use plan for coastal waters," Sowles says. "At some point were going to be faced with having to do that."

Sowles says the waters belong to the state including its residents and that no matter how unpopular it is, zoning will be necessary. Right now, he says, it is a "free-for-all."

Lewis and Sowles say they are concerned about having a program in place to monitor the cumulative effects of fish waste that has been successfully flushed away from existing pen sites by currents and wave activity and deposited elsewhere.

Sowles says that experience with existing sites shows that the waste is often deposited in the vicinity of eddies or swirling waters which collect the waste after being dispersed from the pens. But because the the circulation of Blue Hill Bay is not understood, the state does not know where to look for such deposits when monitoring sites.

Compared to Norway Bob Hukki, assistant farm manager for Atlantic Salmon of Maine, says that the bays currents are sufficient and are comparable to those around pen sites in Norway. He says environmental problems have resulted at those sites in the past, but salmon farmers have adjusted their techniques to reduce the impact.

When asked about the usage of container bags or "diapers" as they are referred to in the industry to catch the spilled feed and feces, Hukki says that such a technique has been tried elsewhere, but that it just "moves the problem somewhere else."

Jay Clement, project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, says the bags "work to a point," but that spillage can occur.

Hukki says that the best ways to reduce the impact are to control production and limit the amount of feed. Allowing the site to sit fallow every other year, he says, would let the natural biological activity such as the decay of waste and the ingestion of spilled feed by sea life heal the environment.

Clement agrees with Hukki on this issue and says the corps can include conditions on the lease to reduce the environmental impact from spilled feed and fish waste.

The proposed sites in Blue Hill Bay have greater depths than sites farther Downeast, which Clement says should allow for better dispersion of spilled feed and waste.

Other Sites

Tidal ranges at sites farther east can be up to 22 feet Clement says, or much larger than that of Blue Hill Bay, which he estimated to be around 10 feet. This, he says, suggests better flushing due to the movement of more water.

"There are valid concerns that have been raised about low currents," Clement says. "Whether that is mitigated by the depth and best management practices the company intends to employ has yet to be determined."

Clement says that monitoring sometimes shows a "surge" in marine life populations being fed by the spilled food. This, he says, is called the "birdfeeder effect" of the pens. Sowles says such bottom enrichment is good to a point, but if there is too much, it will lead to a few dominant species. Clement agrees with Sowles, saying a case could be made for the loss of biodiversity.

Hukki says he doesnt see spilled feed being an issue, but admits feces from the salmon could be a problem without adequate precautions.

The addition of waste from more than 1.3 million fish that would be grown at the proposed Bartlett and Long Island lease sites, Pettigrew says, would create a situation "very similar to a sewage problem."

A multiyear study, completed in 1992 and funded by state and federal money, determined that at a Toothachre Cove salmon pen site off Swans Island, shows that bacterial mats develop due to slow currents, but are flushed away by annual storm activity.

Clement says the study shows that the "long-term environmental impacts" at that Toothachre Cove site have been "minimal," as have been those at other sites in Maine. He says "the findings made to date do not show significant environmental impacts."


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SUBJECT: Atlantic salmon at all-time low

Date: Mon, 31 May 1999 18:45:05 -0400
From: Bill Mott
To: FishFarmRev

From today's Montreal Gazette:

________________________________________

Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
________________________________________

East coast salmon reach all-time low
Montreal Gazette
May 31, 1999

St. John's, Nfld. - The number of large salmon of North American origin has fallen to 80,000 on the east coast -- an all-time low, say scientists with the world's leading research group on marine and fisheries science. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea released the figures last week, prompting a conservation group to call for a temporary ban on salmon fishing in the region. The Atlantic Salmon Federation, which represents fisheries in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Maine and New Engand, says it will make the plea at the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization conference in Ireland this June. "Any harvest will jeopardize the very survival of the species, especially in the rivers of Maine, where salmon are candidates for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act," said Bill Taylor, federation president. Large salmon from North America have been in steady decline since the mid-1970s, when they numbered 800,000. "The 80,000 is such a shocking figure," said federation spokesman Sue Scott. "Action must be taken now to turn it around." She said threats to the stock include overfishing with gill nets and industrial pollution. The Atlantic salmon crisis first made headlines in 1997, when populations dipped to half the spawning requirements. The large salmon are predominantly females, which seed the rivers for future runs. The bulk of remaining salmon runs are in Newfoundland and Labrador, said Taylor.


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SUBJECT: Salmon (and other fish) farming news from around the world...

Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 09:09:19 -0400
From: Bill Mott

1) Aquatas invests in SEA System technology

2) BC salmon farming industry numbers

3) ISA confirmed in Shetlands

4) ISA a key issue in Ireland

5) International Aqua Foods' numbers up

6) Fish farming for pet food in Australia

________________________________________

Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
________________________________________

1) From IntraFish:

Aquatas invests

Aquatas invests in new enclosed system technology for salmon rearing. Aquatas Pty. Ltd. and Future SEA Technologies Inc. has announced the investment by Aquatas in SEA System technology.

05/28/99 07:00

The SEA System is an enclosed finfish rearing system.

Aquatas is a producer and exporter of salmon and ocean trout based in Margate Tasmania, Australia. Future SEA is based in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.

2) Growth in B.C.

Statistics shows British Columbia (Canada) sales revenues for 1998 of CAD $298 million, and increases in production and overall economic activity in 1998:

05/27/99 07:00

B.C. produced 39,255 tonnes of fresh farmed salmon, up more than 20 per cent over 32,514 tonnes in 1997; and the industry's total contribution to the B.C. economy was CAD $613 million in 1998, up more than 25 per cent over $487.8 million in 1997.

PricewaterhouseCoopers consultant Dave Egan said the B.C. industry's increased production last year primarily served the growing U.S. market. B.C. farmed salmon exports to the United States have risen from $107 million in 1996 to $172 million in 1998 (U.S. dollars). Egan also noted that the rapidly expanding demand for farmed salmon fillets presents a significant opportunity for B.C. to enhance its value-added processing industry.

3) ISA confirmed

The fish disease Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA) is now confirmed on a fish farm in the Burra region of Shetland, bringing the total of confirmed sites in Shetland to two, the Scottish announced Tuesday

(25-5).

05/27/99 07:00

In addition, the disease is also now suspected on a site in Out Skerries, Shetland.

The infected farm, which was previously declared suspect on April 23, 1999.

This brings the total number of farms in Scotland which have been declared infected to 11, of which five are now re-stocking after completing their disinfection and fallowing. There are now 18 farms suspected of being infected with the disease, of which eight have been cleared of fish.

4) ISA still an issue for Irish

The Infectious Salmon Anaemia disease (ISA) still remains one of the key issues for the Irish salmon growers who spare no effort in trying to keep it out of the country.

05/25/99 07:00

ISGA executive secretary, Richie Flynn, told SBR that they were planning a review of the code of conduct ' very shortly' - in light of the accumulated experiences of the disease in nearby Scotland. "A code like that is not set in stone, its an organic document. We've got to review the Scottish reports, because they've been involved in a very steep learning curve," he said.

Mr Flynn doesn't believe that the island's closeness to Scotland - and the associated risk regarding to the potential of the disease being brought into the country - creates a confidence crisis in the Irish industry. Private investors willing to put funds into new aquaculture projects are not deterred, he says. "Nobody is going to hold back on investments on the basis that they might get [ISA]. Every business has its risks, and we're going to do our [very best] to ensure that ISA is kept out [] ISA is certainly an issue, but we're ISA-free and we can remain so if we keep vigilant."

The ISGA Secretary added that since the implementation of the new licensing regime, the granting of new licenses had been 'tumbling' in. So far, since late 1998, about 90 licenses have been granted for aquaculture development (of which ten or so are for salmon farming projects) - with a dozen having been appealed to the licences' appeal board.

5) IAF expects increase

International Aqua Foods Ltd. announces its financial results for the 13 weeks ended April 3, 1999. Sales were $ 9,386,479, up 14.8 per cent compared to last year. Gross margins were $ 800,572 ($1,040,799 in 1998)

05/24/99 07:00

As expected, the results reflect higher average sale prices, partially offset by lower sales volume and higher costs as compared to the corresponding period in 1998. Sales volumes for the first quarter of 1999 decreased due to changes in the harvest schedule at the Company's operations in Chile. Sales volumes for the quarter were 2.3 million pounds as compared to 2.5 million pounds for the corresponding period in 1998.

Farmed salmon consumption in the United States continues to remain strong and first quarter industry average prices for eight to 12 pound farmed Atlantic salmon were US $0.05 higher than last year. Since the end of the first quarter, average farmed salmon prices in the U.S. have shown steady strengthening, increasing by 6% or US$0.13 per pound.

Based on current and planned inventory levels, the Company expects that harvest volumes will continue to increase through the end of 1999 although the actual amount of fish harvested will depend on salmon prices. IAF expects that overall volumes for fiscal 1999 will increase by 13% given current market prices and Company inventory levels.

6) FROM ENS:

Aquaculture Could Take Pet Food Pressure off Wild Fish

MELBOURNE, Australia, May 27, 1999 (ENS) - Fish grown on fish farms in rural Australia could be the pet food of the future, a Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) briefing for Victorian politicians was told Wednesday.

Ian Thomas, research manager for Uncle Ben's Australia, told the politicians that his company is considering alternatives to the supplies of fish currently imported from Asia for petfood.

"Australian aquaculture may offer a potential solution through fish farms where treated waste from the food industry is used to feed the fish.

"We would need some 10,000 - 15,000 tonnes of finfish per year. There is currently no aquaculture product in Australia that could meet this requirement. We think there is an opportunity to cost-effectively satisfy our consumers with fish grown in Australia, ideally within a few hours of our factory at Wodonga, Victoria," said Thomas.

"Fish protein is considered high quality for cats. Pilchards and sardines for cat food are currently imported from Thailand, the USA, and, until recently, Australia. The cat food market in Australia also has a lot of imported canned pilchards manufactured in Thailand. This is simply due to the cheap fish and labour when the product is sourced. In the future we would prefer to have these products sourced from Australia based on cheap, high quality fish canned on high speed production lines in Victoria," Thomas explained.

Supported by Victoria's Strategic Industry Research Foundation (SIRF), a research team is investigating the feasibility of producing, cost-effectively, cultured omnivorous finfish for use in pet food, by utilising some of the 30,000 tonnes of food industry by products in Victoria.

The project team consists of Business Victoria, the Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute, Deakin University Warrnambool Campus, Uncle Ben's of Australia and other participants from the food industry.

Dr. Peter Rothlisberg of CSIRO, told the briefing that Australian aquaculture is entering a new era, one in which resource and environmental concerns play a much larger role in public perception and government and industry decision making.

Aquaculture is capturing a growing share of the world's fisheries. (Graph courtesy World Aquaculture)

"If modern aquaculture is to survive it will have to become more compatible with other resource users and with the natural environment. Scientists can help resolve issues of sustainable aquaculture and environment management by advising on what is physically or biologically possible Decision makers, both regulatory and industry, can then put thisinformation into a political and economic context," Dr. Rothlisberg said.

Aquaculture is one of Australia's fastest growing primary industries. According to the Australian Seafood Industry Council, the value of production has doubled from A$158 million in 1988-89 to over A$449 million in 1996-97. It is predicted that this will increase rapidly and by the year 2000 be valued at over A$600 million Aquaculture now saccounts for over 20 percent of the total value of Australia's fisheries production.

More than forty different species are farmed The more common species include pearl oysters, tuna, salmon,edible oysters, prawns and trout. Other species being farmed include eels, freshwater crayfish, mussels, abalone, crocodiles, silver perch, barramundi and algae.

Environment News Service (ENS) 1999. All Rights Reserved.


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TITLE: Salmon farming news from around the world

Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 09:33:30 -0400
Primary Source: IntraFish
Transmitted by:From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

1) Recommendations to fish farmers from a leading UK retailer
2) 'Dangerous escalation' of ISA crisis in Shetlands
3) Ireland to undertake 'major' strategic study of aquaculture industry
4) Russia's 'Arctic Salmon' to boost farmed salmonid production
_________________________________________________
1) Farmed fish Tesco's 'ethics'

Mr Martin Cooke of Tesco Stores Ltd - one of the UK's leading multiple-retailers - recently told an audience of fish farmers that the production and marketing of farmed fish is the subject of four ethical domains:

06/04/99 07:00

Employment, trading, animal husbandry and environment. He said that retailers had an 'ethical' responsibility to provide customers with fish which meet their demands in terms of quality, variety and high standards of the branded fresh fish products on sale. However, he added, consumer demands are continually evolving and customers are increasingly looking to get better quality for less value. It is up to the fish farmers to live up to these standards, Mr Cooke commented.

The Tesco executive said that consumers are today concerned about the way in which animals are reared for food. Tesco, he said, has adopted the 'Five Freedoms' proposed by the UK's Farm Animal Welfare Counci organisation.

These include freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort (by providing an appropriate environment, freedom from pain, injury and disease, freedom to express normal behaviour (by providing space, proper facility and company of the animal's own kind) and freedom from fear and distress. Mr Cooke also said that customers today have high expectations of animal welfare and that their loyalty to a brand could rely upon whether or not they feel comfortable about eating a product. There also has to be ethical responsibility with regard to the issue of sustainability.

2) ISA crisis

'Dangerous escalation'

"The two cases of Infectious Salmon Anaemia announced by the Scottish Office [last Tuesday] indicate a dangerous escalation of the disease in Shetland.

05/31/99 07:00

One case, in the Burra Isle area. moves from "suspected" status, to "confirmed", meaning that a slaughter of the entire site is now required immediately. This site is one of the largest in Europe, containing some 1,000,000 fish at a weight [on average] of about 2kg. There will be enormous practical difficulties in meeting the requirements within the allowed time scale. The farm will suffer a substantial loss compared to the financial out-turn had the fish been fully grown out," the Shetland Salmon Farmers' Association said in a press release.

"The other case is a "suspected" notice given to the farm on the remote island of Out Skerries. Present fallowing arrangements mean that it will not he possible to introduce new stock into the water next year, leaving a potentially serious gap in the farm's production oven if the disease is not confirmed.The community of about 80 people also harvests and packs its own fish, and more than half the jobs on the island arc reliant on the farm."

3) Irish Aquaculture Major Strategic Study

The Irish Department of Marine and Natural Resources (DoMNR) has awarded a major Strategic Review of the Irish aquaculture industry to the Circa Group Europe Ltd. and Galway Aqua Consulting Ltd.

06/01/99 07:00

The Strategic Review will look at the prospects of Irish aquaculture for the medium term to approximately 2006. It will be based on a detailed analysis and assessment of the Irish industry, its main competitors and its market trends. It will identify the challenges and opportunities facing Irish aquaculture. It will also make recommendations on how the industry can be become more sustainable in the future and how it could better overcome perceived constraints and improve competitiveness.

The review will also involve wide consultation with producers representing all industry subsectors from shellfish to finfish. In addition it will assess the potential of new species in the Irish context. In particular it will look at the output targets and employment potential for 2006 and prepare a longer term vision of the industry as well. An evaluation of the investment needs in the light of the revision of the CFP, the creation of two development regions in Ireland and agenda 2000 will form an integral part of the assignment.

4) Rainbow trout in Murmansk

Murmansk-based (Russia) farming company Arctic Salmon has put forward an ambitious programme to boost salmonids production in the province of Murmansk by as much as 6,000 tonnes by 2007

05/31/99 07:00

This is according to the firm's deputy manager, Sergey Nesvetov. The target for the first stage, a yearly output of 600 tonnes of kamloops trout hybrid (Salmo gairdnerii) - a hybrid of Canadian steelhead salmon and rainbow trout - has already been achieved. The target for the second phase is to produce 2,000 tonnes annually.

According to Mr Nesvetov, it will take some five years to meet the 2000-tonne intermediate target subject to an overall investment of approximately US$ 5,2 million. Arctic Salmon, established in 1990, now runs its own hatchery on warm waste-water from the Tuloma power station, its own broodstock and eight kamloops farms. Each farm is designed to produce about 120 tonnes per year. Currently the fish ranger between 20-350 g and the next commercial production is expected between September to early October.


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TITLE: A warning from Scotland - Letter to the Editor, Sport Fishing BC, Canada.

Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 09:54:53 -0400
Primary Source: Sport Fishing News
Transmitted by:From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Hugh Partridge recently voiced the hopes of many sport fishers in "Growth in Fish farming". Replacing the declining wild fisheries by further developing the fish farming industry appears to make common sense. However he made a very significant point worth considering further.

The suggested resurgence in the viability of fish farming "comes as no surprise considering the Department of Fisheries inability to successfully manage wild salmon stocks."

Pause for reflection. If the Department of Fisheries have been unable to successfully manage wild fish stocks in the past, what reason is there to believe that they can "properly regulate" the fish farming industry.

Here in Scotland most sport fishermen now realise that the biggest enemy of the wild fish is the fish farming industry. Far from solving the wild fish problems, the farmed fish have become the problem. Wild salmonids have been wiped out wherever the industry goes. Sea trout are virtually extinct on the west coast and northern isles. Salmon stocks are going the same way.

My own experience during twenty years of oyster farming on the west coast of Scotland, is that the huge volumes of waste from salmon farms, cause major water quality problems. The Industry needs around six tonnes of wild fish processed into pellets in order to produce one tonne of salmon. Three quarters of what is fed is discharged as organic waste and ammonia into sheltered coastal waters, which become plagued by harmful algae, producing shellfish poisoning toxins.

The political and commercial pressures to expand the industry are enormous, and Fisheries scientists keen to be seen to do something positive. However be warned, the industry promoters know and care even less about the environmental effects of fish farming than they do about the wild fish.

Of course the fish faming industry and it's dependent academic apologists claim that they pose no environmental risk! Talk is cheap, nevertheless the cold hard facts from around the world show the industry claims have no foundation. If you really value the wild fish, get together and spend a little money now on a truly independent and objective study. Do not risk finding out out too late, as has happened here.

Allan W. Berry, Nurses House, Cannich by Beauly, Inverness-shire, Scotland Tel & fax 044 01456 415 451. e-mail awberry@compuserve.com


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TITLE: FOOD SAFETY ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH PRODUCTS FROM AQUACULTURE WHO Technical Report Series 883

WHO aquaculture food safety report just released
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1999 13:38:10 -0400
From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: FISHFARM

FOOD SAFETY ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH PRODUCTS FROM AQUACULTURE WHO Technical Report Series 883

Report of a Joint FAO/NACA/WHO Study Group

World Health Organization

Geneva

The report (55 pages) can be downloaded from the WHO site at: http://www.who.int/fsf/new.htm

Abstract: The past decade has seen rapid expansion in aquaculture production. In the fisheries sector, as in animal production, farming is replacing hunting as the primary food production strategy. In future, farmed fish will be an even more important source of protein foods than they are today, and the safety for human consumption of products from aquaculture is of public health significance. This is the report of a Study Group that considered food safety issues associated with farmed finfish and crustaceans. The principal conclusion was that an integrated approach -- involving close collaboration between the aquaculture, agriculture, food safety, health and education sectors -- is needed to identify and control hazards associated with products from aquaculture. Food safety assurance should be included in fish farm management and form an integral part of the farm-to-table food safety continuum. Where appropriate, measures should be based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) methods; however, difficulties in applying HACCP principles to small-scale farming systems were recognized. Food safety hazards associated with products from aquaculture differ according to region, habitat and environmental conditions, as well as methods of production and management. Lack of awareness of hazards can hinder risk assessment and the application of risk management strategies to aquaculture production, and education is therefore needed. Chemical and biological hazards that should to be taken into account in public health policies concerning products from aquaculture are discussed in this report, which should be of use to policy-makers and public health officials.

__________________________________________________

From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
bmott@seaweb.org www.seaweb.org __________________________________________________


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TITLE: Monsanto getting into aquaculture


Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 09:47:31 -0400
From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture ClearFrom: Bill Mott, Coordinator
To: FishFarmRev

The entire article is interesting (and scary); section on aquaculture is ed below:

MONSANTO'S WATER AND AQUACULTURE BUSINESSES

Date: 03 Jun 1999

From: Tula Tsalis {ttsalis@igc.org}

MONSANTO'S EXPANDING MONOPOLIES

By Vandana Shiva

Over the past few years, Monsanto, a chemical firm, has positioned itself as an agricultural company through control over seed - the first link in the food chain. Monsanto now wants to control water, the very basis of life.

In 1996, Monsanto bought the biotechnology assets of Agracetus, a subsidiary of W. R. Grace, for $150 million and Calgene, a California-based plant biotechnology company for $340 million. In 1997, Monsanto acquired Holden seeds, the Brazilian seed company, Sementes Agrocerus and Asgrow. In 1998, it purchased Cargill's seed operations for $1.4 billion and bought Delta and Pine land for $1.82 billion and Dekalb for $2.3 billion.

In India, Monsanto has bought MAHYCO, Maharashtra Hybrid Company, EID Parry and Rallis. Mr. Jack Kennedy of Monsanto has said, "we propose to penetrate the Indian agricultural sector in a big way. MAHYCO is a good vehicle." According to Mr. Robert Farley of Monsanto, "what you are seeing is not just a consolidation of seed companies, it's really a consolidation of the entire food chain. Since water is as central to food production as seed is, and without water life is not possible, Monsanto is now trying to establish its control over water. During 1999, Monsanto plans to launch a new water business, starting with India and Mexico since both these countries are facing water shortages."

Monsanto is seeing a new business opportunity because of the emerging water crisis and the funding available to make this vital resource available to people. As it states in its strategy paper, "first, we believe that discontinuities (either major policy changes or major trendline breaks in resource quality or quantity) are likely, particularly in the area of water and we will be well-positioned via these businesses to profit even more significantly when these discontinuities occur. Second, we are exploring the potential of non-conventional financing (NGOs, World Bank, USDA, etc.) that may lower our investment or provide local country business-building resources." Thus, the crisis of pollution and depletion of water resources is viewed by Monsanto as a business opportunity. For Monsanto, "sustainable development" means the conversion of an ecological crisis into a market of scarce resources. "The business logic of sustainable development is that population growth and economic development will apply increasing pressure on natural resource markets. These pressures and the world's desire to prevent the consequences of these pressures, if unabated, will create vast economic opportunity - when we look at the world through the lens of sustainability, we are in a position to see current and foresee impending-resource market trends and imbalances that create market needs. We have further focussed this lens on the resource market of water and land. These are the markets that are most relevant to us as a life sciences company committed to delivering food, health and hope to the world, and there are markets in which there are predictable sustainability challenges and therefore opportunities to create business value."

Monsanto plans to earn revenues of $420 million and a net income of $63 million by 2008 from its water business in India and Mexico. By 2010, about 2.5 billion people in the world are projected to lack access to safe drinking water. At least 30 per cent of the population in China, India, Mexico and the U.S. is expected to face severe water stress. By 2025, the supply of water in India will be 700 cubic km per year, while the demand is expected to rise to 1,050 units. Control over this scarce and vital resource will, of course, be a source of guaranteed profits. As John Bastin of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development has said, "Water is the last infrastructure frontier for private investors."

Monsanto estimates that providing safe water is a several billion dollar market. It is growing at 25 to 30 per cent in rural communities and is estimated to rise to $300 million by 2000 in India and Mexico. This is the amount currently spent by NGOs for water development projects and local government water supply schemes and Monsanto hopes to tap these public finances for providing water to rural communities and convert water supply into a market. The Indian Government spent over $1.2 billion between 1992 and 1997 for various water projects, while the World Bank spent $900 million. Monsanto would like to divert this public money from public supply of water to establishing the company's water monopoly. Since in rural areas the poor cannot pay, in Monsanto's view capturing a piece of the value created for this segment will require the creation of a non-traditional mechanism targeted at building relationships with local government and NGOs as well as through mechanisms such as microcredit.

Monsanto also plans to penetrate the Indian market for safe water by establishing a joint venture with Eureka Forbes/Tata, which controls 70 per cent of the UV Technologies. To enter the water business, Monsanto has acquired an equity stake in Water Health International (WHI) with an option to buy the rest of the business. The joint venture with Tata/Eureka Forbes is supposed to provide market access and fabricate, distribute, service water systems; Monsanto will leverage their brand equity in the Indian market. The joint venture route has been chosen so that "Monsanto can achieve management control over local operations but not have legal consequences due to local issues."

Another new business that Monsanto is starting in 1999 in Asia is aquaculture. It will build on the foundation of Monsanto's agricultural biotechnology and capabilities for fish feed and fish breeding. By 2008, Monsanto expects to earn revenues of $1.6 billion and a net income of $266 million from its aquaculture business. While Monsanto's entry into aquaculture is through its sustainable development activity, industrial aquaculture has been established to be highly non-sustainable. The Supreme Court has banned industrial shrimp farming because of its catastrophic consequences. However, the Government, under pressure from the aquaculture industry, is attempting to change the laws to undo the court order. At the same time, attempts are being made by the World Bank to privatise water resources and establish trade in water rights. These trends will suit Monsanto well in establishing its water and aquaculture businesses. The Bank has already offered to help. As the Monsanto strategy paper states: "We are particularly enthusiastic about the potential of partnering with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank to joint venture projects in developing markets. The IFC is eager to work with Monsanto to commercialise sustainability opportunities and would bring both investment capital and on-the-ground capabilities to our efforts."

Monsanto's water and aquaculture businesses, like its seed business, aimed at controlling the vital resources necessary for survival, converting them into a market and using public finances to underwrite the investments. A more efficient conversion of public goods into private profit would be difficult to find. Water is, however, too basic for life and survival and the right to it is the right to life. Privatisation and commodification of water are a threat to the right to life. India has had major movements to conserve and share water. The pani panchayat and the water conservation movement in Maharashtra and the Tarun Bharat Sangh in Alwar have regenerated and equitably shared water as a commons property. This is the only way everyone will have the right to water and nobody will have the right to abuse and overuse water. Water is a commons and must be managed as a commons. It cannot be controlled and sold by a life sciences corporation that peddles in death.

(The writer is Director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, New Delhi.)


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The chilling impact of global warming

From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com

Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse* From: Bill Mott, Coordinator

Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 11:52:03 -0400

From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com

Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

To: Geoff Pampush , Glen Spain , Sergey Vakhrin , Yutaka Okamoto , Tim Stearns , Guido Rahr , Bill Lazar , Jim Ratzlaff

I suppose most of you have read this or some version of it; WWF and MCBI rec'd quite a bit of publicity...

_______________________________________________
From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com

Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
__________________________________________________
-------------Forwarded Message-----------------
RE: The chilling impact of global warming
Copyright 1999 The Seattle Times Company
The Seattle Times
June 09, 1999, Wednesday Final Edition
SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. B5
LENGTH: 909 words
HEADLINE: THE CHILLING IMPACT OF GLOBAL WARMING
BYLINE: ELLIOTT A. NORSE; SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

BODY:

IN recent months, the unimaginable happened: impending Endangered Species Act listings for Pacific salmon, the very symbol of the Pacific Northwest. Virtually all of us know (and most of us admit) that the cause is the combined impacts of dams, logging, development, pollution and fishing. Recovering our salmon will require more sustained commitment and cooperation to lessen these threats than anything our region has ever done.

But our efforts could fall short if we don't reduce yet another threat to our salmon and other marine life: global climate change. Increased temperatures caused by increasing carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gas" emissions could create unlivable conditions in the Pacific for marine species that are essential to our quality of life. Whereas providing clean, cool water and safe passage between nursery streams and the Pacific Ocean is essential for our salmon, it is not sufficient.

That is one of the most disturbing findings from a scientific workshop held earlier this year by World Wildlife Fund and Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI). The participants were 11 leading biological oceanographers, marine biologists and fishery biologists from Australia, Russia, Canada and the USA. Our findings are summarized in the most comprehensive study on impacts of climate change on marine life ever done, "Turning Up the Heat: How Global Warming Threatens Life in the Sea," by MCBI's Amy Mathews-Amos and Ewann A. Berntson. It describes unprecedented changes that are happening from estuaries to open oceans, from the tropics to the poles, as sea temperatures rise and other climate changes occur. These impacts are happening sooner than most experts predicted.

Drastic declines in some western Alaskan salmon populations in 1997 and 1998 coincided with exceptionally high sea temperatures resulting from El Ni centsno. The uncharacteristically small size of salmon, their malnourished appearance and their sharply decreased abundance point to starvation.

During this period, there was a bloom of a kind of phytoplankton typical of low-nutrient waters of lower latitudes, suggesting that this species was unsuitable food for the things salmon eat. This bloom may also have contributed to massive starvation of seabirds. Projected increases in sea temperature caused by global warming could eliminate much or all suitable habitat for sockeye salmon in the Pacific Ocean and possibly for other salmon species as well.

And it's not just our salmon that are in trouble. In California, fishes of rocky reefs and intertidal anemones, crabs and snails have shifted toward the poles as the sea has warmed since the 1930s. Southern California zooplankton - such as the small shrimp-like animals called copepods - have declined 70 percent since the 1950s. That's important because they are food for fishes that are vital to seabirds, marine mammals and fisheries.

It is disturbingly plausible that recent deaths of so many gray whales in British Columbia and Washington are due to starvation caused by global climate change.

Coral reefs, among the most biologically diverse marine ecosystems, are also vulnerable. High water temperatures cause reef corals to expel algae within their tissues, a process called bleaching. Because these algae provide corals with food, when it is too hot for too long, bleached corals die. Scientists are increasingly documenting massive bleaching events in the Pacific and Indian oceans, Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Caribbean Sea. Huge numbers of corals are turning white and dying, with over 90 percent mortality in parts of the Indian Ocean.

Polar regions will experience more extreme warming and could suffer even more extreme biological impacts. Sea ice is diminishing in both the Arctic and Antarctic, depriving birds and marine mammals of their hunting and breeding grounds. Edges and undersides of sea ice are habitat for algae that are the base of polar food webs. As sea ice shrinks, so does the food supply for zooplankton, fishes and the animals that eat them.

The Canadian Wildlife Service has documented declining weights of adult polar bears and declining polar bear birthrates in western Hudson Bay since the early 1980s. They believe earlier spring breakup of sea ice as a result of climate warming may be the cause.

Alaska's Bering Sea - one of the world's richest fishing grounds - is showing increasing signs of stress. Steller's sea lion and northern fur seal populations have declined severely. At the same time, species that were previously common to more southern climes have suddenly appeared in Alaska, including Pacific white-sided dolphins, albacore and yellow-fin tuna, and ocean sunfish, while herring spawned earlier than ever before.

With such serious changes in marine life already occurring, the impacts of greater warming in the near future are even more worrisome. The longer we wait to act, the fewer our options and the more painful the consequences will be. No responsible person can say we should not reduce other pressures on marine life, but we must also reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to lessen global warming. If we're going to save our salmon, whales and coral reefs, we need to be mindful whenever we think about buying a gas-guzzling sport utility vehicle, touching our thermostats or marking our ballots.

Biologist Elliott A. Norse is president of Redmond-based Marine Conservation Biology Institute.

GRAPHIC: ILLUSTRATION; DOMINIC VUCCI / INX: THE CHILLING IMPACT OF GLOBAL WARMING

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: June 10, 1999


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Massive escape of Atlantic salmon in Washington State

Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 09:49:37 -0400
From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: FISHFARM
CC: JAMES SEMPLE , Allan Berry

[Thanks to Darlene Shanfeld and Barbara Stenson for alerting the Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse.]
Tide currents free 100,000 penned Atlantic salmon
Tuesday, June 15, 1999
By PHUONG LE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Extreme weekend tides ripped apart several net pens, triggering the accidental release of about 100,000 Atlantic salmon near Bainbridge Island.

The trouble began when currents from the high and low tides tore steel attachment points on 10 of 18 net pens owned by Northwest Seafarms off the southwest tip of Bainbridge.

About 100,000 salmon broke free Sunday and were expected to disperse quickly to the north and south because of the strong currents from this week's extreme tides, said Kevin Amos, fish health manager with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Sunday's incident prompted renewed criticism from salmon farm opponents, who have pressed the state to withdraw farm net-pen permits or impose new restrictions on them to stem the accidental release of farmed salmon.

The incident was the second-largest accidental release in the state, Amos said. The largest occurred in 1997, when about 300,000 Atlantic salmon escaped from torn net pens at the same facility, then owned by Global Aqua USA.

Critics say escaping Atlantic salmon endanger weak Puget Sound wild Pacific salmon and steelhead runs. They worry that Atlantic salmon could establish a foothold here and compete with or even prey on native runs.

"You're talking about a serious threat to endangered species," Barbara Stenson, a Marine Environmental Consortium spokeswoman, said yesterday.

"This is alarming. Again, it's demonstrating that the state has taken ineffective measures to control threats to the environment from this industry."

The Marine Environmental Consortium and two other groups are appealing in Superior Court an April decision by the state Pollution Control Hearings Board.

The board upheld the consortium's claim that Atlantic salmon reproduction was a significant risk but rejected its request to impose stringent conditions on net pens.

In Canada, where salmon farming is more common than in Washington, researchers have found evidence that Atlantic salmon have spawned in the waters of Tsitika River on Vancouver Island.

Net-pen defenders, however, say escaped Atlantic salmon pose minimal risk, partly because it has never been proved that they can breed or establish self-sustaining runs in the Northwest.

"We don't think there's any real chance of adverse impact," said Pete Granger, executive director of the Washington Farmed Salmon Commission, based in Bellingham.

He said escaped Atlantic salmon are healthy and disease-free and, when free, tend to congregate in areas different than wild Pacific salmons.

Meanwhile, the Department of Fish and Wildlife encouraged sport and commercial fishermen to catch the thousands of Atlantic salmon that escaped Sunday.

Amos said his agency did not plan to recover the escaped salmon because the tides widely distributed the fish, which weigh 2 to 9 pounds.

"We're hopeful that people will recapture a lot of them . . . in ensuing months," Amos said.

Recreational salmon fishing is open in south Puget Sound but will not open until July 1 in the area where the escape occurred, he said.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife estimated the number of escaped salmon at about 100,000. But Arve Mogster, Northwest Seafarms operation manager, said it was too early to say.

"There is still fish left that we're hoping we can still get," Mogster said. "We have been able to save some of them, and we're hoping that we can save more."

P-I reporter Phuong Le can be reached at 206-448-8128 or phuongle@seattle-pi.com

_________________________________________________

From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com

Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*


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Subject: Useful website on large marine ecosystems

Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1999 11:07:02 -0700
From: Jeff Rodgers

Dear Pacrim Colleagues,

Ken Sherman has a new website on Large Marine Ecosystems. It looks like it contains information useful to our group. Below is a recent email I received from him that describes the site. We should take a look at his ecosystems and see how they compare to our zones (level 2?).

Cheers!

Jeff

Check out the following announcement -- Message from the Secretariat of the Multilingual Information Clearinghouse

QUOTE:

Dear Colleague:

We are pleased to introduce the Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) web system. The 50 Large Marine Ecosystems are regions of ocean space encompassing coastal areas from river basins and estuaries to the seaward boundaries of continental shelves and coastal current systems. They are relatively large regions of distinct bathymetry, hydrography, productivity and trophically dependent populations.

The URL for the web page is www.edc.uri.edu/lme. The web page provides a number of important (free) information resources you might find interesting:

* Descriptions of LMEs including initial information on productivity, fisheries, ecosystem health and pollution, socioeconomic issues, and governance, excerpted from published LME volumes.

* GIS data (ARC Export format) and FGDC compliant metadata defining LME boundaries

* Maps of the LMEs

* Current news on LME research

* Contact information for LME experts

We hope you find this information of value in your marine research and resource conservation and management activities. Feel free to contact NOAA/NMFS if you have any questions.

Kenneth Sherman Kenneth.Sherman@noaa.gov NOAA/NMFS Narragansett Laboratory 28 Tarzwell Drive Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882 USA

UNQUOTE:


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Title: Eking Out a Life in Land of Wealth

From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
[Los AngelesTimes]
Monday, June 21, 1999
COLUMN ONE

Eking Out a Life in Land of Wealth Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula is rich in untapped resources, yet its people live in squalor. Most subsist on the salmon they catch illicitly. Even the legal fishing industry is threatened.

By RICHARD C. PADDOCK, Times Staff Writer

[O]KTYABRSKY, Russia--From the beach where Vladimir Belov stands, he can see a dozen ships trawling for salmon in the Sea of ADVERTISEMENT Okhotsk. An unemployed plumber, Belov can't afford a fishing license. In fact, he's never seen one. But that doesn't keep him from fishing for salmon too.

.....With a watchful eye for the police, the 39-year-old father of two sets out his homemade truba--a 20-foot pipe with a fishing net and floats attached--and waits for the only good luck his life is likely to offer.

.    In this desolate, Godforsaken town near the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East, the residents have little to live on but the fish they catch illegally. Local industry has collapsed. Crops refuse to grow in the sandy soil. Stores have closed, and commerce is nearly nonexistent.

     "Life is all about poaching," Belov says. "What do you think life is like when you don't get paid at all? If someone gave us the money, we would be out of here in no time."

     Perched on the Pacific Rim just 700 miles northeast of Japan, Kamchatka is a land of missed opportunity--a lush region of wilderness and lakes held back by seven decades of Communist dictatorship and seven years of capitalist greed.

     Two-thirds the size of California, Kamchatka is connected to the mainland by an isthmus only 52 miles wide. Nine time zones from Moscow, the region is so far east that it is closer to Rodeo Drive than to Red Square. But its culture, traditions and ways of doing business are distinctly Russian.

     Its natural assets make it one of the richest regions in the country, but Russia's poorly functioning economy provides little money to develop the resources. Towns such as Oktyabrsky, surrounded by a wealth of untapped resources, sit in poverty and squalor. The spectacular beauty of wild rivers and erupting volcanoes provides a backdrop for rampant lawlessness.

     As in the rest of Russia, prices in Kamchatka have skyrocketed, salaries have plummeted and goods have become scarcer since last year's financial collapse and ruble devaluation. During the winter, residents in the capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, shivered in near-freezing apartments because there was not enough fuel to run the city's centralized heating plants. In recent weeks, each household has received electricity for only three hours every other day.

     In Oktyabrsky, anyone who could manage it has moved away, leaving behind only the destitute and the desperate.

     "Life is so terrible here we're going to die like dogs," says a 20-year Oktyabrsky resident who gives her name only as Yulia. "But before we die like dogs, we're going to eat the dogs we have."

     Kamchatka's economy has gone so haywire that much of its record 1998 salmon harvest went to waste. On the Bolshaya River near Oktyabrsky, dozens of Soviet-style work brigades conducted the same kind of industrial fishing operation they had for decades: Men in small motorboats placed their nets in the river and pulled them tight with tractors on the beach, trapping tons of fish at a time. Using cranes, they hauled the salmon out of the river and loaded them onto trucks.

     Later, workers sliced open the female fish and extracted the rich, red caviar. But local canneries, run-down and poorly managed, could not process most of the salmon. As the brigades kept catching fish, trucks dumped an estimated 50,000 tons of salmon in fields to rot. The ground was so thick with fish that the trucks simply drove over the decaying salmon to dump their loads.

     During Soviet times, Kamchatka was an important military area closed to all outsiders. It was from here that a jet fighter took off to shoot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in 1983, killing 269 people in one of the worst disasters of the Cold War.

     Under Communist rule, time was frozen and much of the peninsula's wilderness was preserved. Kamchatka's main economic function was to supply the Soviet Union with fish.

     "Of course, this had a very negative effect on the development of the region and was one of the major reasons the economy was oriented to fishing and nothing else," said Vladimir A. Biryukov, a former Communist Party functionary who has been Kamchatka's governor since 1991. "Kamchatka has wonderful opportunities to develop other resources and could become a spectacular tourist attraction."

     With the Soviet Union's collapse and Russia's continuing depression, Kamchatka has developed stronger trade ties with some of its Pacific neighbors than it has maintained with Moscow.

     Today, half the vehicles on the road are right-hand-drive cars bought used in Japan. Food and consumer goods imported from the U.S. and other Pacific nations are commonly available, if expensive. Wealthy Americans visit by cruise ship or fly in to catch trophy fish and hunt Kamchatka's huge brown bears.

     But as in Soviet times, fishing--legal or otherwise--dominates the region's economy. Illegal fishing in Russia's Far East is estimated to bring in as much as $5 billion a year, an amount equal to nearly a fifth of Russia's annual budget. Kamchatka--jutting out from the Russian mainland into one of the world's richest fisheries--figures prominently in the illegal trade.      The biggest threat to the fishery comes from commercial ships that haul in fish without regard to legal limits in the three bodies of water that surround the peninsula: the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.

     Officials say Russian vessels working out of Kamchatka, Vladivostok and Sakhalin Island are steadily depleting the region of crab, salmon and herring, among other species.

     To avoid fishing limits, steep taxes and stifling bureaucracy, Russian ships commonly take their catch directly to Japan, where they can sell it at premium prices. Officials say it is common practice for Russian fishing vessels to export a dozen catches illegally for each one they bring home and report.

     "A business that tries to operate legally and pay its taxes cannot afford to stay in business," said Vladimir N. Burkanov, head of the regional agency in charge of protecting fishing resources. "It's much easier to open an account abroad, deliver fish to another country and stay in business while technically being bankrupt in Russia."

     Russia's rich fishing grounds also lure ships from other nations to fish illegally. Some pirate companies send several vessels at a time to fish nonstop and a shuttle ship to meet up with them, take their haul and deliver it to port.

     "Right now, the poachers have become really brazen," said Federal Border Guards Service Col. Valery D. Yunoshev, who oversees the agency's naval sector in the region. "They don't even leave the spot where they drop their nets. They know the economic situation in the country is terrible, and they know the chances are unlikely that a patrol boat will show up."

     While fishing remains the mainstay of Kamchatka's economy, officials are wrestling with how to shape the region's future and tap into its wealth of resources.

     Kamchatka has fewer than 390,000 people and only 150 miles of paved road. With 28 active volcanoes, the peninsula sits at the end of the Aleutian Islands chain opposite Alaska--a part of what economists call the Pacific Rim and what geologists call the Ring of Fire.

     Much like Alaska in climate and terrain, Kamchatka has a wealth of gold, oil and gas, as well as other mineral deposits. Its volcanic activity provides potential for geothermal power as well as abundant hot springs for tourists. It has more than 100,000 lakes and more than 14,000 rivers.

     As the region tries to diversify its economy, tourism competes with the mining industry for limited investment funds.

     Officials are proud that 27% of the region has been set aside as national parks and nature preserves, a figure they say will soon rise to 31%. UNESCO has designated five parks as the "Volcanoes of Kamchatka" World Heritage site. One of the mos popular tourist destinations is the Valley of the Geysers, where steam rises from vents in the earth, mud boils in open pits and geysers spurt almost as regularly as Old Faithful.

     But harsh weather and a shortage of hotels make Kamchatka a tourist destination only for the wealthiest--or hardiest--travelers. Traveling by helicopter is the only practical way to reach most destinations, including the Valley of the Geysers. And Kamchatka's aging, Soviet-made helicopters are expensive and prone to crashing.

     Even at the height of the short summer tourist season, it is not unusual for restaurants in Petropavlovsk to close at dinner time because the city water supply has been shut off. To keep away cockroaches, one prominent hotel in the capital is known to spray pesticides in guests' rooms while they are out for the day.

     For now, officials are investing little in tourist facilities and are trying instead to attract cruise ship passengers, who have no need for hotels, and big-game hunters, who expect to camp out.

     "We are very much aware that tourism could become the major sector of the economy in the long run," said Alexander M. Potiyevsky, head of the region's foreign economic affairs and tourism agency. "But let's be frank. You're in Russia, and you should understand there can't be an island of well-being in one place while the whole country is suffering."

     Oktyabrsky, 100 miles west of Petropavlovsk, is as grim a town as any in Russia. The main street--a treeless dirt road--is strewn with garbage and lined by half-empty apartment blocks. The street is so rutted that large mounds have formed at intervals across it, making a drive through town a bit like riding a roller coaster. Undernourished children entertain themselves by jumping onto the backs of trucks as they go by.

     Along the beach, dozens of men put their trubas into the sea and wait for salmon to swim close to shore. On the best of days, one truba can bring in a ton of fish. In a constant game of cat-and-mouse, the men are ready to run at the first sign of the police, who frequently come to issue fines and cut their nets.

     "Whether or not you call it poaching, we don't have a choice," unemployed crane operator Alexander Belashov, 31, says as he watches over his homemade fishing rig. "We depend entirely on the sea. If we get some fish, we know we're going to survive. If we don't, God knows what will happen."

Copyright 1999 Los Angeles Times. All Rights Reserved

[ ] Search the archives of the Los Angeles Times for similar stories about: KAMCHATKA PENINSULA, RUSSIA -- ECONOMY, QUALITY OF LIFE, POVERTY, FISHING INDUSTRY -- RUSSIA, POACHING, NATURAL RESOURCES,

TOURISM -- RUSSIA. You will not be charged to look for stories, only to retrieve one.


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Subject: Interaction Between Wild /Farmed Atlantic Salmon Workshop Proceedings Available

Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 16:30:57 -0400
From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: FISHFARM
CC: JAMES SEMPLE , Allan Berry

Proceedings now available (abstract at bottom):

Interaction Between Wild and Farmed Atlantic Salmon in the Maritime Provinces

Proceedings of the Diadromous Subcommittee Regional Advisory Process

November 30 - December 4, 1998

Moncton, New Brunswick

For a copy, please see:

www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas/csas/Proceedings/proceedings99.htm. (If it's not yet on the web, it will be very soon.)

There is also the Habitat Status Report (HSR) from the workshop which can be found at:

http:intra1.maritime.dfo.ca:999/wwwroote/science/rap/english/habitat_st._re port/habitat_status_1999.htm

(highlights the issue, state of current knowledge as well as future management and research recommendations for immediate and long-term action.)

Or contact:

Dr. John A. Ritter Manager, Diadromous Fish Division Department of Fisheries and Oceans Science Branch, Maritime Region Bedford Institute of Oceanography P.O. Box 1006 Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2

Tel: (902) 426-3136 (Halifax office)

(506) 851-2945 (Moncton office)

Fax: (506) 851-2147 (Moncton office)

(902) 426-6814 (Halifax office)

E-mail: RitterJA@mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Abstract

Since its beginning in the 1960s, commercial salmon farming has become a major industry in both Europe and North America. During the 1980s, scientists and managers became aware that substantial numbers of farmed salmon that had escaped from aquaculture facilities were intermingling with wild salmon. Since then, there has been mounting concern that interactions between wild and cultured salmon might prove harmful to the wild salmon stocks, leading to changes in their genetic composition, the introduction of diseases and parasites, and harmful ecological effects. This highly controversial issue has been debated internationally and locally both within the science community and between the aquaculture industry, conservation and traditional fishing (recreation, commercial and Native) groups. Here in the Maritimes, concerns have heightened as a result of growing evidence of escaped farmed salmon entering the marine ecosystem and ascending rivers. Evidence also exists of escaped farmed juvenile salmon entering rivers directly and migrating to sea. Although suspected locally, impacts had not been examined in Atlantic Canada.

In response to this situation, DFO held a special workshop under its Regional Assessment Process to evaluate the state of current knowledge of these interactions as they would apply to the situation in the Maritime Provinces and to recommend ways of minimizing any risks identified, options for improved management, and future research. The Workshop took place from November 30 to December 4, 1998 at the Crystal Palace Hotel in Dieppe, New Brunswick with over 70 participants from government agencies, the aquaculture industry, conservation organizations, local universities, and including experts from across Canada, the US and overseas.

Products from the workshop include nineteen research documents summarizing both the available information on the local salmon farming industry and the wild salmon stocks and the science pertaining to the potential interaction between wild and farmed salmon. In addition, a Habitat Status Report was produced highlighting future management and research recommendations for immediate and long-term action.

___________________________________________________

From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com

Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

__________________________________________________

Subject: Job description - Wild Salmon Campaign
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 10:51:12 -0400
From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: FishFarmRev
CC: Allan Berry , JAMES SEMPLE

Please pass this attached job description to appropriate people as you see fit. The campaign will certainly have ramificaitons for fish farming.

Thank you.

__________________________________________________

From: Bill Mott, Coordinator
E-Mail Address: BillMott@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*


(1) [MULTILINGUAL INFO CLEARINGHOUSE] -- Back to the Table of Contents --

Subject: LAWMAKERS LACK BROAD VIEW OF WORLD SALMON MARKETS
(Anchorage Daily News business column on wild/farmed salmon)

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999
From: "William S. Mott"
E-Mail Address:
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Copyright 1999 Anchorage Daily News

Anchorage Daily News

July 4, 1999, Sunday, FINAL EDITION

SECTION: BUSINESS, Pg. 1C

LENGTH: 567 words

HEADLINE: LAWMAKERS LACK BROAD VIEW OF WORLD SALMON MARKETS

BYLINE: David Reaume

BODY:

With farmed salmon in growing abundance, there is talk in Alaska of the death of the Alaska salmon industry. Modified by the phrase ''as we know it today,'' that sentiment holds some truth. But if it is viewed in the absolute, there is no conceivable way that salmon will cease to be an important Alaska product. With the world literally starving for protein, markets will be found. The real questions are at what price and in what form.

Barbara Belknap, executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute recently described farmed salmon as a commodity. What I think she meant was that farmed salmon is so abundant and so cheap that the product had lost, or at least had begun to lose, its place as a specialty item. Salmon was becoming common and was no longer able to command a premium price.

What this means for Alaska's salmon harvesters is plain. High-cost harvesting techniques like traditional gillnetting and trolling are being priced out of existence. The Alaska salmon industry of the future will consist mainly of terminal-area harvesting by a select fleet of high-tech operators. A small, high-quality troll fleet will service the luxury end of the retail market (restaurants and certain supermarkets). With the demise of most nonterminal fisheries, sports harvesting will take on a new and potentially more lucrative glow. Only subsistence harvesters will be able to stay with the old way of doing things.

In the past year or so, a few small independent Alaska processors have been encouraged by sales of salmon that are either highly processed or packaged in a new and innovative way. If these processors can obtain fish at low enough prices, they may be financially successful in the long run. But their ability to purchase their raw material at a price low enough for them to compete on a large scale with the salmon farmers presupposes the major restructuring of the harvesting portion of the industry that I have been talking about.

As this scenario continues to play itself out, pressure will increase on legislators to authorize salmon farming in Alaska. The argument will be -- as it has been -- that farming is the low-cost way of producing fish and that Alaska has no choice but to join the party.

I disagree. The farmed-salmon industry is a classic example of how an initially profitable opportunity can attract so many new producers that profits fall below the level that justifies much of the investment in the industry. Alaska's best strategy is to continue to emphasize the differences between wild and farmed salmon, indeed, to increase that emphasis. Product differentiation can spark a major surge in sales.

I have argued that salmon harvesters suffer because the processing end of the industry is not perfectly competitive in the textbook sense. A key point I have often made is that Alaska red salmon still commands more than 40 percent of the Japanese market, implying that Alaska's potential market power is not to be sneezed at. But as long as most of Alaska's decision makers continue to act as if world salmon markets are made up of just a bunch of small-time players behaving independently, they will never have the political will needed to realize the industry's full potential. That is too bad. It does not have to be that way.

q David M. Reaume is a Juneau-based economist. His opinion column appears every fourth Sunday.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: July 6, 1999


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Subject: Aquaculture and Food Safety Issues

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999
From: "William S. Mott"
E-Mail Address:
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: FishFarmRev

Following thanks to Mark Ritchie.

_________________________________________

FOOD SAFETY ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH PRODUCTS FROM AQUACULTURE

WHO Technical Report Series 883
Report of a Joint FAO/NACA/WHO Study Group
World Health Organization--Geneva
The report (55 pages) can be downloaded from the WHO site at: http://www.who.int/fsf/new.htm

Abstract:

The past decade has seen rapid expansion in aquaculture production. In the fisheries sector, as in animal production, farming is replacing hunting as the primary food production strategy. In future, farmed fish will be an even more important source of protein foods than they are today, and the safety for human consumption of products from aquaculture is of public health significance. This is the report of a Study Group that considered food safety issues associated with farmed finfish and crustaceans. The principal conclusion was that an integrated approach -- involving close collaboration between the aquaculture, agriculture, food safety, health and education sectors -- is needed to identify and control hazards associated with products from aquaculture.

Food safety assurance should be included in fish farm management and form an integral part of the farm-to-table food safety continuum. Where appropriate, measures should be based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) methods; however, difficulties in applying HACCP principles to small-scale farming systems were recognized. Food safety hazards associated with products from aquaculture differ according to region, habitat and environmental conditions, as well as methods of production and management. Lack of awareness of hazards can hinder risk assessment and the application of risk management strategies to aquaculture production, and education is therefore needed.

Chemical and biological hazards that should to be taken into account in public health policies concerning products from aquaculture are discussed in this report, which should be of use to policy-makers and public health officials.


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Subject: Salmon farming news from around the world

Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999
From: "William S. Mott"
E-Mail Address:
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: FishFarmRev

1) Two new reports (from the ASF and DFO) on threats to wild salmon from fish farm escapees
2) New Acting GM of the New Brunswick Salmon Growers' Association
3) (Norwegian-owned) Stolt to buy (Canadian) International Aqua Foods
4) World's second biggest producer of salmon is sold (Nutreco acquires MHM)
5) More info. on open ocean aquaculture project off NH
6) Info on IntraFish - important source of info. on the aquaculture industry

Following news from IntraFish:

1) Escaped salmon in NB

Numerous salmon that have escaped from Bay of Fundy fish farms are endangering wild stocks in New Brunswick rivers, according to two new reports from the Atlantic Salmon Federation and the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

07/07/99 07:00

The reports claim that wild species are being overtaken by escapees from the substantial fish farms located near the rivers.

According to The National Fisherman, an Atlantic Salmon Federation report states that wild stocks in regions where salmon aquaculture is heavily practised now face potential extinction. Both reports highlight the scale of the escapees on these stocks Last spring, escaped farmed salmon made up nearly 90 percent of salmon found in New Brunswick's Magaguadavic River, the reports say.

In the 1980s, researchers found over 1,000 wild salmon in the river. By 1992, the count had dropped to 292 wild salmon; this year they found just 31. Moreover, in surveys of four other nearby rivers, researchers could find only two salmon, both wild.

According to the federation, the escaped farm salmon are contributing to those declining wild populations. The farmed fish, which grew faster, nosed out wild salmon in the river, says Fred Whoriskey, vice-president of research for the federation, a non-profit group formed to protect Atlantic salmon stocks.

But the farmed fish are too slow to compete for food or elude predators once in the ocean, and are unable to return to the river. Meanwhile, the DFO report is suggesting new regulations for aquaculture aimed at protecting wild salmon stocks.

2) New NBSGA leader

The former General Manager of the New Brunswick Salmon Growers' Association - Bill Thompson - has been replaced by Acting General Manager, Ms Nell Halse.

3) Stolt to buy International Aqua Foods Leading salmon producer

The multinational and Norwegian-owned aquaculture company Stolt Sea Farm is willing to pay £6.86 million for the Canadian aquaculture company International Aqua Foods Ltd.

07/02/99 07:00

This merger will make Stolt Sea Farm the leading producer of salmon in North-America, according to MD of Stolt Sea Farm, Mr Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen.

Stolt Sea Farm runs fish-farms in Norway, Scotland, France, Spain, USA Canada and Chile. International Aqua Foods had a turnover last year of £16.14 million derived from an annual production of 6,500 tonnes.

According to the Norwegian newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv, Stolt Sea Farm has secured the right to buy more than half of the International Aqua Foods' stocks from the large stockholders High Liner Foods Incorporatedand Cote 100 Inc. The Stolt bid is 48% over the stock exchange rate. This merger gives Stolt Sea Farm a new foot to stand on as International Aqua Foods also breeds tilapia, now a very popular fish in restaurants.

4) Worlds second biggest producer of salmon is sold Nutreco aquires MHM

Nutreco has aquired the salmon farming and proseccing acticties of Marine Harvest McConnel (MHM) in Chile and Skotland. The purchase price is NLG 110 million - £32,7 millions.

07/15/99 09:41

Marine Harvest Mc Connel, owned by Booker plc, employs 800 people in Scotland and 700 people in Chile, and is the world`s second biggest salmon farmer and processor.

- This is a major step in our strategy to increase our presence in the salmon value chain, Nutreco Chief Operating Officer Wout Dekker commented. - With Nutreco`s long aquaculture experience and strong R&D know-how we are pleased to join with one of the other pioneers in our industry. Marine Harvest Mc Connel, which is known in the market as a quality salmon producer with strong links to retail and further processors, Dekker said.

The purchace price is NLG 110 million - £32,7 millions. To optimise its tax effiency the transaction has been structured as financed partly by cash and partly by shares.

The share issue element amounts to less than four per cent of Nutreco`s issued ordinary share capital.

MHM results will be included in Nutrecos consolidated income statement with effect from July 1th 1999. The aquisition is expected to contribute positively to the 1999 earnings per share on a fully dilutet basis.

In 1998 Marine Harvest Mc Connel produced more than 43 000 tonnes of Atlantic Salmon, representing some 7 per cent of the world production Two thirds of the production is based in Scotland, where Marine Harvest McConnel has a production share of 30 per cent and one third in Chile with a 12 per cent share. It has a turnover of NLG 320 million (EUR 145 million).

5) Open Ocean Aquaculture

One of the first large scale experiments in open ocean aquaculture on the East Coast is getting underway off the coast of New Hampshire.

07/06/99 07:00

GreatBay Aquafarms, the Portsmouth Fishermen's Co-op, and the University of New Hampshire are cooperating on a $2 million project to grow out summer flounder in open ocean cages.

GreatBay has been growing summer flounder, or Fluke, for the Japanese market for several years. This summer they will take 6,000 1 lb. Fluke, and hold them in open ocean cages for three to four months, by which time they should have reached 1.5 to 2 lbs. In weight.

The Fish pens are 15 meters in diameter and 9 meters deep. They will be anchored approximately 60 feet beneath the surface.

So far offshore pens have been difficult to manage in the U.S., because of the high cost of feeding fish in these locations. However, with the increasing difficulty of securing leases on inshore sites, offshore sites may become more attractive.

There are no consistent federal regulations in place governing the use of offshore pens in federal waters. This site, located near the Isle of Shoals, about 12 miles off the coast, is in the state waters of New Hampshire. The 30 acre site is leased from the state for $750 per acre per year.

6) Norwegian industry have chosen IntraFish Norwegians in cyberspace

All major aquaculture and fisheries organisations in Norway have chosen the company IntraFish as the provider of their Internet-solutions and websites.

07/05/99 07:00

The goal of these organisations is to strengthen the information available to their members and provide a convenient way for feedback andexchange of opinions. "We chose IntraFish because they have created ameeting-point for the industry on the net," said Mr Geir Andreassen, MD of the Norwegian Federation of Fisheries and Aquaculture Industry. "IntraFish has now become the most important place to be on the Internet for the Norwegian fishery industry," Mr Steve Hernes, MD of Intra Fish, commented. IntraFish is also the publisher of the newsletter Seafarm Business Review.

_________________________________________________________


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Subject: Upcoming events related to salmon farming and aquaculture

Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999
From: "William S. Mott"
E-Mail Address:
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: FISHFARM

Some of you may be interested in planning now to attend/participate in the following events that are coming up. Don't forget to check out the Clearinghouse web site for our full calendar of events and other information related to salmon farming.

Bill Mott

Aquatech '99 - 'Canada's national meeting on Aquatic Biotechnology.'

July 27-30, Fredericton, New Brunswick

For more information, contact:
Tillmann Benfey
Phone: (506) 452-6293
Email: benfey@unb.ca

AUGUST

Aquaculture Europe '99

(AquaNor 99, an international commercial and technical trade show, will directly follow)
August 7 to 10, 1999
Norwegian University for Science and Technology (NTNU)
Trondheim, Norway
Sponsored by European Aquaculture Society in co-operation with the Nor-Fishing Foundation

For more information, contact:
European Aquaculture Society
Aquaculture Europe 99 Slijkensesteenweg 4 B-8400 Oostende
Belgium Tel. +32 59 32 38 59
Fax +32 59 32 10 05
E-mail: eas@unicall.be http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~booghe/eas/conf/conf120.htm

Transgenic Animal Research Conference

August 14-19, 1999
Granlibakken Conference Center, Tahoe City, California Sponsored by Animal Science and the UC Davis Biotechnology Program.

This is an international meeting that will bring together representatives from the leading laboratories doing cutting edge work on transgenic research in animal species. This meeting is a follow-up to the meeting held in Granlibakken, Lake Tahoe, August 24-27, 1997

Information as it becomes available will be displayed on the internet:

http://www.biotech.ucdavis.edu

1999 American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting - "Integrating Fisheries Principles from Mountain to Marine Habitats"

August 29-September 2, 1999
Adams Mark Hotel
Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

For further information, contact: Betsy Fritz
AFS, 5410 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone: 301-897-8616, ext 212
Fax: 301-897-8096
Email: bfritz@fisheries.org
http://www.fisheries.org/annual99/index.ht

SEPTEMBER

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Symposium on the Environmental Effects of Mariculture

13 - 16 September 1999 Algonquin Hotel St. Andrews, NB, Canada

The aim of the ICES Symposium on the Environmental Effects of Mariculture is to provide a state-of-the-art review of key aspects of the scientific research concerned with understanding: (1) the environmental effects of bivalve and fish farming in the coastal zone, and (2) the influence of local environmental factors on mariculture productivity. The Symposium will bring together a multidisciplinary group of experts who will be able to share results and enhance international cooperation and collaborative research.

For further information check out the Symposium web site: http://www.ices.dk/symposia/eem.htm

Those who wish to attend or to receive additional information are asked to indicate their interest in an e-mail message addressed to Brenda Best at the address below.

ICES Symposium on Environmental Effects of Mariculture Department of Fisheries & Oceans Biological Station St Andrews, NB, Canada E0G 2X0 E-mail: bestb@mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

__________________________________________________


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Subject: 'organic' salmon

Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999
From: "William S. Mott"
E-Mail Address:
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To:

From Seafood.com:

Two Alaska Companies Want "Organic" Label for Wild Salmon

June 24- Seafood.com -- Two Alaskan companies, Capilano Pacific in Dillingham, and Prime Select Seafoods in Cordova, have started pilot programs to allow the marketing of their wild king salmon, sockeye, and coho, as '"organic". They have received strong support from Alaska Governor Tony Knowles.

The organic standards board in Washington DC is expected to make a determination this fall whether wild ocean caught fish can be certified organic. The move to certify ocean fish came about after it was learned that some farmed salmon will likely be certified, based on growth in a controlled environment, and a diet that resembles their natural diet in the wild.

The organic food industry is a rapidly growing niche market, growing at about a 20% to 24% rate annually over the past several years. It is a natural market for seafood that meets the chain of custody requirements for organic food.

The two companies have both hired certifying agents to make sure that their operations meet the required standards, which include a designated harvest area, management history, management that aims for environmentally sustainable yields, and no added or prohibited substances.

[News and commentary from www.seafood.com, the web site for commercial seafood buyers, sellers and consumers. Email Comments


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Subject: Salmon farming news from Maine

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999
From: "William S. Mott"
E-Mail Address:
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: FishFarmRev

News follows on the growing and organized opposition to proposed salmon farm expansion by Atlantic Salmon of Maine.

__________________________________________________

Copyright 1999 Bangor Daily News
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE)
July 14, 1999 Wednesday
LENGTH: 937 words
HEADLINE: Courts
BYLINE: Samantha Coit Of the NEWS Staff

BODY:

BLUE HILL -- Residents here and in surrounding towns vowed to fight to the bitter end Atlantic Salmon of Maine's proposal to raise nearly a million Atlantic salmon off the coast of Long Island.

Organized opposition to the Fairfield-based company's plan to raise 896,000 fish off the western side of Long Island has mounted since the group first formed, with attendance reaching approximately 150 at Tuesday night's meeting -- including surprise visitors from Atlantic Salmon of Maine.

"We can stop the polarization," said company manager Desmond Fitzgerald, who extended an invitationto the group to visit salmon farms. "Don't tar us with the same brush you tar everyone else with," he said before the group silenced company representatives by not inviting them to speak.

"This is not the place for it," said Brooklin resident Dorothy Hayes. "We are not against sensible farming anywhere. Blue Hill Bay simply is not the place for a salmon farm. "

The surprise visit did not derail the group's momentum in planning how to stop the company from gaining an exclusive right to raise nearly a million Atlantic salmon in a system of pens covering a 1,936-by-600-foot tract in Blue Hill Bay.

"We're up against Goliath. Get your slingshots up and get ready," said Ronald Lesko, meeting facilitator.

A Friends of Blue Hill Bay panel consisting of residents, legal counsel, a research specialist, and development, press and outreach coordinators briefed the group on Friends of Blue Hill Bay's financial status, environmental concerns, legal issues surrounding the application, and what individuals can do to stop Atlantic Salmon of Maine's efforts to expand operations in Blue Hill Bay.

The Friends of Blue Hill Bay group has retained an environmental lawyer, James Kilbreth, from a Portland-based firm.

The Friends group said Tuesday they are prepared to appeal a lease, should the Department of Marine Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers grant it. The Department of Marine Resources must act on the application by Aug. 13. The Friends' group is urging the Army Corps of Engineers to accept new data concerning environmental impacts on two proposed Blue Hill Bay lease sites.

The group's scientific research coordinator, Susan Shaw of the Brooklin-based Marine Environmental Research Institute, cited concerns about water temperature and current flow, the amount of dissolved oxygen, and impact on wildlife at the proposed site and its general suitability for a salmon farm. The group is now researching site features with a University of Maine professor.

A site review conducted by the Department of Marine Resources states that the maximum rate of water moving through the proposed site area is "very low," or two to three times lower than salmon net pen sites in Maine.

Friends of Blue Hill Bay urged residents to reinvigoratea letter-writing campaign to local and state representatives, U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and government organizations involved in lease application and permitting, and Atlantic Salmon of Maine directly.

State Rep. Royce Perkins told the group a decision on the fish farming proposal would be "a political decision" and that concerned people should write to state senators.

Others attending the meeting suggested boycotting Atlantic salmon.

"I suggest that we boycott, period," said Mary Hartley of the Blue Hill Inn.

After the meeting, Atlantic Salmon of Maine's Fitzgerald, who described himself as an environmentalist, said he came to the meeting to start a dialogue with residents. Expanding operations in Blue Hill Bay, he said, would not increase the company's overall production, but would enable the company to improve husbandry practices.

Established in 1987, Atlantic Salmon of Maine is owned by New York-based Continental Grain Co., Chestnut Hill, Mass.-based Seabord Corp., and two Norwegians who started the business. Annual sales in 1998 totaled approximately $ 30 million.




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Subject: Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning outbreak

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

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The following stories on the closure of 8,000 square miles of shellfishing grounds off Scotland due to Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning may be of interest. In Europe, where there seems to be monthly food scares, this one and its possible link to salmon farming should be thoroughly researched.

__________________________________________________

PLEASE NOTE NEW CONTACT INFORMATION BELOW __________________________________________________

-------------Forwarded Message from Connie Murtagh:
Copyright 1999 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
MAIL ON SUNDAY
July 18, 1999
SECTION: Pg. 45
LENGTH: 456 words
HEADLINE: Poisoned scallops in 'BSE of the seas' scare; fish; food; health
BYLINE: Fidelma Cook

BODY:

SHELLFISH contaminated with a poison that can cause irreversible brain damage and even death have been found off Scotland's West Coast.

Last night, as scientists worked frantically to ensure nothing slips into the food chain, alarmed experts claimed that Britain was sitting on a 'toxic timebomb' that could lay waste the seas.

They demanded a Government inquiry warning that the crisis could do the same damage to the seafood industry as BSE did to beef.

More than 8,000 square miles of fishing grounds, home to the finest scallops, have now been put off-limits - a world record closure for such a case.

ASP - Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning - killed 20 people in Canada in a recent outbreak. There is no known antidote. Victims experience severe sickness and headaches followed by numbness and memory loss.

A condition similar to Alzheimer's disease follows, which can lead to an agonising death from asphyxiation.

Fishermen and environmentalists blame the contamination - four times the permitted EU level - on ammonia effluent from Scottish salmon farms. They claim it is 'feeding' naturally occurring algae which produce the toxin.

Algae expert Alan Berrie said last night: 'This is a disastrous situation and needs an immediate Government inquiry.

'The algae which produce the toxin do occur naturally in coastal waters but there is no history of toxicity associated with this before 1987 when an outbreak in Canada caused the death of four people.

'Do people have to die before action is taken? High levels of ammonia appear to be to blame.

Salmon farms are the biggest source of ammonia on the West Coast. It has been estimated that the discharge from salmon farms to Scottish waters at the height of summer equals that from the raw sewage produced by a population of over seven million.' Friends of the Earth's marine research officer Don Staniford said: 'We need an immediate inquiry into the whole state of Scotland's coastal environment. Unless something is done we are sitting on a toxic time-bomb.

'The local scallops are now off the menu at restaurants nationwide. At Glasgow's famous Rogano Seafood restaurant, chef David Clunas said: 'We face a tragedy unless action is taken. That would be the only word for the loss of this fine produce.' Scallop fishermen's spokesman Hugh Allen said last night: 'We believe there is sufficient evidence to warrant detailed research into the effects on the environment by the discharge from fish farms. It is giving us great cause for concern.' Bill Crowe, of the Scottish Salmon Growers' Association branded as 'absolute rubbish' allegations that the industry was to blame. But he said he would also welcome an inquiry to dispel the claims.


GRAPHIC: CRISIS: SCALLOP FLEET LEADER HUGH ALLEN IS DEMANDING AN INQUIRY

LOAD-DATE: July 20, 1999
Copyright 1999 The Scotsman Publications Ltd.
The Scotsman
July 19, 1999, Monday
SECTION: Pg. 7
LENGTH: 715 words
HEADLINE: SHOCK BAN ON SHELLFISH FARMING
BYLINE: Katrina Tweedie

BODY:

THE SCOTTISH shellfish farming industry is in jeopardy after potentially lethal toxins were found in scallops for the first time, prompting the world's biggest closure of a fishing area.

Now the multi-million pound industry and hundreds of jobs are under threat with more than 8,000 square miles of Scotland's western seaboard barred to scallop fishermen.

Large amounts of amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) toxins have been found in scallops. In the worst case, the condition can cause irreversible brain damage.

The discovery by government scientists last week has forced the Scottish executive to close fishing waters from the Western Isles to Cape Wrath down to Jura and across to Lewis, Barra and the islands of Coll, Tiree and Mull.

Environmentalists have described it as a "toxic time bomb" which is threatening the livelihood of hundreds of fishermen.

There are more than 300 registered shellfish farmers in Scotland and more than two-thirds are said to be affected and unable to collect the much-prized queen and king scallops, a delicacy sent all over Europe.

Alan Berrie, the former chairman of the Shellfish Growers Association, described the ban as "devastating" and added: "This could put hundreds of fisherman out of jobs.

The fishing industry has already suffered from several scares and this is not only severely inconveniencing for them but the financial losses could be huge."

A recognised expert in toxic and harmful algae, Mr Berrie blames over -productive salmon farming for introducing the toxin ASP into the once pristine Scottish water.

His claims have been backed by the environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth.

"ASP is caused by high levels if ammonia and salmon farmers discharge tonnes of untreated waste, which includes ammonia, into the ocean," said Don Staniford, a FoE marine research officer.

The Scottish salmon industry produced 120,000 tonnes of salmon last year and about 50,000 tonnes of by-products, which contain ammonia.

Mr Staniford said: "This outbreak points increasingly to the damage done by intensive salmon farming. The coincidence between the areas affected by ASP and high densities of salmon farms is remarkable."

Environmental campaigners have accused the Government of trying to cover up the crisis after the Scottish executive released a brief and low-key statement about the ban.

Now they are calling for a full, and open, investigation to establish how large quantities of the toxin, which naturally is only found in small amounts, came to be found.

Scientists in Aberdeen studying the more common paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) first found the toxin three years ago in mussels. The toxin builds up in algae which lies at the bottom on the seabed, where feeding scallops are found.

If the shellfish containing the toxin are eaten, victims can experience severe sickness and headaches, vomiting, limb numbness and memory loss. In a recent outbreak in Canada 150 people were affected and four died.

In 1997 there were 46 tonnes of queen scallops harvested and 27 tonnes of king scallops and production and sales of the shellfish are worth more than GBP 2 million annually.

Hans Unkles, a scallop fisherman from Tayvallich, Argyll, said: "The day the ban was introduced I came in with a full load of scallops on my boat and realised I was not allowed to sell them. I have had no income since then and while I can cope without fishing for a few weeks, I would rather not."

Experts hope the toxin will break down naturally within a few weeks allowing the fishermen, who dredge the sea bed or dive for scallops, to go back to work. So far, only scallops appear to have been infected, but experts fear it could move up the food chain.

A Scottish executive spokeswoman said the ban was a precautionary measure.

A statement said: "The action is based on scientific advice following test results from the Government's sampling programme. These tests showed that the ASP toxin has reached a level at which there is a risk to consumers. No other commercially marketed shellfish are affected by the action."

No-one was available to comment from the Scottish Salmon Growers' Association.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: July 20, 1999




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Subject: Chairman of the Norwegian Fish Farmers' Association comments on Infectious Salmon Anemia

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

__________________________________________________

From: Norway

>From IntraFish:

Skeptical Norwegians

"My own personal opinion is that an eradication policy wont't work, and the government and the industry must be more pragmatic."

07/22/99 07:00

This is what Mr Tarald Sivertsen, chairman of the Norwegian Fish Farmers' Association says in an interview with Fish Farming Today.

Mr Sivertsen was asked about his opinion of the ISA crisis in Scotland and how it is currently being handled.

"We have lived with ISA for over 10 years in Norway, and we tried to eridicate it at first, but as we don't know how it infects, we must accept it and control it. It is nessecary to have a strict hygiene regime, one year class per site and fallow sites," Mr Sivertsen said.

Commenting on the same issue in Fish Farming International, Mr Asbjorn Reinkind, MD of Hydro Seafood, says that it is impossible to eradicate the ISA virus, which has its natural reservoir in the sea. "You find the virus in wild fish too, so eradication policy is stupid. We were told we had to kill the fish on-site, which is the worst thing you can do. It is much better to take it to the processing plant where we can treat it. The Scottish Office interpreted the rules in the worst possible way. SO has to change the practice and adjust. If not, nobody will risk putting smolt to sea or be willing to invest in Scotland" Mr Reinkind sais.

He also sais that the Scottish industry today is not competitive because of the complexities of getting sites and approval to use new medicines.




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Subject: Tasmanian Salmonid Growers Association upset about allowing import of uncooked Canadian salmon

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

From: Australia

From: FIS (Fish Info Service)

SALMON FARMERS PROTEST OVER IMPORTS

(AUSTRALIA, Friday, July 23, 1999)

The Tasmanian Salmonid Growers Association says salmon farmers are pledging to ignite a salmon war, including a massive blockade of Federal Parliament, in a bid to revert the recent AQIS ruling, which allows imports of uncooked Canadian salmon to enter the country.

The association has asked the Federal Government to guarantee compensation for the impacts of any disease outbreaks as farmers feel the AUS$100-million-a-year industry is now under threat.

The State Government is continuing to examine ways to block the import of salmon, which can carry more than 20 diseases, to the state under quarantine or inland fisheries laws.

However, some feel that the moves may only be able to restrict movement across state borders and not imports from overseas.

Tasmanian Liberal senator Paul Calvert revealed he was considering legislation to ensure the industry would be compensated if there were a disease outbreak.




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Subject: Meanwhile, NZ salmon farmers celebrate an end to Australia's 24-year ban on salmon imports

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

From: New Zealand

New Zealand news from The Press - July 21, 1999

Salmon industry hooks market

WELLINGTON -- The salmon industry in New Zealand

is celebrating the lifting of Australia's 24-year ban on salmon imports, opening up a potential $20 million market.

New Zealand has been exporting smoked salmon valued about $1 million a year to Australia for several years, as Australia allowed imports of heat-treated and cooked salmon. But it has been unable to export fresh (chilled) or frozen salmon, for which there is a much bigger market.

Acting Minister for International Trade John Luxton yesterday welcomed the news. "It takes the development of trans-Tasman trade a step further under the CER." A pleasing aspect of the decision was the recognition it accorded to New Zealand salmon's good health status, Mr Luxton said.

Australian salmon producers are criticising the decision as equivalent to allowing foot-and-mouth disease into Australia and say it will devastate their native salmon.

The Australian Quarantine Inspection Service confirmed that chilled and frozen salmon would be allowed into Australia under strict control.

The New Zealand salmon industry estimates there are potential sales worth $20 million available in Australia for fresh and frozen salmon through growth in the Australian market. -- NZPA




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Subject: Regulation of Scottish fish farming industry questioned

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

From: Scotland

Copyright 1999 Scottish Media Newspapers Limited

The Herald (Glasgow)

July 13, 1999

SECTION: Pg. 16

LENGTH: 493 words

HEADLINE: Accommodating' the fish-farmers

BODY:

THE Scottish Executive, formerly the Scottish Office, has yet again "accommodated" its fish-farming chums by delaying implementation of European Union culling regulations on a Shetland site where the disease infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) has been confirmed (July 9).

Its reason for doing so was to allow the owner of the fish, Kinloch Damph Ltd of Couldoran, near Kishorn in Wester Ross, to harvest and market them before they had to be destroyed and ensiled (minced up and burned). Otherwise, the company reportedly threatened to sue the Scottish Executive for compensation for loss of income.

Government Ministers, and their scientists, tell the public that ISA is not a risk to human health. But similar assurances, given by Ministers and their scientists during the BSE crisis, were eventually shown to be worthless. Is this happening again, with farm salmon?

Consumers buy farm salmon from their local supermarket on the basis of trust. They do not know, and are not told, whether or not these fish could contain traces of dioxins; whether or not the fish have come from farms infected with ISA; or, as is the case with some Asda and Safeway salmon products, come from a farm where the toxic organophosphate chemical, Ivermectin, is licensed for use.

Nothing on product packaging informs customers about these matters. Product packaging does not even tell customers that they are buying farm salmon, or which farm produced the fish. There is no information about which chemicals have been used in rearing the fish. Customer choice is directed solely by advertising phrases such as "fresh Scottish salmon" and, often, a "Tartan Quality" sticker on the outside wrapper. Personally, I wouldn't feed farm salmon to my cat, let alone consider for a moment eating it myself.

The Kinloch Damph managing director, Mark Pattinson, blames wild fish for the spread of ISA - which was almost certainly imported to Scotland via a Norwegian-owned freshwater smolt (immature salmon) hatchery at Eskadale to the north of Inverness. But there is no record anywhere in the world of wild fish dying because of ISA.

However, he is partly correct. Sea-trout are thought to host the disease and in their marine phase, sea-trout remain in coastal waters. As such, they could possibly carry ISA to nearby "fish-ghetto" salmon cages.

Not, however, for much longer. Sea-lice infestation from salmon farms is killing wild sea-trout (and wild salmon) and they are now on the point of extinction in fish-farming areas in the West Highlands of Scotland.

The truth of the matter is that the salmon-farming industry, and the regulation of the industry, are a complete shambles. The only remaining question seems to be whether or not the Scottish Executive First Minister, Donald Dewar, will do anything about it, to protect public health and to save Scotland's wild salmonids.

Bruce Sandison,

Hysbackie, Tongue, by Lairg.

July 12.

LOAD-DATE: July 21, 1999




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Subject: Inquiry to investigate the use of insecticide Ivermectin in Scotland

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

From: Scotland

Copyright 1999 Scottish Media Newspapers Limited

The Herald (Glasgow)

July 12, 1999

SECTION: Pg. 1

LENGTH: 516 words

HEADLINE: Fish farms face public inquiry on bid to use toxic insecticide

BYLINE: Craig Watson

BODY:

EXCLUSIVE

A PUBLIC inquiry is to be held to investigate the use of a toxic insecticide by beleaguered fish farmers.

First Minister Donald Dewar made the decision after calling in for his consideration applications for the use of the insecticide Ivermectin for farmed salmon, the Scottish Executive has confirmed.

The inquiry will relate to 13 applications to discharge Ivermectin, used to treat deadly sea lice infestations at 12 Highland fish farms. It has been linked with damage to human health and the environment.

Industry leaders are understood to be concerned that the move, which dates back to 1996, will cause further delays for businesses already under severe pressure. It is the first time such a forum has been established to scrutinise the industry.

Anglers and conservationists are certain to use it as a platform to discuss wider issues of pollution and damage to the environment, including the infectious salmon anaemia crisis which has led to the destruction of more than four million fish, huge financial losses, and job cuts.

The decision emerged in Scottish Executive letters sent out to interested parties last week. Under the Control of Pollution Act, Mr Dewar could have chosen to deal with the matter by written submissions.

An Executive spokesman said a single inquiry would cover all 13 applications. It was not yet known when that would take place. He said Mr Dewar, who called in the matter as Scottish Secretary five months ago, decided a public inquiry was needed "to look at all the issues".

Ivermectin, used to treat other animals and on foreign salmon farms, acts on the nervous system of parasites, causing paralysis and death. There are no proven effects on human health, though campaigners have claimed it could cause severe stomach complaints. Traces have been found in supermarket-sold salmon and, in 1997, two chains refused to stock fish treated with Ivermectin.

Anglers claim sea lice spreads from farmed salmon to wild fish, particularly sea trout. Mrs Jane Wright, president of the Scottish Anglers' National Association and chairwoman of the Sea Trout Group (STG), said there were fears that stocks of wild fish could be wiped out if urgent action were not taken. She added: "We are delighted at this decision because we are totally opposed to the use of Ivermectin.

"You can't just go on putting large amounts of pollution into the water without it affecting the marine environment."

STG members said in February they would take legal action against the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) to force the watchdog to take responsibility for sea lice control. Sepa has given the use of Ivermectin the go-ahead. A Sepa spokesman said small quantities of the chemical had been used at eight of the country's 300 fish farms. A further 22 applications have been refused, he added.

A spokesman for the Scottish Salmon Growers' Association (SSGA) said it was still considering its response. He said salmon farmers were not concerned about public scrutiny, adding that they believed Ivermectin was safe.

LOAD-DATE: July 21, 1999




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Subject: Scottish anglers challenge salmon farming industry

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

From: Scotland

Copyright 1999 Scottish Media Newspapers Limited

The Sunday Herald

July 4, 1999

SECTION: Pg. 21

LENGTH: 611 words

HEADLINE: Anglers lock rods with the fish farmers

BYLINE: Richard Bath

BODY:

Over the past 30 years, coastal netting, the decimation of feeding grounds in Greenland by Russian and Taiwanese drift-netting factory ships and the impact of power stations sited on migratory rivers have all contributed to a steady decline in salmon stocks, but now the fly-fishing community faces a test even bigger than Greenland's current flaunting of NASCO's guidelines.

The Scottish Anglers' National Association (Sana), who represent 150,000 Scottish anglers, are leading efforts to overturn the Scottish Office's decision to offer L9 million aid to fish farms hit by the disastrous outbreak of ISA (Infectious Salmon Anaemia). It is, says Sana, "an unjust an environmentally unsound proposal with no public benefit".

Sana argue that until the salmon-farming industry can be environmentally and economically sustainable, it should not get a penny of taxpayers' money. Under the guise of the European Anglers Alliance, Sana are lobbying EC commissioner Alessandro Piccioli, urging him to veto the planned assistance. As any aid requires his approval, Sana's decision has brought the festering war of words between anglers and fish farmers into the open.

The root of the problem is money and jobs in Scotland's rural economy. The fish farming industry employs up to 6,000 Scots, a number in decline, but Sana claim that at least 15,000 people, from gillies to tackle shops to hotels, live off the angling industry.

Sana have a point. Back in 1989, the McKay Report estimated the industry's annual income at L50 million; today that figure is nearer L65 million. In contrast to fish farming, angling is a largely grant-free, self-sustaining industry.

"We are not against fish farming," said Sana's Patrick Fotheringham, "but we are against unsustainable fish farming. We want to see healthy stocks of wild fish in our rivers along with a sustainable salmon-farming industry with a long-term future. Pouring tax-payers' money into the existing disease-ridden industry is no way to achieve that."

The argument has been a lopsided one. The salmon-farmers, who have had to destroy four million infected fish, not only have the powerful economic argument of jobs on their side, but they also provide a source of not inconsiderable income for the government via the Crown Estates Commission, who lease the land.

Sana say that until the fish farming industry overcomes its chronic lack of regulation - and NASCO's Oslo Resolution, the Control of Pollution Act 1974 and the Environment Act 1995 are properly enforced - it should get no leeway and no cash.

Sana say the industry needs overhauling not refinancing. The outbreak is due to the illegal importation of live fish from Norway - seven of the 10 worst infected sites belong to a Norwegian company - and why should the EC give money to an industry which is 47% owned by nationals from a non-EC country?

Both Sana and the salmon-farmers are turning up the pressure. Sana have taken on two full-time officials, while officials at the Scottish Office are besieged by companies with next year's smolts ready but with no quarantine -free pens to put them in.

The fish-farmers want aid and the regulations loosened so they do not have to destroy infected fish. There are also plans to branch out into producing cod, halibut and other indigenous seafish on an industrial basis. Little or no research into the environmental effects has been done, and we all know what happened last time that was the case.

That seems sure to cause a new battle royal, but as one old Sana hand said, "it's going to be bloody, but at least we might get a conclusion to this once and for all."

LOAD-DATE: July 21, 1999




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Subject: Outbreak of ISA in Chile denied

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

From: Chile

No evidence of the existence of the disease has been detected so far

EXPERTS DENY ISA OUTBREAK

(CHILE, Friday, July 16, 1999)

Experts in fish health deny recent rumours about a possible outbreak of infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) in Chile.

Chief of Senarpesca´s fish health department Ines Montalva has assured that so far, the presence of the disease has not been officially confirmed, reports Estrategia.

According to Eduardo Bitran, managing director of Fundacion Chile, these kind of rumours cause great damage to Chile´s salmon industry. He said that the foundation carries out continuous monitoring controls to evaluate the industry´s health conditions and he affirmed that no evidence of the existence of the disease has been detected.

The infectious salmon anaemia has already caused high mortality rates in other countries, including Norway, Scotland and Canada.

Bitran explained that ISA is sometimes confused with another disease called "skeleton deformation", the cause of which has not yet been determined, although it is known that it is not caused by virus or bacteria and therefore, it is not an infectious disease. However, he affirmed that this problem only affects a reduced number of companies and that it is believed that it could be caused by maladjustment of some factors that are set in the production area, such as temperature and water oxygenation.




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Subject: Report on Maine salmon farming expansion proposal from an agribusiness angle

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

From: USA

>From the Agribusiness Examiner, Issue # 42, July 23, 1999:

AS CORPORATE AGRIBUSINESS GOES SO GOES MAINE?

People living in Hancock County, Maine are concerned about a possible increase in water-borne garbage and they have every right to be since such a problem already exists in nearby Washington County, home of Atlantic Salmon of Maine (ASOM) a Fairfield, Maine-based salmon farming company.

Currently ASOM operates salmon farming facilities in Washington County, and are planning to expand their operation to the Blue Hill Bay area in Hancock County.

At an April 15 hearing ASOM presented the necessary plans and research necessary to acquire a permit for their Blue Hill operation. They also explained plans unrelated to the lease process: They intend to transport fish and feed by barge from their Washington County location, and to process the Blue Hill salmon at their Machias, Maine facility.

They also indicated they will attempt to keep the area free of garbage. The lease, however, is not contingent on these plans being carried out as ASOM has no legal agreement with anyone to prevent garbage accumulating on area beaches.

The fact that this has already been a problem in their Washington county facility is underscored by the fact that the majority ownership of ASOM is held by two of the United States' largest agribusiness companies, Continental Grain Company and Seaboard Corporation.

Continental, with its subsidiary Premium Standard, and Seaboard Corporation, both with their corporate hog facilities and cattle feedlots scattered throughout the Midwest already have a very poor reputation for being odorous neighbors and repeatedly degrading the environment.

Thus, considering the reputation these two companies have, their lack of accountability in the fact that both companies are privately-held with no community control over how they operate, the citizens of Hancock County have every reason to be concerned about allowing these two corporate agribusiness giants to move into their area.




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Subject: Genetically modified foods, including salmon

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

From: Canada

PUBLICATION Times Colonist (Victoria)

DATE Sun 18 Jul 1999

EDITION FINAL

SECTION/CATEGORY Science

PAGE NUMBER C3

BYLINE Karen Hsu

STORY LENGTH 1499

HEADLINE: Brave new world of food: Genetically modified foods are safe, scientists insist -- others aren't so sure

When an agriculture company introduced a genetically modified tomato with a longer shelf life in 1994, it was the start of a new revolution in food. Scientists and food producers promised that other enhanced foods -- packed with richer flavour, extra vitamins and even medicines -- would soon follow.

In a scenario out of science fiction, they predicted a day in the near future when a banana, for example, could be spliced with a hepatitis B viral gene for use as a vaccine.

The ``Flavr Savr'' tomato, though, was a commercial flop, and the promised revolution seemed to go undergound. Today in the U.S., you don't hear too much about genetically altered foods and you certainly can't find any obvious signs of them on grocery shelves.

But look again. Because nearly 60 per cent of all processed foods -- everything from pickles to peanut butter -- contain corn or soybeans that have been grown with genetically engineered seeds, Americans are already dining regularly on DNA-altered cuisine, probably without knowing it.

The deception, if it can be called that, is intentional. Efforts to label foods with geneticially altered components have largely failed out of a concern that illogical fears about scientifically produced foods would unfairly harm a new and promising industry. Yet the speed with which that industry has taken off with no special regulatory oversight has even some scientists worried about what the future may bring as more and more gene-tinkered foods come to market.

What's a consumer to do?

Doomsayers have long feared that people could fall ill from life-threatening allergic reactions to foreign material in foods, and although this is a remote possibility, most scientists say it is unlikely.

Farmers have been crossbreeding plants for centuries to produce ones with desired traits. A trait -- whether it's of a plant or animal -- is the expression of a gene, which contains the molecular instructions that give organisms their characteristics, such as a rounded leaf or brown eyes.

But unlike traditional plant breeding, which can only incorporate genes from close relatives, genetic engineering can make use of any gene regardless of its source, which means it is theoretically possible to do what A/F Protein Inc., a Waltham-based company, is experimenting with now. Scientists there are inserting an ``anti-freeze'' flounder gene into an Atlantic salmon so that the salmon could be bred in colder waters.

Many of the most important crops in the U.S. are already being grown from seeds engineered with a built-in immunity to insects, viruses, or herbicides. About a third of the 80 million acres of corn planted in the nation, 55 per cent of the 72 million acres of soybeans, and mor e than half of the 13 million acres of cotton are grown with genetically engineered seeds.

Scientists point out that genetically modified foods are not harmful, because DNA -- in any food -- is destroyed during digestion.

``There is no reason to suppose that DNA in genetically modified plants would behave differently,'' said officials from the Royal Society, the independent scientific academy of the United Kingdom, in a report about genetically modified foods released last September.

Susan Hefle, assistant professor and co-director of the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, said consumers should not worry about the use of genetically engineered, or transgenic, ingredients in food because there has been no discernable increase in allergies or other problems since oils, flour and syrups from genetically engineered foods -- such as corn and soy -- started being consumed a few years ago.

``I would eat any products on the shelf,'' said Hefle.

But some critics of genetically modified foods point to Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., a seed company, now owned by Dupont Co., that in 1996 developed a transgenic soybean using a gene from a Brazil nut to increase the protein content of its animal feed.

Though the product was never intended for human consumption, Pioneer wanted to make sure the allergen from the Brazil nut was not transferred to the soybean, so it asked Steve Taylor, a nut allergy specialist at the University of Nebraska, to test the product.

Taylor and his colleagues found that people did, in fact, have allergies to the protein and published those results in a 1996 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine; Pioneer pulled the soybean from production. ``It was never close to a disaster,'' said Carrol Bolen, vice-president at Pioneer.

Critics point out that it was fortunate that the company acted to police itself; no federal agency prevented Pioneer from producing the modified soybean.

But the product in question was animal -- not human -- feed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does, in fact, require companies to demonstrate through scientific data that potential allergens are not contained in any bio-engineered foods; if they are, the FDA requires a label saying so.

But most American consumers are pragmatic about food, caring about taste and cost -- not about the food process, said Thomas Hoban, a _

professor of sociology and food science at North Carolina State University, who has been following consumer attitudes about genetically engineered foods.

Hoban said that studies indicate that about 75 per cent of American consumers are not concerned about genetically engineered foods, mainly because they trust that the food supply is generally safe.

But this was not true in the case of bovine growth hormone. In 1993, when the FDA approved genetically engineered bovine somatotropin (BST), a protein-hormone involved in milk production, people were up in arms.

Dairy farmers use the hormone so cows produce more milk. The National Institutes of Health has said BST is not a human health hazard because milk already contains the hormone naturally and it is a protein digested in the intestines.

However, some critics, such as Jason Boehk, co-founder of Cambridge-based Protect Organic, have requested that food with genetically engineered ingredients be labelled because they believe people should have the choice of avoiding them.

``Using genes to manipulate food can have unintended consequences. What happens if there is a problem? Without labelling, there is just no way to know how to trace it back to the genetically engineered ingredient,'' Boehk said.

One concern is the use of a bacterial protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in crops such as corn, soybeans, and potatoes. The Bt gene is inserted into the seeds of many crops to produce a protein that acts as a pesticide. When the plant is eaten by an insect, the bug dies.

Because the seed contains a pesticide, the Environmental Protection Agency has evaluated it for safety and it's come up clean. And studies have shown that Bt is not toxic to mammals, even at the highest dose tested, and that the proteins rapidly degrade in the stomach acid.

Another concern is that ``marker genes'' are routinely inserted into plants to make them resistant to antibiotics, which helps scientists identify the plants that have been altered. Critics suggest that bacteria in people's or animals' intestines may be able to pick up those genes from digested food and perhaps accelerate the evolution of antibiotic-resistant microbes.

But scientists say the marker gene product is broken down in the digestive tract and thus cannot function in the human body. Supporters of the technology emphasize that processes are safe and the regulatory system works. In 1992, the FDA issued a statement that foods grown from genetically engineered seeds would be regulated the same way as other foods but that there was no need to label them because the end product is the same.

James Maryanski, biotechnology co-ordinator for foods for the FDA, said if a food proved to be unsafe, it would be pulled off the market and action would be taken against the company.

``We can't guarantee that we know everything about the products,'' Maryanski said. But he added that food companies do go through extensive internal and government reviews.

Nevertheless, Laura Ticciati, executive director of Iowa-based Mothers of Natural Law, is worried about the long-term safety of genetically modified foods.

``If 90 to 95 per cent of food in the next five to 10 years will become genetically modified, there needs to be some serious long-term safety testing done. We thought DDT was safe 20 years ago,'' said Ticciati. ``In the meantime, food should be labelled so every American has the right to decide if they want to put themselves in the experiment.''

Elliot Entis, chief executive of the Waltham company that's inserting flounder genes into salmon, said he knows that the major hurdle will be convincing consumers that genetically modified fish are safe. ``It does come down to consumer acceptance, which I think will be there,'' Entis said.

But Bolen of Pioneer acknowledged that there are still unknowns in the evolving industry.

``The technology is developing at such a rapid pace, it is hard to visualize what we may be able to do down the road.'' said Bolen.




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Subject: Research on flounder aquaculture

Date: Thursday, July 8, 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

From ENN, USA:

Feel like flounder tonight? Groundbreaking research by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington may help keep flounder on your dinner menu.

Aquaculturist Wade O. Watanabe at the Center for Marine Science Research at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington has made a breakthrough in producing flounder for large-scale saltwater fish farming. In a controlled environment, southern flounder were spawned naturally with no hormone induction.

Flounder, a popular flatfish whose numbers are declining in our oceans, was one of the top ten fish consumed in the U.S. according to a National Fisheries Institute survey in 1997. According to Watanabe, Summer flounder populations declined from 23.5 thousand metric tons in the mid-1980s to 9 thousand metric tons in the early '90s.

"If you inject fish with hormones you have to physically handle them. That can cause stress on the fish and impair the spawning process," Watanabe said. "Our operation shows that you can take wild adult broodstock out of the ocean and provide the conditions necessary for them to spawn naturally that same year."

Natural spawning involves, "creating conditions in the tank that mimic the natural season progressions to get the fish to spawn," said Watanabe.

Dr. Harry Daniels, a larval culture specialist at North Carolina State University, supplied wild adult southern flounder, obtained through commercial sources, for the project. Dr. John Burke of the National Marine Fisheries Service in Beaufort also donated broodstock for the study.

"Larval culture is Harry's expertise," said Watanabe. "Unlike freshwater fish (catfish, trout, tilapia), culturing larvae of a marine finfish like flounder is technically demanding. Freshwater fish produce large eggs with a lot of yolk. By the time the yolk is eaten, freshwater fish are developed enough to be fed a commercial fish chow. That's why freshwater aquaculture is well established, whereas, marine aquaculture is still in the embryonic stages. Marine finfish produce small eggs with small yolks. When their yolk is used up, they must be fed microscopic algae and zooplankton. The upshot is that the requirement for these tiny organisms is a difficult task to meet."

With this breakthrough accomplished, Watanabe and Daniels are modifying the nutrition of broodstock and environmental parameters such as temperature and light to improve fertilization and survival of southern flounder eggs to the first-feeding larval stage.

"This is another alternative that will be helpful to overall hatchery production of flounder," Watanabe said. "While this is a major step, we're still a long way from being able to produce in all seasons of the year the quality of (flounder) that would be needed for a commercial industry." Copyright 1999, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved




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Subject: Poaching in Kamchatka, Russia

Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 11:33:14 +0900 (JST)
From: E.Noguchi
To: Yutaka Okamoto

Forwarded by E. Noguchi

----------------
Original message follows
----------------

From: misha
To: PRiggs@rbf.org, siberia@foejapan.org
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 11:11:06 +1100
Subject: POACHING IN KAMCHATKA
copyright The Moscow Times 1997-1999

TMT: Thursday, July 15, 1999: In Kamchatka, 'Life Is All Poaching'Thursday, July 15, 1999

In Kamchatka, 'Life Is All Poaching'

By Richard C. Paddock

OKTYABRSKY, Far East -- From the beach where Vladimir Belov stands, he can see a dozen ships trawling for salmon in the Sea of Okhotsk. An unemployed plumber, Belov can't afford a fishing license. In fact, he has never seen one. But that doesn't keep him from fishing for salmon too.

With a watchful eye for the police, the 39-year-old father of two sets out his homemade truba - a 20-foot pipe with a fishing net and floats attached - and waits for the only good luck his life is likely to offer.

In this desolate, Godforsaken town near the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the residents have little to live on but the fish they catch illegally. Local industry has collapsed. Crops refuse to grow in the sandy soil. Stores have closed, and commerce is nearly nonexistent.

"Life is all about poaching," Belov says. "What do you think life is like when you don't get paid at all? If someone gave us the money, we would be out of here in no time."

Perched on the Pacific Rim about 1,100 kilometers from Japan, Kamchatka is a land of missed opportunity - a lush region of wilderness and lakes held back by seven decades of Communist dictatorship and seven years of capitalist greed.

Its natural assets make it one of the richest regions in the country, but

Russia's poorly functioning economy provides little money to develop them.

Like the rest of Russia, prices in Kamchatka have skyrocketed, salaries have plummeted and goods have become scarcer since last year's financial collapse and ruble devaluation. During the winter, residents in the capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, shivered in near-freezing apartments because there was not enough fuel to run the city's centralized heating plants. In recent weeks, each household has received electricity for only three hours every other day.

In Oktyabrsky, anyone who could manage it has moved away, leaving behind only the destitute and the desperate.

"Life is so terrible here we're going to die like dogs," says a 20-year Oktyabrsky resident who gives her name only as Yulia. "But before we die like dogs, we're going to eat the dogs we have."

Kamchatka's economy has gone so haywire that much of its record 1998 salmon harvest went to waste. On the Bolshaya River near Oktyabrsky, dozens of Soviet-style work brigades conducted the same kind of industrial fishing operation they had for decades: Men in small motorboats placed their nets in the river and pulled them tight with tractors on the beach, trapping tons of fish at a time. Using cranes, they hauled the salmon out of the river and loaded them onto trucks.

Later, workers sliced open the female fish and extracted the rich, red caviar. But local canneries, run-down and poorly managed, could not process most of the salmon. Trucks dumped an estimated 50,000 tons of salmon in fields to rot.

As in Soviet times, fishing - legal or otherwise - dominates the region's economy. Illegal fishing in Russia's Far East is estimated to bring in as much as $5 billion a year, an amount equal to nearly one-fifth of Russia's annual budget.

The biggest threat to the fishery comes from commercial ships that haul in fish without regard to legal limits in the three bodies of water that surround the peninsula: the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.

Officials say Russian vessels working out of Kamchatka, Vladivostok and Sakhalin Island are depleting the region of crab, salmon and herring, among other species.

To avoid fishing limits, steep taxes and stifling bureaucracy, Russian ships commonly take their catch directly to Japan, where they can sell it at premium prices. "A business that tries to operate legally and pay its taxes cannot afford to stay in business," says Vladimir Burkanov, head of the regional agency in charge of protecting fishing resources.

Russia's rich fishing grounds also lure ships from other nations to fish illegally. Some pirate companies send several vessels at a time to fish nonstop and a shuttle ship to meet up with them, take their haul and deliver it to port.

While fishing remains the mainstay of Kamchatka's economy, officials are wrestling with how to shape the region's future and tap into its wealth of resources.

But harsh weather and a shortage of hotels make Kamchatka a tourist destination only for the wealthiest - or hardiest - travelers. Even at the height of the short summer tourist season, it is not unusual for restaurants in Petropavlovsk to close at dinner time because the city water supply has been shut off. To keep away cockroaches, one prominent hotel in the capital is known to spray pesticides in guests' rooms while they are out for the day.

For now, officials are investing little in tourist facilities and are trying instead to attract cruise ship passengers, who have no need for hotels, and big-game hunters, who expect to camp out.

Oktyabrsky, 150 kilometers west of Petropavlovsk, is as grim a town as any in Russia. The main street - a treeless dirt road - is strewn with garbage and lined by half-empty apartment blocks. The street is rutted and undernourished children entertain themselves by jumping onto the backs of trucks as they go by. Along the beach, dozens of men put their trubas into the sea and wait for salmon to swim close to shore. On the best of days, one truba can bring in a ton of fish. In a constant game of cat-and-mouse, the men are ready to run at the first sign of the police, who frequently come to issue fines and cut their nets.

"Whether or not you call it poaching, we don't have a choice," unemployed crane operator Alexander Belashov, 31, says as he watches over his homemade fishing rig. "We depend entirely on the sea. If we get some fish, we know we're going to survive. If we don't, God knows what will happen."




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Subject: Boston Globe: Proposed salmon farm sparks opposition

Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999
From: bmott@seaweb.org
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
*Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
102 Waterman Street, Suite 16 Providence, Rhode Island 02906

Following story in Boston Globe comes thanks to Howard Breen

__________________________________________________

From: the Boston Globe:

Proposed salmon farm sparks opposition in Blue Hill By Associated Press, 07/26/99 02:16

But Atlantic Salmon of Maine, the state's largest aquaculture company, says the $1.6 million project would make its fish farming operations healthier and more productive, while stimulating the local economy by creating more jobs. The company has applied for permits to raise hundreds of thousands of salmon in pens off Long and Bartlett Islands. It would be the largest salmon farm ever built on the Maine coast.

Company president Tom Royal said the sites were chosen for their deep water and protection from storms. He said they will rarely interfere with lobster fishing.

That concern has led lobstermen to join forces with town selectmen and wealthy summer residents such as David Rockefeller Sr. in opposing the project. A group called the Friends of Blue Hill Bay has attracted hundreds of supporters and has launched a $50,000 fund-raising campaign to pay for scientific studies and legal advice.

The Long Island site would be 27 acres; the Bartlett Island site would be 16 acres.

''This thing is bigger than several football fields,'' said Patrick Wilmerding, chairman of the Friends of Blue Hill Bay. ''They're going to turn the bay into a feedlot.''

Royal said the pens would be used to hold some of the fish that are being raised at three farms off Harrington and Machias, in Washington County.

Creating more room means less fish feces and uneaten food on the ocean floor, and less transmission of diseases and parasites between generations, he said.Use of pesticides to control parasites could also be reduced, he said.

''This is the result of long-term thinking about sustainable aquaculture,'' he said.

Tom Harnett, an assistant attorney general who gives legal advice to the Department of Marine Resources, said a decision on the lease applications should be made by mid-August.

The opposition to the project could be a sign of things to come as the Maine aquaculture industry outgrows the state's more remote harbors and tries to address environmental problems that are only growing more complex.

''I look at this as the flashpoint for what could be a statewide issue,'' The best sites in Washington County, where jobs are badly needed and residents are more familiar with fish farming, have all been claimed. Those that remain lie close to environmentally sensitive islands.




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Subject: Nutreco Acquires fish feed business in Scotland

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
*Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
102 Waterman Street, Suite 16 Providence, Rhode Island 02906

__________________________________________________

From IntraFish:

Nutreco Acquires fish feed business in Scotland

BOCM PAULS sold

Nutreco announces it has acquired the fish feed business of BOCM PAULS at Renfrew, Scotland. BOCM PAULS is the fourth largest fish feed producer in the UK.

07/29/99 08:00

The plant has a capacity of 25,000 tonnes and a sales turnover of NLG 36 M.

"To secure adequate production capacity is a logical step after we announced the acquisition of the salmon farming and processing activities of Marine Harvest McConnell in Scotland and Chile earlier this month", Business Group Managing Director Aquaculture Hans den Bieman commented.

Nutreco recognises that BOCM PAULS Fish Feed Group has a plant and associated business skills which ideally complement their existing UK operation (Trouw Aquaculture) at two sites, Invergordon and Longridge.

The acquisition of the BOCM PAULS Fish Feed Mill at Renfrew will provide Trouw Aquaculture with a location which is strategically placed in relation to the UK fish farming industry. The plant employs 35 people.

Nutreco Holding N.V. is an international company quoted on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange with leading positions in high-quality animal and fish feed industries. The Groups main activities centre on the production of compound feed for pigs, poultry and cattle as well as salmonid fish feed. Other Nutreco activities include the production of premixes and speciality feed, poultry and pork processing, pig and poultry breeding and salmon farming and processing.

These activities are divided into Nutreco Agriculture (Agri Nutrition and Animal Products) and Nutreco Aquaculture. Thirteen business units operate within these groups, incorporating 80 production and processing plants in over 15 countries. Since its flotation in June 1997, Nutreco finalised acquisitions in the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Canada, Poland, Chile, France, Portugal and Scotland. Nutrecos sales in 1998 amounted to NLG 5,433 million (EUR 2,465 million).




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Subject: Australia`s salmon ban Canada fights back

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
*Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
102 Waterman Street, Suite 16 Providence, Rhode Island 02906

>From IntraFish:

Australia`s salmon ban Canada fights back

Canada said on Wednesday it has requested authority from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to retaliate against Australia for its continued ban on imports of Canadian salmon.

07/29/99 14:22

Trade spokesman Francois Lasalle said Australia contends its revised import policies, unveiled July 19, are now compliant with WTO rule, but Canada does not agree, Reuters reports.

- So there will be a panel established to determine whether the revised fish import policies of Australia are compliant or not with the WTO ruling, and if the panel finds against Australia, then Canada's request for retaliation will be referred to arbitration regarding the level of retaliation requested, Lasalle said.

He said that a decision by the panel is not expected before the end of the year, adding: ``But in the meantime we are continuing discussions with Australia on the subject. Perhaps we can find some improvement to be made to their July 19 announcement of revised policy.''

Canadian Trade Minister Sergio Marchi said in July that Canada would impose a surtax on imports of certain Australian products to retaliate for the salmon ban, which has been in force since 1975.

In 1998, a WTO panel ruled that Australia's ban was scientifically unjustified and discriminatory. In February 1999, after a failed appeal by Australia, the WTO gave Australia until July 6 to implement the WTO rulings. Australia announced a revised policy on July 19.

The United States has a similar WTO complaint against Australia. Source: Reuters




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Subject: Shetland year 2000 will produce commercial halibut

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
*Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
102 Waterman Street, Suite 16 Providence, Rhode Island 02906

From IntraFish:

Shetland year 2000 Commercial halibut

Three halibut farming sites could start operating in Shetland in 2000.

07/29/99 07:00

A management plan for the inner Burra area has been drawn up by the North Atlantic Fisheries College, in collaboration with Shetland salmon farms Crø Lax and Hoove Salmon and up to three halibut farming sites could start operating there in 2000 - on sites previously designated for salmon farming. Planning applications have been lodged with the Shetland Islands Council for approval of halibut farming, reports the Shetland Fishing News.

Sourcing and acquiring juvenile halibut is the main problem as they cost about £5 to £7 each on the market. The college already have a brood stock established in Cliff Sound and their hatchery in Scalloway is being upgraded and extended. Old stocks of salmon cages could be refurbished and converted for halibut by making them smaller and fitted with floatation and sinker tubes in order to produce a flat bottom in the net. Without a flat bottom, halibut - which tend to swim in the deeper waters of the cage - overcrowd the bottom of the net.




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Subject: Norway doubling farm salmon production

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
*Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
102 Waterman Street, Suite 16 Providence, Rhode Island 02906

From IntraFish:

By 2005 Norway doubling production

An analysis by the Nordland Research Institute forecasts an output of 700,000 tonnes of salmonids by 2005 - as being the result of a 'middle alternative' (a 9-10% growth p.a.) for the booming Norwegian industry.

07/29/99 07:00

Indicators in place show that the potential is there but the authors of the report stress that more efforts should be spent on external communications regarding the industry's image in the public opinion on environmental issues.

One of the main points stressed is that the industry will need an institutional and organisational framework to develop a balance between production and market demand. Which of the growth scenarios will apply will partly be dependent on what happens after the now two year old 'EU-Norway salmon deal' comes to term in 2002. Three scenarios were analysed considering low (5-6%), moderate (9-10%) and high (15%) growth per annum. In the most likely event of a moderate growth, 800,000 to 900,000 tonnes of feed would be required, and the capital value of the industry would increase from NOK 14 billion in 1997 to NOK 22 billion in 2005.




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Subject: Turbot Farming Introduced to Iceland

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
*Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
102 Waterman Street, Suite 16 Providence, Rhode Island 02906

From Seafood.com:

Turbot Farming Introduced to Iceland

Seafood.com July 28- via Iceland press- A fish farm in Iceland is introducing turbot this year. This is the first time that this species of flatfish has been professionally farmed in Iceland. The market for turbot in Europe is very good and the fish sell for high prices. The fish farm, Eyraeldi was granted an exemption from the import ban on turbot on condition that the company follows strict health security rules. The business concept is to raise turbot fry at this farm, and then sell them to other Icelandic fish farmers for grow out.




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Subject: A new race of genetically modified salmon?

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
*Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
102 Waterman Street, Suite 16 Providence, Rhode Island 02906

This comes thanks to Allan Berry:

Scottish Daily Mail, Thur July 29th 1999. By DAVID DERBYSHIRE Science Correspondent NOW ITS THE FRANKEN-FISH SECRET experiments on a new race of genetically modified salmon have taken place in Scotland, the Government admitted last night.

In a series of controversial tests, thousands of fish were given an extra gene to make them grow four times as quickly as normal. The admission by Scottish Secretary Dr John Reid, that Ministers gave the go-ahead for the Franken-fish studies three years ago provoked a furious reaction last night

from anti-GM campaigners. They accused the Government of covering up the scale of genetic experiments and urged them to come clean on other GM research into animals. Anti-GM campaigners believe the experiments took place in tanks near Loch Fyne, Argyll, involving a Canadian company.

Dr Reids confirmation of the project means the Scottish Offièe licence for the experiments was granted during John Majors government. Studies into fast growing genetically modified fish have been taking place in America and Canada for the past few years. Although there were rumours of similar experiments in Britain, the details remained under wraps until yesterday. The salmon industry is looking for easy to farm fish, which can grow to market size in just 18 months - half the time it normally takes. That would double the turnover of salmon in tanks and potentially double profits.

Yesterday Dr Reid admitted: Copies of a growth hormone gene from Chinook Salmon were introduced into 10,000 Atlantic Salmon eggs. The fish were grown in a land-based containment facility for up to .one year. Approximately 50 per cent of the fish grew at four times. the normal rate with no sign of abnormalities. " The fish were destroyed at the end of the experiment and were not sold", he said. Former Labour Minister Joan Ruddock, who pressed Dr Reid for details about the research in a Parliamentary question, said she would be seeking more information. "The greatest concern for me is that of genes being transferred from one species to another", she said. There is clearly a potential for escapes into the wild.

Friends of the Earth spokesman Ian Willmore said: The Government needs to come clean about exactly what has been going on. We need to know exactly when this took place, where the research was carried out, whether any fish escaped into the wild and the results of these experiments. Its just another example of how the genetic modificatIon of crops and animals is taking place in secret.

American scientists have created more than 100,000 GM salmon in giant seawater tanks off the coast of the U.S. and Canada. They hope to get the first grow-faster fish on fishmongers slabs within two years. In America, the research into salmon is being carried out by the biotech firth A/F Protein Inc. The company say their fish taste and look like the normal variety. Other GM fish - including trout, flounder and arctic char are likely to follow.

Opponents fear salmon crossbreeding with wild fish could spread genetic pollution across the worlds oceans. If the grow-faster fish eat more, it could drastically alter the food..chain, affecting other species.

Arthur Bell, chairman of the Food Trust of Scotland, was horrified at the prospect of genetically modified salmon ending up on the plates of the public. He said: I am seriously concerned to learn about this. I think it will be a long time before we can be. sure that genetically modified foods are definitely safe for public consumption. Im not sure if mankinds tampering with nature in this way can ever be advisable. Sadly these concerns will be shared by others and could damage sales of farmed salmon in this country and overseas.

Salmon have been at the centre of several health scares over the last year - with farming practices blamed by many experts for putting human health at risk. Last year millions of fish were culled after an outbreak of the incurable disease Infectious salmon anaemia. Some supermarkets pulled salmon from their shelves amid fears the disease could affect people.

Salmon farmers have also, come under fire for using a pesticide Ivermectin, used to combat sea lice. Some expects fear that the poison could affect other marine life and might be harmful in large doses to humans.

Intensive salmon farming was linked to a massive poisoning outbreak which forced a curb on scallop farming across western Scotland this month. Fishing of the shellfish was banned in 8,000 square miles of sea after high levels of toxins produced by algae were found in scallop. Fisherman say that the algae is feeding off high levels of ammonia in the water, and that ammonia Is a by product of salmon farming. The Scottish Salmon Growers Association has dismissed the link as rubbish.

If salmon modification is a success, other animals will follow. According to Home Office figures, one million animals have been genetically modified for use in scientific experiments over the past four years.

The bulk of research involved mice and rats and was carried out in the hope of medical breakthroughs, but scientists are now turning to farm animals used for food. Around 2,408 pigs plus 1,309 sheep and even 42 birds, thought to be chickens and turkeys, were also modified.




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Subject: U.K.Controversy over Genetically Modified Salmon

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
*Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
102 Waterman Street, Suite 16 Providence, Rhode Island 02906

From Seafood.com:

Controversy over Genetically Modified Salmon Erupts in U.K.

Seafood.com July 29 via BBC- Revelations in the House of Commons of government support for a Scottish Experiment with genetically modified salmon has caused an uproar in Britain, where any hint of genetic modification of foods is highly controversial.

In 1996, Otter Ferry Salmon carried out privately funded research in closed tanks, after having obtained government permission and support to do so. A growth gene from Chinook salmon was put into 10,000 Atlantic salmon eggs. 50 individuals grew at 4 times the normal rate of growth. The fish were kept for 18 months, and then destroyed.

The Scottish Salmon Association distanced itself from the experiments, fearing a market backlash. At the time, in 1996, the Scottish growers feared that this technology would be adopted in Norway, to great competitive advantage. Essentially the modification would allow salmon to grow to market size in 12 to 18 months, rather than 3 years, halving the cost of production.

Since then, nine salmon growing countries agreed to a ban on genetically modified fish, and there has been no further interest in the project.

Nevertheless, the techniques have been established and they lay the groundwork for a further dramatic reduction in the cost of rearing farmed salmon. To what extent they ever get adopted will depend on whether there is market acceptance of genetically modified foods.




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Subject: Atlantic Salmon Aquaculture in the EEZ

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
*Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
102 Waterman Street, Suite 16 Providence, Rhode Island 02906

Subject: Atlantic Salmon Aquaculture in the EEZ
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 17:21:10 -0400
From: Bill Mott

Thanks to Gary Jensen at USDA for this information:

[Federal Register: July 27, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 143)] [Rules and Regulations] [Page 40519-40521] >From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr27jy99-9] DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 990119022-9164-02; I.D. 111998C]
RIN 0648-AM13

Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Salmon Fishery Management Plan

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule. -----------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS issues final regulations to implement Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Specifically, these final regulations establish a framework process to implement, add to or adjust Atlantic salmon management measures to allow for Atlantic salmon aquaculture projects in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Amendment 1 to the FMP also includes an overfishing definition for Atlantic salmon.

DATES: Effective August 26, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 1 and its regulatory impact review (RIR) are available from Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 5 Broadway, Saugus, MA 01906-1036.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bonnie L. VanPelt, Fishery Management Specialist, 978-281-9244.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 13, 1998, the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted for review and Secretarial approval an omnibus amendment that includes Amendment 11 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP, Amendment 9 to the Sea Scallop FMP, and Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Salmon FMP. The omnibus amendment was approved in its entirety on March 3, 1999, and a notice of approval of the omnibus amendment was published in the Federal Register on April 21, 1999 (64 FR 19503). A proposed rule to implement the aquaculture framework process contained in Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Salmon FMP was published on February 5, 1999 (64 FR 5754). The comment period on the proposed rule closed March 22, 1999. No public comments were received on the proposed rule. A complete discussion of Amendment 1's provisions appears in the preamble to the proposed rule and is not repeated here.

Approved Management Measures

Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Salmon FMP includes a new Atlantic salmon overfishing definition and adds a mechanism to allow for Atlantic salmon aquaculture in the EEZ through a framework adjustment process. For a discussion of the Atlantic salmon overfishing definition, see the notice of approval of the omnibus amendment (64 FR 19503, April 21, 1999).

Although salmon is overfished, no additional management measures are imposed by Amendment 1. The management measures currently in place prohibit harvesting of salmon from the EEZ and require that any Atlantic salmon incidentally caught in other fisheries be released in a manner that insures maximum probability of survival. These measures have been determined to be sufficient to the extent practicable to minimize bycatch and bycatch mortality consistent with national standard 9.

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center certified the Council's recommended overfishing definition with reservation noting that there was no specified mortality limit or threshold projected for a rebuilt stock, or stock size above which fishing mortality could be greater than zero. However, the Center's conclusion was that in light of the status of the Atlantic salmon resource and its long rebuilding schedule, considerations of such biological reference points can be addressed when, and if, necessary. Moreover, overfishing is not occurring, as fishing mortality is zero and is expected to stay at zero for the foreseeable future. The Council has been notified that should the status of the resource change, it would need to revisit the overfishing definition to clarify what level of fishing mortality is appropriate to rebuild the resource to a sustainable level.

For the sake of efficiency, this rule establishes a framework process to allow for implementation of aquaculture projects, which is consistent with the process outlined for all other amendments now being developed to bring New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council plans into compliance with the Sustainable Fisheries Act. This action would allow for the implementation of aquaculture projects through the adjustment of the management measures prohibiting the harvest of Atlantic salmon from the EEZ and through the imposition of one or more of the management measures identified in Amendment 1, including, but not limited to: Minimum fish sizes, gear restrictions, minimum mesh sizes, possession limits, tagging requirements, monitoring requirements, reporting requirements, permit restrictions, area closures, and establishment of special management areas or zones.

Classification

The Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS, determined that Amendment 1 is necessary for the conservation and management of the Atlantic salmon fishery and that it is consistent with the Magnuson- Stevens Act and other applicable laws.

This final rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce has certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration that this rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. No comments were received regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: July 21, 1999.

Andrew A. Rosenberg, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is amended as follows:

PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

2. Section 648.41 is added to read as follows:

Sec. 648.41 Framework specifications.

(a) Within season management action. The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) may, at any time, initiate action to implement, add to or adjust Atlantic salmon management measures to allow for Atlantic salmon aquaculture projects in the EEZ, provided such an action is consistent with the goals and objectives of the Atlantic Salmon FMP.

(b) Framework process. After initiation of an action to implement, add to or adjust an Atlantic salmon management measure to allow for an Atlantic salmon aquaculture project in the EEZ, the NEFMC shall develop and analyze Atlantic salmon management measures to allow for Atlantic salmon aquaculture projects in the EEZ over the span of at least two NEFMC meetings. The NEFMC shall provide the public with advance notice of the availability of both the proposals and the analysis and opportunity to comment on them prior to and at the second NEFMC meeting. The NEFMC's recommendation on aquaculture management measures must come from one or more of the following categories: minimum fish sizes, gear restrictions, minimum mesh sizes, possession limits, tagging requirements, monitoring requirements, reporting requirements, permit restrictions, area closures, establishment of special management areas or zones and any other management measures currently included in the FMP.

(c) NEFMC recommendation. After developing Atlantic salmon management measures and receiving public testimony, the NEFMC shall make a recommendation to NMFS. The NEFMC's recommendation must include supporting rationale and, if management measures are recommended, an analysis of impacts and a recommendation to NMFS on whether to issue the management measures as a final rule. If NMFS concurs with the NEFMC's recommendation to issue the management measures as a final rule, the NEFMC must consider at least the following factors and provide support and analysis for each factor considered:

(1) Whether the availability of data on which the recommended management measures are based allows for adequate time to publish a proposed rule, and whether regulations have to be in place for an entire harvest/fishing season.

(2) Whether there has been adequate notice and opportunity for participation by the public and members of the affected industry in the development of the NEFMC's recommended management measures.

(3) Whether there is an immediate need to protect the resource.

(4) Whether there will be a continuing evaluation of measures adopted following their implementation as a final rule.

(d) NMFS action. If the NEFMC's recommendation includes implementation of management measures and, after reviewing the NEFMC's recommendation and supporting information:

(1) NMFS concurs with the NEFMC's recommended management measures and determines that the recommended measures should be issued as a final rule based on the factors specified in paragraph (c)(1) through (4) of this section, the measures will be issued as a final rule in the Federal Register.

(2) NMFS concurs with the NEFMC's recommendation and determines that the recommended management measures should be published first as a proposed rule, the measures will be published as a proposed rule in the Federal Register. After additional public comment, if NMFS concurs with the NEFMC recommendation, the measures will be issued as a final rule in the Federal Register.

(3) NMFS does not concur, the NEFMC will be notified in writing of the reasons for the non-concurrence.

(e) Emergency action. Nothing in this section is meant to derogate from the authority of the Secretary to take emergency action under section 305(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

[FR Doc. 99-19172 Filed 7-26-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-F




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Subject: Agency opposes proposed Maine salmon farms

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail:
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
*Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
102 Waterman Street, Suite 16 Providence, Rhode Island 02906

Subject: Agency report opposes proposed salmon farms in Maine
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999
From: Bill Mott

Copyright 1999 Bangor Daily News

BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE)

July 29, 1999 Thursday

LENGTH: 1171 words

HEADLINE: Report opposes Blue Hill salmon farm DMR staff says aquaculture project may adversely affect bay

BYLINE: Samantha Coit Of the NEWS Staff

BODY:

A staff report by the state Department of Marine Resources opposes a company's plan to tuck two fish farms raising 1.4 million Atlantic salmon into protected sections of Blue Hill Bay.

Atlantic Salmon of Maine, a 10-year-old fish farming company, wants the exclusive right to raiseAtlantic salmon and blue mussels off two islands in the bay -- a move that prompted opposition on Mount Desert Island and a $ 50,000 opposition campaign by some Blue Hill area residents.

The company applied for 10-year leases on two sites to raise seafood in a 15-acre tract off the northern end of Bartlett Island and a 26.67-acre section off Long Island, just south of Deep Cove.

After reviewing evidence from public hearings on the applications, department staff this week recommended that Marine Resources Commissioner George Lapointe reject the plans. Lapointe has the final say.

The company plans to challenge the staff recommendation, said Tom Royal, president of the Belfast-based company, on Wednesday.

Royal said he was disappointed and confused by the recommendation.

"What is the signal it sends about aquaculture in the state of Maine? " he said. "It's not unique in any way," he said of Blue Hill Bay's suitability for salmon pens.

"Obviously, we will vigorously point out what we think were the inaccuracies or changes in precedents and see what the commissioner says," Royal said.

The company's plan to set up pens in Blue Hill Bay is an effort to improve husbandry practices rather than to increase the amount of fish the company produces, Royal said.

Atlantic Salmon of Maine already operates two hatcheries and six sea farm leases, including four in Machias and two in Pleasant Bay 40 miles west of Machias, and one processing plant in Machiasport in Washington County.

What happens next?

In the next 10 days, Atlantic Salmon of Maine and others who had requested legal standing in the case may respond in writing to the department staff's recommendations to deny the applications.

Lapointe will review the department's recommendation and comment from parties in the case, then adopt or change the staff decision. Lapointe could reach an entirely different conclusion, said Tom Harnett, assistant attorney general with the state Attorney General's Office.

Anyone dissatisfied with the department's final action on the applications may challenge the decision in Superior Court. The company and parties involved in the case have 30 days to file an appeal from the date the department issuesits final decision.

Those who do not have legal standing in the case may file an appeal within 40 days of the commissioner's decision, Harnett said.

"In a perfect world final agency action [on the applications] would occur sometime around August 15," he said.

Other than Atlantic Salmon of Maine, four parties involved in the Bartlett Island lease application have been granted legal standing in the case: Charles Gagnebin III, who owns property overlooking the site; Doug Chapman, an attorney representing Bartlett Island property owner David Rockefeller; Ralph Keef, president of the Maine Council of the Atlantic Salmon Federation; and Barbara Witham of the Union River Salmon Association.

No parties requested legal standing in the lease application for the site off the coast of Long Island in Blue Hill.

If the final DMR decision favors the lease sites, the Army Corps of Engineers, which issues permits for proposed structures on the sites, will determine whether to grant a permit a month after the DMR issues its recommendation.

Bartlett Island site

Potential navigational problems and overburdening of local facilities topped the list of why-nots in the staff recommendation to deny Atlantic Salmon of Maine's application to lease a 15-acre tract off Bartlett Island. The company proposes to raise 512,000 salmon there.

The proposed lease site would unreasonably interfere with navigation and uses of the area, including the town's public landing and a popular swimming spot in Galley Cove, near the area of the proposed lease, according to the DMR staff report.

On shore, the company's limited use of a nearby public landing in Mount Desert would overburden the town's ability to sustain public enjoyment of the landing, DMR staff concluded.

The town's landing, located about one mile south of the proposed site, is at capacity for parking space and mooring permits, and its uses interfere with nearby property owners.

On the bay, the proposed lease site would be about 500 feet from Galley Cove, identified in April public hearings as a swimming spot distinctive for its uncommonly high water temperatures during summer and its protected areas.

Concern for the safety and welfare of children swimming in a cove 500 feet from a commercialoperation with its associated traffic and activities is also cited in the report.

"I think we're all very pleased," said Gagnebin, who owns property in Mount Desert overlooking the proposed lease site. "I think it's a sustainable decision," he said Wednesday.

Long Island site

Data indicating that the proposed 26.67-acre Long Island lease site would hurt the environment served as the primary reason for the department's recommendation against the application.

Atlantic Salmon of Maine's plan to raise 896,000 Atlantic salmon off the western side of Long Island would affect the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water, and would not meet state standards that require a minimum amount of dissolved oxygen in waters surrounding the site to ensure a healthy ecosystem.

A lack of dissolved oxygen would interfere with the ability of the lease site and surrounding areas to support existing, ecologically significant plants and animals, the department recommendation maintains.

"Delighted," was the word Friends of Blue Hill Bay steering committee member Ellen Best used to describe her reaction to the department's recommendation. "We're hoping that's going to be the final decision," she said.

Representatives of Atlantic Salmon of Maine and Friends of Blue Hill Bay met Monday to talk about the proposed salmon farm and "didn't find much common ground," Best said.

Friends of Blue Hill Bay has bitterly opposed the plan to bring salmon farms to local waters. The group hopes the commissioner will reject the application, but is prepared to take legal action to keep the pens out, she said. The ad hoc group has raised $ 50,000 in recent months for an independent environmental study, now under way, and attorney fees.

The issue is significant in Maine, where the DMR has granted 92 aquaculture leases. They vary in type, size and length of lease permit, said Laurice Churchill, DMR's aquaculture lease administrator.

The department is reviewing 29 aquaculture leases, including a 10-year lease site application from Acadia Aquaculture Inc. for a 35-acre tract near Dunham's Cove off Long Island in Blue Hill Bay.

GRAPHIC: David Coffin of Bucks Harbor, an employee of Atlantic Salmon of Maine, feeds fish recently in a pen on the company's farm in Machias Bay. The company has proposed two similar aquaculture operations in Hancock County, but a state agency staff report this week recommended against the applications. (NEWS Photo by Bob DeLong) Workers at Atlantic Salmon of Maine in Machiasport trim and prepare salmon fillets for shipment. The plant processes fish raised in Machias Bay. Tom Royal, the company'spresident, says plans to set up pens in Blue Hill Bay in Hancock County are part of an effort to improve husbandry practices rather than to increase the volume of fish the company produces. (NEWS Photo byBob DeLong) NEWS Map by Eric Zelz



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Subject: Learning from the European farmed salmon situation

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Email: bmott@seaweb.org
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

The following article is a good overview of the situation in Scotland with pertinence to salmon farming everywhere. We in North America can and should learn much from the Europeans who have been involved with the salmon farming 'experiment' for much longer.

Also, for salmon consumers/eaters, pull-quote from below, hits the mark if you've ever compared wild vs. farmed salmon:

" Even if these risks are proved to be negligible - which is unlikely - the salmon farming experiment can still be seen as a failure. If salmon farming was all about the democratisation of luxury foods, then this is a shabby kind of democracy. What's the point of making luxury goods available to the masses if in the process they stop being luxurious?"

__________________________________________________

Copyright 1999 Newspaper Publishing PLC

The Independent (London)

July 30, 1999, Friday

SECTION: COMMENT; Pg. 5

LENGTH: 1288 words

HEADLINE: THE WAY TO SAVE THE SALMON; THE FACT IS, CHEAP SALMON IS NASTY SALMON. AND IT'S NOT ONLY THE TASTE AND TEXTURE THAT ARE NASTY

BYLINE: Deborah Orr

BODY:

WE'RE ALL supposed to be well-versed in the dangers of big fish and small ponds, but there's still something pathetic about the present furore over 50 dead salmon. A political storm has been whipped up around the story of these fast-growing laboratory creatures, because it involves genetic modification, and therefore lends itself to "Frankenfish" headlines. But while the prospect of outsize salmon escaping into the wild at some unspecified time in the future is a frightening one, the real horror story is happening now, and without the input of genetic modification.

It all started 25 years ago, back in the days when ordinary people ate salmon only out of tins or at weddings. While you didn't get to taste it often, it was always a treat. In recent years this erstwhile delicacy has become ubiquitous, thanks to salmon farming. For a time the idea of smoked salmon sandwiches for lunch every day was heaven. When I got bored with eating the stuff, I initially thought that it was another case of familiarity breeding contempt. It only gradually dawned on me that this wasn't what was happening at all. The fact is that cheap salmon is nasty salmon. And it isn't only the taste and texture that are nasty. The farmed fish itself is already monstrous. The helping hand of Mary Shelley's good doctor is not at all necessary here.

Or at least, that's where all the anecdotal evidence points. And that is all there is. Despite various health and environmental scares around farmed salmon farming over the years, there has been absolutely no research into the impact that intensive salmon farming may have on the environment. The Government has no plans to commission any, either.

Every school child knows the extraordinary story of the life cycle of wild salmon. How they are born and spend their early years in the fresh water of rivers. How, eventually, they strike out for the ocean. How, when they are fully grown, they swim back thousands of miles to the river they were born in. How, without stopping to eat during the journey, they battle upstream against the current to the spot where they were spawned and start the whole process again.

But now, in Scotland, unless something changes immediately, wild salmon face almost certain extinction, with salmon in some Scottish rivers this year depleted by 90 per cent. Their decline has accelerated alarmingly since the introduction of farmed salmon in the Seventies, and they are now at their lowest level since accurate recording began in 1952. While putative links are dismissed by the Scottish Salmon Growers Association (Well, they would, wouldn't they?), this position is quickly becoming untenable.

Disease has long been considered the main problem with salmon farming, and there has been a great deal of it. The latest victims are scallop fishermen, who are currently twiddling their thumbs after a ban on scallop fishing across much of Western Scotland. The problem is amnesic shellfish poisoning, which causes vomiting, headaches, limb numbness and memory loss in human beings. A recent outbreak in Canada, where the disease was first recorded in 1987, killed four people. High levels of ammonia are blamed for amnesic shellfish poisoning. Salmon farms are the biggest source of ammonia on the West Coast of Scotland, and, of course, they are a major industry in Canada too.

The Scottish salmon farming industry itself is in crisis, due to an outbreak of infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) on 10 sites, and suspected outbreaks on a further 15. About 4 million fish have already been destroyed and another 7 million are under threat.

The Government has put together a pounds 9m aid package to farmers over three years in response to the crisis, but the funds will be made available only if the beleaguered industry matches the Government's funding. Already 17,000 diseased salmon have escaped from a farm near Oban, and while ISA is said to affect only "stressed" fish, conservationists suggest that wild salmon are likely to be just as stressed as farmed ones in the current climate.

Anyway, anglers have recently been finding evidence which suggests that even without disease, escaped farm salmon are a huge threat to wild salmon. Farmed salmon caught in Scottish rivers have been found with salmon eggs and parr in their stomachs. Wild salmon, it appears, are being devoured at birth.

While, again, no qualitative research into this phenomenon has been carried out, or even slated, it seems reasonable to suppose that the massive depletion in wild salmon - which for two years have failed to spawn in some Scottish rivers - may be down to the fact that farmed salmon, though not genetically modified by artificial means, have suffered a no-less-serious behavioural modification that results in their simply not having a clue what it is to be a salmon. Why should they? The life cycle of a salmon depends on the exact repetition of the breeding habits of its parents - so much so that the salmon originating from each river are genetically distinct. The idea of a farmed salmon heading home enters the realms of fish and bicycles.

If any of this can be substantiated, it will spell utter disaster for an industry that is already on its knees. Salmon farming is in crisis, with the fish selling for less than it costs to produce them. This is a dreadful pity for the people whose jobs are on the line, for in the beginning it was seen as a great hope for the economically stagnant highlands and islands, where 335 of Britain's 500 salmon farms are sited.

But it was in the economic promise offered by this new industry that the seeds of disaster were sown. Environmentalists believe that the Scottish salmon industry has always been too closely identified with the needs of the Scottish Office, which has supported the demands of the industry rather too recklessl. Even now it is believed that introducing stringent controls would be politically unacceptable. That is why this disaster- dogged industry still has no independent regulatory body, and why the Government refuses to fund research into the wider effects of salmon farming on the environment and public health.

Even if these risks are proved to be negligible - which is unlikely - the salmon farming experiment can still be seen as a failure. If salmon farming was all about the democratisation of luxury foods, then this is a shabby kind of democracy. What's the point of making luxury goods available to the masses if in the process they stop being luxurious?

The general-interest publication that has covered the growing crisis in salmon farming most doggedly is Private Eye. The column Down On The Fish Farm has not rested in its pursuit of this unregulated industry. When the packets of smoked salmon from one company stopped suggesting that the product should be cut into thin slices, but advised knobbly chunks instead, the column's anonymous writer pointed out that this was because the fish had been fed with fish oil, which makes the fish grow faster but gives it flesh so flabby that it's in fact impossible to slice.

The only way to save the salmon farming industry is to move it on to land, in tanks, and feed it organically. While "transitional" salmon, the product of Orkney salmon farms that are now moving from intensive to organic salmon farming, is already available in Sainsbury's, this shift may not be enough to save the wild salmon. A move to land-based tanks will create a leap in the price of salmon, but at least the fish will continue to do what they have done for 10,000 years, and leap upriver to spawn. We have always recognised this process as one of nature's great wonders. Surely, for its own sake, it is worth saving.

GRAPHIC: The spectacular gatherings of wild salmon at spawning time, familiar to every school child, may be put at risk by farmed fish eating the newlaid eggs and parr AP




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SUBJECT: Salmon Farming and ISA

Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999
From: Bill Mott Coordinator *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Email: bmott@seaweb.org
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac

3 items below related to ISA may be of interest:

>From IntraFish:

This week's feature: ISA's impact on the salmon farming industry.

Little over a year ago the Infectious Salmon Anaemia disease (ISA) appeared in Scotland. Prior to that, ISA was an exotic disease in the EU. In this last year, the Scottish fish farming industry - both on the mainland and in the Shetland Islands - has heavily suffered from the disease and from the implementation of an eradication policy without any compensation measures.

Bertrand Charron, the IntraFish Eire/UK correspondent, has taken a close look at the Scottish situation and the different issues at stake, and will also present the current ISA status in other salmon producing countries.

Please check out:

http://www.intrafish.com/engelsk/report/feat00.php3

for this overview of the ISA situation in Scotland, Canada, and Norway.

Also:

Closer to Norwegian strain Publisert: 12.08.1999 11:11

It has now been established that the New Brunswick strain of the Infectious Salmon Anaemia virus (ISAV) is significantly different from the Norwegian/Scottish strain - a phylogenic split would have occurredperhaps millions of years ago.

However, a perplexing issue is the discovery of ISAV in Nova Scotia earlier this year where - the authorities stress - "the strain of the virus found in Nova Scotia is closer to the Norwegian strain than the one found in our sister province of New Brunswick".

ISAV was first detected in Nova Scotia on January 7, 1999 in broodstock originating from Eskasoni Fisheries at Seal Island, Cape Breton. Nova Scotia scientists and officials still ignore where the disease came from; "There are no obvious paths the disease took to find its way into the province", a Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture spokesperson said.

The broodstock at the Seal Island site were destroyed as part of the normal screening procedure. However, smolts held at the site were moved to three other sites in Nova Scotia prior to knowledge of the ISAV finding.

The sites that received these yearling fish included: Eskasoni Fisheries - Lingan, Saddle Island Fisheries - Aspotagan and Rattling Beach - Annapolis Basin. The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture began a testing program on January 18, 1999 to see if the virus may have spread to the other three locations.

The first set of test results came in from Saddle Island Fisheries on January 25, 1999 and indicated that two of nine fish were positive with ISAV. Since January, all other samples have come back negative and to date, there have been no clinical outbreaks of the disease in the Province.

Protocols for containment and disinfection were sent to all Nova Scotia saltwater fish farmers. An industry/government workshop was held at which experts from Scotland, Norway, and Canada attended and where the latest practice procedures were shared. The consensus at this point in Nova Scotia is that quick destruction of positive stocks would be the appropriate action in order to control the spread of the virus. The reality in the province is that there are relatively few salmon sites compared to other salmon producing countries/provinces and they are separated by hundreds of kilometres of water.

If an outbreak were to occur, each area would likely be managed separately (area management), says the Department. So far the government doesn't have a financial package because "there have not been any reason to destroy fish, the issue of compensation has not been discussed.

It is highly unlikely the provincial government would enter into a compensation program. It is our position that compensation is a federa government responsibility", says the Department spokesperson. He added that, if successful, officials "would take a close look at [the NB vaccination] programme". The overall salmon production in Nova Scoti in 1998 was 1,785 metric tonnes valued at C$10.5 million and a 10% to 15% increase in production is expected in 1999.

and from Seafood.com:

ISA Vaccine Proposed in Scotland

Seafood.com Aug 6th via Shetland news- The Scottish salmon farming industry, suffering from confirmed or suspected ISA outbreaks on 29 salmon farms, is asking the European commission to approve development of a vaccine for ISA.

Under current EU laws, any outbreak of ISA must be eradicated through destruction of the infected fish and a fallow period for the fish farm. Currently the Shetland Islands are suffering from the economic losses caused by significant numbers of farms forced to lie fallow. The vaccine would give salmon farmers an alternative.

Such a vaccine could be developed in the UK within a few months, if the EU changed its rules to allow such a development. However, at the present time, regulations require that this disease be completely eradicated whenever it appears.




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SUBJECT: Lack of Salmon and Bears in Kamchatka

Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999
From: Bill Mott Coordinator *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Email: bmott@seaweb.org
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac

FYI:

Lack of Salmon in Kamchatka Blamed for Marauding Bears

Seafood.com Aug 12- This article appeared today in the Tass news Agency:

"A bear weighing not less than 700 Kg. Haunts Ust-Bolsheretsk township on Kamchatka Peninsula. SIt penetrates hothouses and eats up all the vegetables. "

"After eating enough cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and peppers, the bear proceeds to a smoke house where it regales itself on fish. Township inhabitants have encountered the beast three times, but it did not attack anyone so far. "

"An official in the administration of the township, which as more than 2,000 inhabitants, told Itar-Tass that the bear's visits to the township are apparently caused by the low level of the current red salmon spawning run in the rivers on Kamchatka. Therefore, there is not enough tasty fish for all the bears in the area."




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SUBJECT: Atlantic Salmon found in another BC river

Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999
From: Bill Mott Coordinator *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Email: bmott@seaweb.org
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac

This news comes from last week but I thought some of you may not have seen this article and these two opposing press releases concerning the gov't annoucement of finding more Atlantics (of two age classes) in a BC stream.

Copyright 1999 Pacific Press Ltd.
The Vancouver Sun
August 05, 1999, FINAL

SECTION: News; A6
LENGTH: 585 words

HEADLINE: Dhaliwal's scolded over call to lift fish farms ban: The new fisheries minister offers to meet with critics over his suggestion that moratorium should be lifted.

BYLINE: Peter O'Neil, Sun Ottawa Bureau

BODY:

New federal Fisheries Minister Herb Dhaliwal went into damage-control mode Wednesday after his call for the lifting of B.C. government's salmon- farming ban alienated environmental groups.

Dhaliwal agreed to meet with one angered group and is prepared to sit down with the others to ensure them he'll take seriously their concerns about farmed Atlantic salmon mingling with Pacific salmon.

''If they have concerns he's more than happy to meet with them,'' a federal official said.

Two environmental groups condemned Dhaliwal's surprise declaration Tuesday, just hours after being named fisheries minister, that Victoria should lift the ban.

''Obviously the new minister has a lot to learn,'' said Lynn Hunter of the David Suzuki Foundation.

She called on Environment Minister David Anderson, Dhaliwal's predecessor and an opponent of expanded salmon farming, to inform the new fisheries minister ''about the environmental consequences of his statement.''

The Western Canada Wilderness Committee said Dhaliwal is threatening to sabotage Anderson's conservation efforts to protect endangered B.C. coho, which the group contends are threatened by Atlantic salmon that escape from their pens.

''Mr. Dhaliwal has alienated most coastal British Columbians by his reckless call,'' WCWC director Paul George said in a statement.

B.C. Fisheries Minister Dennis Streifel said the new minister's statement is welcome -- though it won't influence the provincial government's timetable on dealing with the controversial issue.

''It's a legitimate call from his perspective,'' Streifel said.

''I'm not offended by it, nor will it cause me to act quicker or slower in any circumstances.''

Streifel took a shot at Anderson, noting that Dhaliwal's intervention in a matter under B.C. jurisdiction was ''done in a cooperative way, and that's a bit of a change from the past.''

''I think (with) the federal minister being keen on aquaculture, he can bring considerable resources to the table, both scientifically and financially, and we can as well.''

Streifel said he expects the environmental community to be alarmed by his ministry's announcement Wednesday that 42 Atlantic salmon of two age classes were found in the Amor de Cosmos Creek on the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.

The creek is about 50 kilometres south of the Tsitika River, where the discovery of juvenile salmon last September caused a stir among environmentalists.

He said the new information will be taken into account as B.C. develops fish- farming standards, which would include ''closed containment technology'' to eliminate Atlantic salmon escapement.

''What we have to do is establish our ground rules around zero escapement and a number of other issues before we move ahead, and then assess whether or not that qualifies or doesn't qualify for a lifting of the moratorium.''

The B.C. Salmon Farmers Association, which represents the $300-million-a-year industry, said the discovery at Amor de Cosmos Creek ''does nothing to challenge the overwhelming evidence that Atlantic salmon do not pose a threat to B.C. rivers or wild salmon stocks,'' according to spokeswoman Anne McMullin.

''Atlantic salmon have not proven capable of competing with Pacific salmon in the marine conditions that prevail on the Pacific coast.''

Environmentalists say escaped farm fish eat scarce food that would otherwise go to wild fish, displace wild fish on spawning grounds, and introduce new diseases and parasites.

GRAPHIC: P Photo: HERB DHALIWAL: Faces criticism from B.C. environmental groups

---------------------------------------------------

BC Salmon Farmers Association For immediate release

MEDIA RELEASE

Juvenile Atlantic salmon not a threat to BC rivers, wild salmon stocks

August 4, 1999 --- The presence of a small number of juvenile Atlantic salmon in Amor de Cosmos creek on Vancouver Island is not an unprecedented event, and does nothing to challenge the overwhelming evidence that Atlantic salmon do not pose a threat to B.C. rivers or wild salmon stocks.

"The weight of scientific and historical evidence is clear," said Anne McMullin, Executive Director of the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA). "Despite hundreds of deliberate attempts to establish Atlantic salmon populations in the Pacific, and more than a quarter century of farming Atlantics in B.C., only a handful of second generation fish have ever been found. This is not a threat to B.C.’s wild salmon stocks or to the health of our rivers."

McMullin said the potential for escaped Atlantic farmed salmon to successfully spawn in B.C. rivers has been known for a long time. She said the provincial Salmon Aquaculture Review studied the issue in tremendous detail and concluded that, while individual spawners may succeed, the risk that a stable searun population of Atlantic salmon could be established in B.C. is extremely low.

Intensive efforts to establish searun populations of Atlantic salmon in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South America, the United States and Canada have all ended in failure. Fisheries managers have released more than 13 million Atlantic salmon in B.C. waters this century, including more than 5.5 million in the Cowichan River, in an attempt to enhance sport-fishing opportunities.

Despite these efforts, no evidence of Atlantic colonization has ever been reported outside of the salmon’s home range. By way of contrast, a stable population of exotic brown trout was established in the Cowichan River after just 225,000 juveniles – less than five per cent of total Atlantic introductions – were released.

"Atlantic salmon have not proven capable of competing with Pacific salmon in the marine conditions that prevail on the Pacific coast," McMullin said. "In fact, in areas where Pacific salmon have been introduced to Atlantic salmon habitat, such as the Great Lakes, they have outcompeted the Atlantics in their own back yard."

Juvenile Atlantic salmon were discovered in Amor de Cosmos creek this summer as part of a provincial government program to monitor the presence and activity of Atlantic salmon in B.C. rivers. The BCSFA actively supports the Atlantic salmon monitoring program, and is currently working with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and other stakeholders to establish an enhanced monitoring program.

"It's critical that we continue to monitor the presence and activity of Atlantic salmon in B.C. waters, as well as other environmental issues associated with salmon aquaculture," McMullin said. "At the same time, B.C. salmon farmers have invested tens of millions of dollars in new technology and equipment to minimize fish escapes and improve the environmental and operational performance of our farms.

"We strongly believe that ours is an environmentally sound and sustainable industry, and we continue to invest in research and new technologies to optimize our environmental performance."

B.C.'s salmon farming industry recently underwent the most comprehensive sector-wide environmental review in the province’s history. Completed in August 1997, the Salmon Aquaculture Review concluded that salmon farming as practised in B.C. represents little risk to the marine environment or to wild fish stocks. The exhaustive, 1,800 page report also made a series of 49 recommendations to government for the responsible expansion of salmon farming in B.C.

With annual sales of $300 million, farmed salmon is British Columbia's largest agricultural food export. The industry supports more than 3,000 jobs in B.C., and contributes more than $600 million annually to provincial GDP. A recent Western Economic Diversification study found that modest growth in B.C.'s salmon farming industry would generate 20,000 new jobs, $900 million in capital investment and $1 billion in annual sales within a decade. - 30 -

For more information: Anne McMullin, Executive Director BC Salmon Farmers Association #408-1200 West Pender St. Vancouver, B.C., V6E 2S9 ph: (604) 682-3077 fax: (604) 669-6974

---------------------------------------------------

David Suzuki Foundation Finding solutions

NEWS RELEASE

Dhaliwal's stand on aquaculture wrong as more spawned Atlantic salmon found

For immediate release August 4, 1999

VANCOUVER - Canada's new Fisheries Minister must re-evaluate his unquestioning support of open-netcage salmon farming in light of news that more Atlantic salmon have spawned in a Vancouver Island stream, the David Suzuki Foundation said today.

"Today we learned from the provincial Fisheries Ministry that two age classes of Atlantic salmon have been found in the Amor de Cosmos Creek, and at the same time the new federal minister Herb Dhaliwal says the moratorium on new salmon farms should be lifted," said Lynn Hunter, aquaculture specialist for the David Suzuki Foundation.

"Obviously the new minister has a lot to learn," said Ms. Hunter. "The reason we have Atlantic salmon spawning in our streams is because they escape from netcages. The province must require the use of closed containment systems before they even consider lifting the moratorium."

Last September, the provinicial Fisheries Ministry confirmed that one- and two-year-old juvenile Atlantic salmon had spawned in the Tsitika River near Robson Bight on Vancouver Island. It was the first verified report of successful reproduction for introduced Atlantic salmon anywhere in the world other than in a small number of lake resident populations, provincial fisheries conservation manager Ted Down said at the time.

Amor de Cosmos Creek is located about 50 kilometres south of the Tsitika River.

"Conservation groups and First Nations have been telling Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) officials for years that they must stop promoting the aquaculture industry as a benign engine for the economy," said Ms. Hunter.

"Millions of federal tax dollars are spent promoting aquaculture and on research supporting the industry. But when DFO learned there was research on the effects of escaping Atlantic salmon, which may reflect badly on the industry, they withdrew their support for this research.

"It is the old game of not asking questions to which you don't want answers. They are in deep denial about the environmental consequences of netcage salmon aquaculture," said Ms. Hunter.

The consequences include putting extreme pressure on our vulnerable wild salmon stocks, she added.

"Despite all of these serious concerns, DFO and the new minister openly advocate for expansion. To say this is wreckless is an understatement."

David Anderson, the former Fisheries Minister who was moved to the environment portfolio, is on the record as being against lifting the moratorium for environmental reasons. Upon becoming Environment Minister yesterday, he said he would "chew out" any minister who was negligent on environmental matters.

"We're holding Mr. Anderson to his word," said Ms. Hunter. "He better talk to Mr. Dhaliwal immediately and inform him about the environmental consequences of his statement."

Before the discovery that Atlantics had been spawning for over two years in the Tsitika, DFO and the salmon farming industry said such an occurance was virtually impossible. Despite continued escapes from netcages, neither government nor industry have taken any precautionary steps, Ms. Hunter said.

David Suzuki, chair of the Foundation, says it is extremely dangerous ecologically to introduce exotic species.

"When there are already five exquisitely evolved Pacific salmon species, the deliberate introduction of Atlantic salmon is ecological lunacy," Dr. Suzuki said when told of the Atlantics spawning in the Tsitika.

The Foundation's position on this issue remains unchanged since the discovery of the Atlantics spawning in the Tsitika, and Ms. Hunter called on the provincial and federal governments to take the following measures:

1. Ban open netcages in all Canadian waters and replace them with safe, closed containment systems.

2. Canada must call upon the United States to ban open salmon netcages since Atlantics are escaping from cages in the USA into Canadian waters.

3. Canada must immediately prohibit the importation of Atlantic salmon eggs into Canada and all existing eggs and fry must be destroyed.

Additionally, industry must be forced by government to pay for the removal of all escaped Atlantic salmon and Atlantic salmon offspring from BC waters, said Ms. Hunter.

She has launched a private prosecution against Stolt Sea Farm Inc. for pollution-related criminal charges under the federal Fisheries Act for its operation at Carrie Bay off northern Vancouver Island. The case will resume at Campbell River provincial court on November 8.

- 30 -

For further information, please contact Lynn Hunter at 250-479-0937 or David Hocking, Communications Director at the David Suzuki Foundation, 604-732-4228




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SUBJECT: Salmon and salmon farming news from around the world

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999
From: Bill Mott Coordinator *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Email: bmott@seaweb.org
Web site: www.seaweb.org/sac

Please read on for more details concerning:

- Lawsuit by ASF and TU to list Atlantic salmon as endangered in US
- Results of a study by Norwegian academics show that sea lice infestations are killing most wild salmon
- Report on Scottish Env. Protection Agency's Mackay's claim that salmon farms are harming wild populations of salmonids and an industry response
- Net operating profit more than doubled at Norwegian salmonid farms from 1997-1998

__________________________________________________

For more on this story see: http://www.tu.org/ and http://www.asf.ca/

>From Seafood.com:

Conservation Groups Sue to List Maine Atlantic Salmon as Endangered

Seafood.com Aug 13- The Atlantic Salmon Federation and Trout Unlimited filed a lawsuit yesterday to force the federal government to put wild Atlantic salmon on the endangered species list. Such a move would trigger more stringent anti-pollution measures in Maine, affecting the timber industry and agriculture.

Last year only about 100 wild salmon spawned in Maine. The Fish and Wildlife Service had originally proposed listing the species 8 years ago, but accepted an alternative conservation plan from the State of Maine instead. Since that time, there has been a further 80% drop in the population, claims the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

In the past, the State of Maine has opposed the listing, opting for voluntary conservation efforts.

______________________________________________

>From FIS:
(NORWAY, Friday, August 13, 1999)

The results of a research project conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research in Bergen and the Institute of Zoology at the University of Bergen, proves that salmon lice is killing most wild salmon when it leaves the rivers as smolt.

In the large fjord system, Sognefjorden, 86% of the wild salmon is being killed on its way out towards the ocean. In another fjord, Nordfjord, results indicate that between 48.5 and 81.5% of the salmon is killed.

The results were published yesterday (Thursday) afternoon at a press conference held in conjunction with the aquaculture exhibition Aqua-Nor 99 in Trondheim.

The salmon lice parasite lives off slime, skin and blood from salmon and trout. Each female produces between 200 and 1200 larvae, which floats around in the fjord in search of salmon. The high density of salmon in salmon farms is resulting in enormous numbers of larvae in some fjord systems.

Salmon lice pose a big problem for farmers and the cost measured in loss of fish growth is very high as Norwegian salmon and trout farmers lose hundreds of millions of Norwegian krone every year.

The researchers are not willing to conclude that the salmon farming industry is responsible for the salmon lice problem, which many believe is the main reason for the reduction in catch of wild salmon and sea trout in many Norwegian rivers, but they do say the problem is at its worst in fjord systems, which have a high density of fish farms.

and from IntraFish:

Sea lice infestation

Publisert: 13.08.1999 11:26

Results of a study were presented yesterday at AquaNor 99, inTrondheim [Norway]

The results indicates that 86% of the wild salmon post-smolts in Sognefjorden and 48.5%-81.5% of wild post-smolts in Nordfjorden - on the West coast of Norway - were this spring killed as a direct result of sea lice infestation. The survey by the Institute of Marine Research and the University of Bergen was carried out on a sample of 324 fish. The surviving fish were also very weakened, the researchers add. No scientific evidence could show that the sea lice were coming from salmon farms, but the researchers said that levels of sea lice were higher in fjord where fish farming was taking place.

______________________________________________

>From FIS: Salmon industry rejects professor's claims

[please let me know if you would like a copy of the full speech that David Mackay gave at the Aqua-Nor conference this past week.]

(UK, Friday, August 13, 1999)

A report recently published by the BBC says a government environment watchdog is warning that intensive fish farming is seriously damaging stocks of wild salmon and sea trout.

Honorary Professor David Mackay, of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, argues that sea lice from the caged fish are harming wild stocks and that salmon farming is the main cause of the toxins, which are threatening shellfishing.

Mackay explained that farmed salmon invariably has runny faeces, rather than the pellet-like droppings from wild fish. The runny faeces, according to Mackay, are borne a considerable distance from the cages and have a profound effect on water quality.

The Scottish shellfish industry is currently subjected to a ban because of a build up of Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) toxins, which has been labelled as the worlds largest ban ever. An extension was imposed by the Scottish Executive last week and covers an area measuring 8,000 square miles and affects scallops and queen scallops. According to Mackay, the cause could lie with salmon farms.

When questioned about Mackays conclusions, John Webster of the Scottish Salmon Grower´s Association told FIS that problems in the salmon industry are nothing new.

Webster told FIS: "There has been talk of such matters for the past ten years. The same problems affect salmon industries all over the world. UK statistics show that catches of wild salmon have declined by 50% during the past three to four years, also in areas where there are no salmon farms. Both the east and west coasts of Scotland show similar declines in catches of wild salmon and there are no salmon farms on the east coast. The farms on the west coast are regarded as conspicuous and therefore you have the alleged cause and effect relation."

Last Fridays edition of the Glasgow Herald reported that Mackay had sent a copy of his speech, due to be delivered at this weeks Aqua-Nor, to the British press before attending the Norwegian aquaculture show and before informing the Scottish salmon industry about it. A move, which is not likely to earn him any credibility or gain him any respect within the industry.

Detailed research has already been commissioned on this issue and no correlation between pollution and contaminants in sea water has so far been established.

___________________________________________

Also from FIS and from Aqua-Nor conference in Norway this past week:

(NORWAY, Friday, August 13, 1999)

Preliminary figures, released by the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries during Aqua-Nor 99, show that the net operating profit for Norwegian salmon and trout farms more than doubled from 1997 to 1998.

Last year the average operating income was NOK 29,0 million, up from the NOK 20,7 of the previous year. Also operating costs increased substantially, up from NOK 19,1 million to NOK 25.4 million. This resulted in an increase in the average operating profit from NOK 1,6 million to NOK 3.7 million. The operation profit margin increased from 7.7 to 12.7%.

It may come as some surprise that the feed factor increased from 1.21 to 1.26. This increase can be attributed to climatic differences, increased use of substitutes for fish meal and fish oil in the salmon and trout feed. The increase in feed factor and also a rise in the feed prices pushed the production cost per kilo of fish up by 1.5% from NOK 16.82 to NOK 17.08 per kilo.

Also, the increase in the Norwegian interest level increased the cost of producing salmon and trout..


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Subject:ICES Symposium on the Environmental Effects of Mariculture

Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999
From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: FishFarmRev CC: Allan Berry , JAMES SEMPLE

The following is a list of session topics and speakers at ICES's Symposium on the Environmental Effects of Mariculture that will be held in St. John, NB from September 13-17th. For more info: http://www.ices.dk/symposia/eem.htm

[ICES -- The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea -- is the oldest intergovernmental organisation in the world concerned with marine and fisheries science. Since its establishment in Copenhagen in 1902, ICES has been a leading scientific forum for the exchange of information and ideas on the sea and its living resources, and for the promotion and coordination of marine research by scientists within its member countries. Each year, ICES holds more than 100 meetings of its various working groups, study groups, workshops and committees. . .]

Objectives and Scope of the Symposium on the Environmental Effects of Mariculture

The aim of the ICES Symposium on the Environmental Effects of Mariculture is to provide a state-of-the-art review of key aspects of the scientific research concerned with understanding: (1) the environmental effects of bivalve and fish farming in the coastal zone, and (2) the influence of local environmental factors on mariculture productivity. The Symposium will bring together a multidisciplinary group of experts who will be able to share results and enhance international cooperation and collaborative research.

Oral Presentations

NOTE: Oral presentations will be limited to 1/2 hour. Suggested timing is for a 20-minute talk with 10 minutes for a discussion period.

Session 1 - Disease/environmental factors in mariculture

1.S. St-Hilaire, M. Kent and C. Ribble. Sentinels in the bay:a model for assessing disease transmission in fish.
2.G. Olivier and A.-M. Makinnon. Potential impact of cultured fish diseases on wild fish populations.
3.M.D.B. Burt and B.M. MacKinnon. The inter-relationship between parasites of wild and cultured fishes.
4.K. Vanya Ewart et al. Investigation of a pathogen-binding lectin from Atlantic salmon serum.

Session 2 - Harmful algal blooms and mariculture

5.G. Arzul, M. Seguel and A. Clement. Effect of animal excretions on the growth of phytoplankton.
6.I.Kaczmarska, A.C. Smith, J.M. Ehrman and J.L. Martin. Ten year record of Thalassiosira nordenskioeldi population dynamics: comparison of aquaculture and non-aquaculture sites in the Quoddy region.
7.R. Paxinos and J.G.M. Mitchell. Tuna cages and biomass relationship, random or real?
8.E.Black. The development of toxic blooms of Heterosigma akashiwo in the Straight of Georgia.
9.H. Kaspar, L. Mackenzie, L.Rhodes and K. Todd. Harmful algae and mariculture in New Zealand.
10.A. Berry. Stochiometric perturbations and the production of nitrogenous biotoxins.

Session 3 - Sediment biogeochemistry and mariculture

11.S. Mirto, T. LaRosa, A. Mazzola and R. Danovaro. Labile organic matter accumulation due to mariculture activity in coastal sediments of the Western Mediterranean: analysis of biogeochemical implications.
12.T.F. Sutherland, C.D. Levings, K. Perry and A.J. Martin. The determination of particulate fluxes and transport modes of salmonid farm discharges.
13.J. Chamberlain, T.F. Fernades, P.Read, T.D.Nickell and I.M. Davies. Modelling the benthic impact of mussel (Mytilus edulis L) farming.
14.G. Pohle. Salmon mariculture in the Bay of Fundy: regional impact on benthos and site-specific recovery.
15.M. Holmer and A. Heilskov. How important are size and abundance of benthic fauna for the mineralization of organic matter in sediments?

Session 4 - Environmental monitoring in mariculture

16.P.K. Hansen and A. Ervik. An environmental monitoring program for Norwegian fish farming.
17.C. Crawford, I. Mitchell, C. Macleod and G. Fenton. Techniques to monitor the benthic environment around Tasmanian salmon farms.
18.M. Janowicz and J. Ross. Monitoring for benthic impacts in the southwest New Brunswick salmon aquaculture industry.
19.M. Tlusty, V. Pepper and R. Anderson. Reconciling water quality and benthic impacts of aquaculture in a Newfoundland estuarine fjord.
20.E.C.V. Butler, S.I. Blackburn, J.R. Hunter, P.P. Morgan, J.S. Parslow and J.K. Volkman. Environmental monitoring and survey design for an estuary supporting finfish cage culture.
21.D.J. Wildish, B.T. Hargrave and G. Pohle. Cost-effective monitoring of organic enrichment resulting from salmon mariculture.
22.W.F. Dewey. Maintaining the shellfish niche in the new millennium: the Pacific coast oyster growers approach.
23.K.R. Grange. Real-time environmental data, harvesting criteria, and marine farming in New Zealand.
24.I.M. Davies, G.K. Rodger, J. Redshaw and R.M. Stagg. Targeted environmental monitoring for sea lice treatment chemicals at fish farm sites.
25.V.Zitko. Analytical chemistry in monitoring the effects of aquaculture.
26.K. Haya. Environmental impact of chemicals produced by the salmonid aquaculture industry.

Session 5 - Mariculture and production/carrying or holding capacity

27.A.V. Altov. The influence of environmental factors on rainbow trout (Parasalmo mykiss Walb.) farming in the coastal zone of the White Sea.
28.J. Stenton-Dozey, T. Probyn and A. Busby. Impact of raft- mussel culture (Mytilus galloprovincialis) on macrobenthos and in situ benthic respiration rates and nutrient fluxes in Saldanha Bay, South Africa.
29.C. Bacher, A. Gangnery and D. Buestel. Assessing the production and the impact of cultivated oysters in the Thau lagoon(France) with a population dynamics model.
30.M.R. James, A. Ross and M. Hatfield. Carrying capacity of an embayment for mussel farming-a New Zealand case study.
31.J. Grant and C. Bacher. Physical exchange and particle budgets applied to suspended bivalve culture.
32.M. Alunno-Bruscia, M. Frechette and E. Bourget. Identifying the regulating factors of density-dependence in experimental mussel populations (Mytilus edulis).
33.A. Smaal and M. van Stralen. The interactions between shellfish culture and ecosystem processes.

Session 6 - Other ecological issues in relation to mariculture

34.C.A. Goudey and G. Loverich. Mitigating the environmental effects of mariculture through single-point moorings (SPMs) and drifting cages.
35.T. Katz, I. Lupatsch and D.L. Angel. Bioremediation of organically-enriched sediments under a marine fish farm using grey mullets.
36.T. Chopin and C. Yarish. Untitled.
37.F. Whoriskey and J. Carr. Wild fish interactions with aquaculture escapees: lessons from the Magaguadavic River, New Brunswick.
38.C.J. Bridger, R.K. Booth, R.S. McKinley and D. Scruton. Significance of site specific fidelity in domestic steelhead trout(Oncorhynchus mykiss) to the salmonid aquaculture industry.
39.B. Ross, J. Lien and R.W. Furness. The use of underwater playback to reduce the impact of eiders on mussel farms.
40.T.M. Bert. Genetic considerations for hatchery-based stock supplementation activities.
41.B. Myrand, R.Tremblay and J-M.Sevigny. Direct relationship between heterozygosity and survival of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis L.) exposed to various stressful conditions.
42.T. Benfey. Use of sterile triploid stocks for salmonid aquaculture.

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Subject: Maine denies proposed salmon farms

Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999
From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com

Commissioner George Lapointe, of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, has officially announced that the State will deny the lease applications for the two proposed salmon farming sites in Blue Hill Bay.

These proposed fish farms were fought very hard by citizens groups, fishermen, and others in the region and this has set an important precedent for the aquaculture industry in Maine, and undoubtedly for other regions as well.

Next step is for Maine and other areas to develop comprehensive planning programs, including a process with sufficient public input, that look at the issues holistically and determine proactively how or if fish farming fits in the overall equation.

__________________________________________________

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Subject: Aquaculture is the future

Date: 28.09.1999
From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

The 1999 Annual Report on The Unites States Seafood Industry (Seventh Edition) is now on the market. The report identifies aquaculture as one of six trends which it feels will define the future of the US seafood market.

The other tendencies it highlights are: a drop in US seafood supply; a decline in the number of commercial fishermen; the growing influence of consolidated supermarkets chains; more refined processing; packing and product technology; and the specialisation of seafood marketing. As the report points out, aquaculture production has expanded quicker than FAO predictions and looks set to continue for some times, FFI reports. This fact, it says, will help reduce the forecasted gap in US supply, a negative trend that belies the increase in supply experienced in 1998.

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Subject: Streifel signs fisheries and aquaculture agreement

Date: Wednesday, September 29, 1999
From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Fisheries Minister Dennis Streifel has met with federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Herb Dhaliwal and other provincial ministers of fisheries at the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Quebec City. The ministers formally endorsed the Agreement on Interjurisdictional Co-operation with Respect to Fisheries and Aquaculture.

"This agreement formalises the federal and provincial governments desire to work together to solve problems facing British Columbias fisheries," Streifel said last week. "Now we must move ahead to translate the terms of the document into solutions for fisheries and fisheries-dependent communities."

The agreement provides more regular and more effective opportunities for consultation on fisheries. It is based on principles of co-operation including timely consultation, information sharing in advance of announcements, transparency and accountability.

The ministers discussed sustainable fisheries, a national code on introduction and transfers of aquatic organisms, and a national plan of action to manage domestic fishing capacity. In addition, they addressed economic opportunities and emerging and recreational fisheries and received scientific reports.

The conference consolidated recent discussions and agreements between B.C. and Ottawa and provided a forum for federal-provincial discussions of major B.C. issues. In particular, Streifel and Dhaliwal discussed the collapse of the Fraser River sockeye salmon run, salmon aquaculture and shellfish aquaculture development issues.

"I am encouraged by the new atmosphere of co-operation with the federal government," said Streifel. "I am looking forward to an enhanced relationship with Ottawa and the provinces and making co-operative progress in areas of mutual interest."

By Fisheries B.C.

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SUBJECT: Sea lice reduction

Date: 29.09.1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Future SEA Technologies Inc. announced that Atlantic salmon reared in an enclosed system displayed a reduction in sea lice infestation, compared to those reared in conventional net pens.

Data collected during a 9-month growth trial period provides interesting information on sea lice infestation in farmed Atlantic salmon. Future SEA Technologies Inc., with the support of the aquaculture industry and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, operates a research facility at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, B.C. Scientists conduct ongoing comparative studies between salmon reared in conventional netpens and in the system bag. Studies include growth, mortality, number of sea lice, stocking densities, and feed conversion. Research is ongoing and results will be published at the 16th Annual Meeting of the Aquaculture Association of Canada at Aquaculture Canada '99 in Victoria, BC., October 27th-29th.

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SUBJECT: SSGA merges and becomes SSPO

Date: 27.09.1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

The Scottish Salmon Growers Association and its marketing arm, the Scottish Salmon Board, have officially ceased to exist on Wednesday (22-9-99) when it was announced by SSGA chairman Lord Lindsay that the two companies would now merge with and operate under, respectively, the Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation (SSPO) and the Scottish Quality Salmon (SQS).

The announcement will not have been a surprise and such announcement had been duly awaited. The proposals and the relevant constitutional changes were due to be discussed at a members' meeting last week (15-9) - which was postponed and the proposed constitutional changes will be addressed "in the near future". Some 6,500 Scottish jobs depend upon the Scottish salmon farming "industry's ability to address today's fast-moving agenda," Lord Lindsay said. "The comprehensive review [initiated in November 1998] of the various industry bodies has therefore been a vital and necessary exercise" [...] and such 'strengthened organisation' will "help underpin viability, job security and investor confidence," he added. A drastic reduction in membership (from 115 members a few years ago to 15 now) together with difficult conditions for salmon farmers resulting from the ongoing Infectious Salmon Anaemia disease (ISA) crisis have led to the two mergers and 're-organisations'. The SSPO and SQS are now moving into new offices. Mike Lloyd becomes Marketing Director of the SQS (as opposed to marketing manager), and William Crowe becomes General Secretary of the SSPO as well as special advisor to SQS. Two new appointements - taking effect during October - will see the arrival of Phillip Neame as new Administrator, and Julie Edgar as the new Communications Director.

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SUBJECT: New Halibut Venture in Shetland

Date: 15.09.1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Another major halibut farming venture in Shetland got under way this week when 10,000 juvenile fish were released by Bressay Salmon Ltd.

The project represents an important diversification of aquaculture species farmed in Shetland waters, the Shetland News reports. Managing director of Bressay Salmon, Hibbie Tulloch, said: - Looking at the Norwegian experience, the opportunities for halibut appear to be obvious. Halibut farming in Shetland is expected to become another major part of the aquaculture industry in the isles. This venture is only the second major halibut farm in Shetland. Shetland Enterprise has supported the development with a 37,900 pounds grant funding package.

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SUBJECT: More halibut in Shetland

Date: 29.09.1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

10,000 juvenile halibut were released last week (13-9-99) in specially designed halibut cages owned by Bressay Salmon Ltd.

..." Fully grown halibut is expected to fetch £7 per kilo while salmon presently is only worth £2 per kilo, " he said. The limiting factor for the growth of this novel species' farming remains the production of juveniles. The halibut farming venture received financial support (£37,900) from Shetland Enterprise and the Shetland Islands Council also supported the project through itsdevelopment department

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SUBJECT: Lower dioxin limits

Date: 20.09.1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

There are strong indications that the limits for dioxin content in fish feed will be lower than those proposed by the EU Commission.

Opposition within the EU to the proposal is too great, and a final decision has been postponed until the middle of October. This is evident after meetings in the EU on Monday and Tuesday. All the signs point towards a decision for these limits, but the debate is now about where the pain threshold lies. In Norway, experts maintain that the limit must not be set lower than 15,000 pictograms. On Tuesday, the EU Commission tried to achieve a compromise that is between 2000 and 10,000 pictograms of dioxins per kilo of fish fat. The EU Commission is currently operating with such low limits that it does not have support from a single EU country.

The danger of Norwegian and international fish farming industries being hard hit by the new limits has diminished. Over the next four week the Commission, which has received criticism because its proposal is fixed on a weak foundation, will be reviewing all recommendations that have come forward. In the meantime, the Norwegian fishing industry will use the breathing space to work on ensuring that the final initiative will be according to Norway's wishes. Both Norwegian authorities and the industry itself will step up the lobby activity. "Fish was included at the last moment after the commission had focused on the agricultural aspect. However, it is important not to narrow down the focus," said the Chairman of FHL (Norwegian Fisheries and Aquaculture Federation), Svein Arne Abelsen to Nettavisen, an Internet newspaper, and adds that work is now underway to establish international alliances in the matter.

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SUBJECT: Norwagean salmon export up by 30 per cent

Date: 17.09.1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Exported Norwegian salmon totalled NOK 824 million in August. This is an increase of 30 percent compared with August of the previous year.

The latest monthly statistics from the Export Council for fish declare that for the period January-August, exported salmon products from Norway totalled a value of NOK 6.4 billion kroner, an increase of 20 per cent compared with the same period last year. In August, a total of 20,894 tonnes of fresh farmed salmon was exported from Norway, which is an increase in volume of 27 per cent compared with August of the previous year. After a weak first half-year on the EU market, the statistics now reveal that exports of fresh farmed salmon to the EU market have taken a drastic upsurge.

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SUBJECT: Easier entrance for Norwegian salmon to the U.S.

Date: Monday, September 20, 1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

On 1 November, the recently established company Sterling European Cargo will start flying a cargo version of a Boeing 747 between Scandinavia and New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Dubai. The cargo plane with a capacity of 112 tonnes will open up new possibilities for Norwegian exporters of fresh fish, especially salmon exporters.

Norway has already increased its export of salmon filet tremendously this year. By the end of July, a total of 3,708 tonnes of fresh salmon filet had been exported against 482 tonnes during the same period of last year. In addition, there has been an increase in fresh salmon exports in the same period from 25 tonnes last year to 469 tonnes this year and 878 tonnes of frozen salmon filet against 420 tonnes last year.

This has been possible because the Chilean salmon industry suffered delivery problems and Chile has been dominating the American market for a number of years. However, lately Chile has increased supply and the competition has been tougher. The quality of Chilean and Norwegian salmon is not very different, so price is the main factor in the competition.

Norwegian exporters, who mainly use vacant belly-cargo capacity on passenger planes for export of salmon, look upon the new air cargo connection, which will depart from Stockholm and Copenhagen as a good opportunity to get lower transport rates. A lowering of the cargo rates by 10 to 20% will make the Norwegian salmon much more competitive against Chilean salmon.

The good news for the Chilean exporters must be that the air cargo service does not include Miami, which is the main entrance for Chilean salmon. For the Norwegians is it good news that one of the destinations for the cargo plane is New York, one of the strongest U.S. markets for Norwegian salmon.

According to managing director Allan Geert Nielsen at the Sterling European Cargo headquarter in Copenhagen, the company is planning to have a second plane in operation next year. Today, there are no competing air cargo services departing from Scandinavia to the chosen destinations.

By Terje Engø

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SUBJECT: Fish farmers amongst Norway's wealthiest

Date: 16.09.1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Several fish farmers are to be found in the magazine Kapital's overview of the 400 richest persons in Norway, and according to Kapital, the richest in the business is the sole owner of Fjordlaks, Mr Anders Pedersen, with an estimated fortune of NOK 500 million.

Due to Kapital's lack of knowledge on the industry there are several fish farmers who have not been included in this exclusive list. Besides Pedersen, the magazine has deduced that Ole Eirik Lerøy (fortune of NOK 110 million), the three Domstein brothers (fortune of NOK 135 million each), Gudmund Strømsnes (fortune of NOK 120 million) and Ola Braanaas (fortune of NOK 110 million) are among Norway's 400 wealthiest.

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SUBJECT: Chilean Salmon Exports Rise 11%

Date: Sept. 27, 1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Seafood.com Sept. 27- By Laine Welch- The Chilean salmon industry expects to export farmed fish valued at $800 million this year- an increase of 11% - and forecasts production growth of 4-5% for next year. They attribute that to several factors, including improved salmon prices on the international market, an increase in value-added products, and the economic recovery of Asian countries, particularly Japan. In a bid to diversify its markets, Chile is seeking new destinations for its products, particularly Mexico, Argentina and Peru.

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SUBJECT: Antarctic Queen Hake farming project advances

Date: CHILE, Tuesday, September 21, 1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Chile is developing new technologies to culture Antarctic Queen Hake (Merluccius australis), a native species which is presently subjected to an intensive fishing effort, reports AquaNoticias.

The project is being developed by Fundacion Chile with the support of three national companies, Pesca Chile, Friosue and Salmones Antartica, and an important contribution of Fondep.

The first stage of the programme is being carried out on the Chanculay Island, in Chile´s southern sea channels. Wild hake is caught there and held in captivity in floating cages. The initial stock consisted of more than 3,400 specimens and researchers estimate that this amount is likely to reach the production stages and be ready for commercialisation within three to five years´ time. According to the scientists, allowing the fish to come to the surface, tackling compression problems, was one of the major difficulties they had to face. The fish were kept in cages for six days, and only after this period was completed, the critical stage could be overcome.

Director of the project, Alberto Reyes, told AquaNoticias: "Hake has accepted food pellets and we think that an optimum diet could help reduce its normal period to reach sexual maturity by one third -the normal development stage lasts between eight and nine years. We´ve compared wild fish with others that have been kept in cages for more than a year. We´ve noticed that wild fish are thinner and that the mass of the captive hake has notably increased".

The second stage of the project, the hatchery of Antarctic hake, is being carried out in Quillaipe, 25km east of Puerto Montt. Two ponds with more than 45 breeders have been set up there, along with a incubation room, where hake eggs are hatched, and several larvae ponds. The facilities include a room where live food is prepared.

The project is based on a previous experience developed by Canada. By Laura Fasano

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SUBJECT: Salmon and salmon farming news

Date: Tue, 14 Sep 1999

From: Bill Mott
To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Please read on for the following stories related to salmon and salmon farming:

1) From todays NY Times: Whats happening to Atlantic salmon? (The NYT also ran a front page story in late August on the Blue Hill, Maine battle over fish farming.)
2) From Bangor Daily News: Confusion and conflicts with State and aquaculture companies over responsibilities and priorities in restocking effort

__________________________________________________

The New York Times

September 14, 1999, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section F; Page 1; Column 4; Science Desk
LENGTH: 1952 words
HEADLINE: As a Species Vanishes, No One Can Say Why
BYLINE: By WILLIAM K. STEVENS
BODY:

On a plate, where most people encounter them, all Atlantic salmon are pretty much alike: orange-pink fillets or steaks that melt in the mouth when baked, broiled, grilled or poached, or when smoked and combined with an onion slice and cream cheese on a bagel.

But alive, in their North Atlantic habitat, salmon today come in two basic varieties, farm-bred and wild. The wild fish are sleek, silvery torpedoes that range from one side of the ocean to the other and whose beauty, heart and acrobatic grace have earned them a reputation as the aristocrat of aristocrats among game fish. The farm fish spend cramped lives in ocean pens just off the shorelines of North America, Europe and Chile. Comparatively short and fat, often with fins frayed or eroded as a result of close confinement, they are a marine equivalent of domesticated cattle.

The odds are overwhelming that what a diner encounters is a farm fish, and that fact reflects a striking reversal: wild salmon, once abundant, are now outnumbered by their domesticated cousins at least 50 to 1, and probably more.

According to recent estimates, the wild salmon population is in what appears to be an accelerating downward trend; the number that are returning to spawn in their native streams has plummeted to what some scientists say is an all-time low. "Something terrible is happening in the ocean," said Bill Taylor, the president of the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

Particularly worrisome is a plunge in key brood stocks. These are the older, bigger, egg-rich fish on which the now-cloudy future of the species in the wild mostly depends. Historically, it is estimated, there were 2.5 million to 5 million of these brood salmon migrating between ocean feeding grounds and North American spawning rivers. By the mid-1970's, that figure had shrunk to 800,000; by 1991, to about 300,000; by 1996, to a little more than 125,000, and last year to about 80,000.

What is going on is far bigger than the familiar near-demise of wild Atlantic salmon in the northeastern United States. Fewer than 300 of these prized fish return each year to the nine New England spawning streams that still attract them, all in Maine, and conservationists have recently sued to bring them under the protection of the Endangered Species Act. But now the decline also appears to have accelerated throughout the North Atlantic basin at large. Some experts, like Dr. Carl Safina, a marine biologist with the National Audubon Society, say that "tailspin" is not too strong a description of the situation.

Just three years ago, for instance, more than 200,000 salmon of varying ages returned to spawn in the Miramichi River of New Brunswick, a world-famous sport fishing stream that has been North America's biggest single salmon producer. From 1992 through 1996, the Miramichi averaged about 112,000 returns a year. Then, in 1997 and 1998, the number dropped to a little more than 40,000. The count for 1999 is not yet in, since much of the spawning run takes place in the fall.

While some experts suspect there might be a relationship between the rise of farmed salmon and the decline of wild ones, others doubt that this is driving the decline in the wild. And in fact, the general feeling among scientists is that the cause or causes of the wild salmon crash are unknown; it is as if they are disappearing into some ecological black hole.

The problem, scientists say, is not that too few salmon are being hatched in the wild. While many spawning rivers have been ruined by pollution, dams and silty runoff from farms and logged forests, experts say that there is still enough freshwater habitat on both sides of the Atlantic to produce reasonable numbers of young fish. But it appears that once in the ocean, proportionately fewer of these salmon are surviving to return to their natal rivers when it is their turn to reproduce.

Commercial fishing that began in the 1960's has commonly been blamed for the longer-term decline. But fishing off North America and Greenland, in the area where salmon of North American origin congregate at sea, has been halted by international agreement, and yet North American salmon are still disappearing. On the Miramichi, only about 1 percent of the young, first-year fish that go to sea return to spawn, according to the Atlantic Salmon Federation, an international nonprofit conservation group based in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Ten to 15 years ago, 6 percent to 12 percent returned -- at a time when large-scale commercial fisheries were taking wild salmon wholesale.

Many things, including natural factors, could bring on a population crash by breaking the salmon's classic life-cycle chain. Among possible causes being investigated are a changing climate that alters water temperature; competition, genetic weakening and disease transmission from escaped farm fish, and increased killing of salmon by seals and other predators.

But "we don't actually have an answer to what the problem is," said Dr. Malcolm Windsor, the executive secretary of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, established in 1984 to execute a conservation treaty signed by the region's countries. The organization is based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, appeared in the seas tens of millions of years ago, and for about the last 10,000 years, since the end of the last ice age, their range has spanned the North Atlantic. Young, six-inch-long first-year salmon, called by the old Anglo-Saxon name of smolts, migrate to two main oceanic feeding areas from their home streams in New England, eastern Canada and Iceland, and from rivers distributed along Europe's coast from Russia's Kola Peninsula through Scandinavia, and the British Isles to Spain. Those from North America head for an open-ocean region between southwestern Greenland and northern Canada. European fish make for waters around the Faeroe Islands, north of Scotland (although many also swim all the way across the ocean to Greenland.)

In their feeding grounds, they fatten up on prey like sand eels and capelin, small smelt-like fish. After a year of this, many return to the rivers of their birth to spawn. These first-year returners, called grilse, typically weigh about five pounds. They are predominantly male, and the females produce relatively few eggs. Other fish avoid spawning as grilse, instead staying on the feeding grounds for two or three years and earning the full designation of salmon. These grow to 10 to 20 pounds or more and include many more females, each of which carries many more eggs than grilse do. They are the precious brood stock.

According to surveys taken by temporarily trapping fish as they ascend the rivers, fisheries scientists have been able to calculate present-day populations of breeders. The Miramichi is an important barometer. From 1991 through 1996, according to the salmon federation, an average of more than 31,000 brood fish ascended the river each year. That number dropped to 18,442 in 1997 and to a mere 9,500 in 1998.

Biologists estimate that the total population of salmon of North American origin has dropped to fewer than 500,000 from about 1.5 million over the last 30 years. Based on sparser and therefore more uncertain data, salmon of European origin are estimated to have decreased to about 3.5 million from about 6 million over the same period. Estimates vary widely; these are in the mid-range. But it seems clear, Mr. Taylor said, that apart from exceptions like the Kola Peninsula and Iceland, "there is not very much good news."

While the number of salmon returning to spawn in their native rivers is the lowest on record, Dr. Windsor said, it is not clear whether it is the lowest ever; records have been kept only since 1960. "But," he said, "one has the feeling that things are not good for the salmon."

Fish populations, like those of almost all creatures, fluctuate naturally, but scientists say that several new factors might be having an impact on wild salmon. One, conservationists say, might be the impact of farm fish on wild ones. While no one has any solid numbers, estimates of the number of farmed Atlantic salmon off Europe, eastern Canada, Maine, the Pacific coast of North America and Chile run from 100 million to 200 million each year.

The potential threat to wild salmon posed by farmed ones is said to be threefold. First, it is argued, the farm fish are bred for selected characteristics like growth rate and tameness, and this could make them less genetically diverse and so less suited for survival in the wild. The concern is that when they escape and breed with wild fish, they may reduce the ability of the offspring to survive.

Surveys on the Magaguadavic River in southern New Brunswick have found that fish escaped from offshore farm pens outnumbered wild ones by up to eight to one, and Dr. Windsor said large numbers had escaped in Europe. Experts say they have no difficulty distinguishing the two varieties. The farm fish "looks like a football as opposed to a sleek, well-tuned muscular fish," Mr. Taylor said.

Second, farm fish may compete with wild ones for habitat and food. Third, diseases and parasites are said to flourish in salmon farm pens, and these may be transmitted to wild fish. Two parasites in particular, tiny brown sea lice and a microscopic organism called Gyrodactylus salaris, literally cover salmon and kill them by eating their flesh. Norway has had to poison all life in some of its salmon rivers to get rid of sea lice.

In North America, aquaculture interests say that while some farm fish may escape their pens, there is no evidence of any effect on wild salmon. "There's no proven impact," said Dr. Brian Glebe, a salmon breeder for the aquaculture industry based in St. Andrews, whose enterprise is overseen jointly by conservationists, aquaculturists and the Government. Moreover, he said, there are no pens anywhere near many important salmon rivers like the Miramichi.

Mr. Taylor of the salmon federation insisted, "We're not antiaquaculture." But, he said, the farm fish needed to be better contained. He also said they could be neutered so they did not pass on their genes to wild fish, noting," The technology exists." Salmon farming might also be relocated to land-based sites, Dr. Windsor said.

Despite the concern over aquaculture, some experts believe that climatic change may be a better candidate as the primary driver of the decline in wild salmon. Over the most recent period of decline, the salmon-feeding areas have been dominated by a natural climatic regime in which sea-surface temperatures have been unusually warm. The North Atlantic seas alternate over years and decades between generally cooler and warmer states. In the warmer phase, Dr. Windsor said, colder water from melting ice in Greenland may cause the temperature in the oceanic salmon feeding grounds to drop below levels that salmon can tolerate.

Another possibility is that salmon predators like seabirds and seals have increased. Gray seals in the salmon region are indeed increasing by about 8 percent a year, Dr. Windsor said. Why? "Brigitte Bardot," he answered. Miss Bardot, a former actress from France, is a leading animal-rights advocate who has strongly opposed the hunting of seals.

In an effort to solve the salmon mystery, scientists have begun attaching tiny radio transmitters to smolts migrating out of their birth rivers. By tracking them, they hope to learn their fate.

In the end, Dr. Windsor said, that fate may well turn out to have been shaped in one way or another by human activity. With salmon and people, he said, "my guess is that the two of us don't go together awfully well."

GRAPHIC: Photo: A wild Atlantic salmon on its journey upstream to spawn. Fewer are making the trip. (B. & C. Alexander/Photo Researchers)

Chart/Map: "Where the Wild Salmon Go" The Atlantic salmon migrate to two main oceanic feeding areas from their home waters in North America and Europe. After one to three years of feeding, they return to the waters of their birth to spawn.

Over the last 30 years, both the North American and European populations have dropped, possibly due to changing climate, competition, genetic weakening from escaped farmed salmon and increased killing by predators.

Map outlines salmon migration patterns. Areas in white represent origins of North American and European populations of Atlantic salmon. (pg. F1)

Graph: "Smaller Runs" The adult population of Atlantic salmon has rapidly declined in the past decade. Graph tracks the decline, 1971-99.(Source: Atlantic Salmon Federation)(pg. F4)

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SUBJECT: Confusion sinking Atlantic salmon project

Date: September 19, 1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE)

September 11, 1999 Saturday
LENGTH: 1530 words

HEADLINE: Confusion sinking Atlantic salmon project State, aquaculture companies battle over responsibilities, priorities in restocking effort

BYLINE: Susan Young Of the NEWS Staff

BODY:

The death last week of 700 young salmon held in pens in Cobscook Bay is only the latest sign the state's effort to restock Maine rivers with fish raised in private aquaculture operations is in disarray.

In 1995, officials decided the aquaculture facilities in Washington County would help jump-start Maine's Atlantic salmon restoration effort by raising fish to be released into the region's rivers when they reached adulthood. Two companies agreed to raise tens of thousands of fish. Four years later, however, not a single adult fish has been put into one of the rivers.

"It sounded good, but it's not working," said Ed Baum, coordinator of restoration and management programs for the Maine Atlantic Salmon Authority.

The decision to include the aquaculture industry in the restoration program was made at a time when national environmental groups were intensifying their push to get the federal government to listAtlantic salmon as an endangered species in Maine.

The state asked federal officials to forgo listing in favor a state salmon conservation plan, which included the commercial aquaculture stocking program as well as many other provisions.

This prompted some to conclude that the governor's office gave the fish farming industry a role to play in the state's recovery plan to give aquaculture a boost. But state biologists say they argued even then that they didn't want the extra fish because enough salmon to stock the rivers were already being raised by federal hatcheries in Maine.

Steve Swartz, production manager for hatcheries at Atlantic Salmon Maine, one of two aquaculture facilities that is raising fish for the state, said his company agreed to care for the fish and transport them at its own expense. Now he's angry that government biologists say they don't want his fish.

"This is a case of private industry working with the federal government and trying to help restore the fish, and they're blackballing us for doing it," Swartz said.

He speculates that the federal government -- which has spent $ 100 million since the 1960s to restore wild Atlantic salmon runs in Maine -- doesn't want the aquaculture program to work because it would embarrass them.

Six years after RESTORE: The North Woods petitioned the government to list Maine's salmon as endangered on seven rivers, mostly in Washington County, federal fishery agencies and the U.S. Department of the Interior are still deciding whether the species should be listed. A decision is expected in November.

At the same time, a lawsuit filed in January by environmental groups attacking the federal agencies for not moving ahead with an endangered species listing is proceeding, and a second suit, brought by two international angling groups, has also been filed.

While legal and political battles are being fought in Washington to decide the salmon's fate, the number of wild fish in Maine's rivers continues to decline and the commercial aquaculture stocking program is not helping to alleviate the problem.

The 700 fish being raised by Connors Bros. Inc. in Eastport had to be destroyed because they were located within a control zone for infectious salmonanemia, a disease that has decimated salmon aquaculture facilities in the Canadian Maritime provinces.

Although the Connors fish, which were destined for the Narraguagus River, were not found to be infected by the virus, the Canadian government established 5-kilometer control zones around pens where the disease has been found and prohibited fish fro leaving facilities within those zones. The Connors facility is within 5 kilometers of an infected facility in New Brunswick.

Joe McGonigle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association, estimates Connors Bros. spent $ 15,000 on food and labor as well as forgoing $ 500,000 in lost revenue by tying up a pen for two years to raise the wild salmon. The fish were processed by Connors and sold for $ 15,000, with the money being put into a fund dedicated to Maine's salmon restoration efforts.

Last year, 1,000 fish that were being raised by Atlantic Salmon Maine to be released in the Narraguagus were eaten by seals who broke into pens in Milbridge.

Connors Bros. and Atlantic Salmon Maine are raising about 10,000 fish each. It's a small amount compared to a parallel federal effort. The Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery in Orland released 155,000 fish this spring on the Narraguagus River.

While not criticizing the mandate to kill the Cobscook Bay fish, aquaculture officials complain of a double standard. They wonder why fish from Craig Brook were allowed to live and later be released into a river even though other fish at the facility were found to be infected with salmon swimbladder sarcoma virus. Baum, the state biologist, said only the seven fish that tested positive for SSSV were destroyed even though fish infected with the disease often show no symptoms.

While the virus threat is the latest cloud to hang over the state's fish stocking program, the effort has not worked well since its inception because there were never any written agreements or instructions as to how it would be carried out, Baum said.

For example, no one knows for sure who is supposed to pick up the fish from the pens and transport them to the river where they are to be released.

There is also disagreement over where the fish should be put.

State biologists want them released at the mouths of the rivers, while commercialaquaculturists think they should be transported a good distance upriver so they don't turn around and head back into the ocean without spawning.

In another case of miscommunication, two years ago one of the aquaculture facilities that was raising the fish said it had parr -- 6-month-old fish -- ready to be released, even though state biologists thought only mature fish would be released. So the state decided to put the parr into rivers where 3-month-old fry from a national fish hatchery had already been stocked. The older fish likely outcompeted the fry for food, causing many of the younger fish to die.

"We've been shooting ourselves in the foot," Baum said.

In fact, state biologists have argued from the beginning against involving the aquaculture industry in raising salmon because their efforts duplicated activities at the Craig Brook Hatchery. The hatchery has raised millions of young salmon that have been released into the state's rivers.

Another objection biologists raise to releasing aquaculture fish into the state's rivers is that the fish, raised to adulthood in cages, will not have natural survival instincts. "These are just big, fat fish that have been babied all their lives," said Baum.

McGonigle agreed that pen-raised fish "swim in circles and are fed by hand. " But, he said, these fish are just being used as a vehicle to enhance salmon restoration efforts. These babied fish will lay eggs in the wild and their offspring will develop the necessary survival skills, such as hiding when shadows appear on the surface, to make it in the wild, he said.

There is also a disagreement over whether there is a genetic difference between so-called wild fish and those raised in aquaculture pens. Baum, the state biologist, has staunchly maintained that the few wild fish that return to the seven rivers covered by the state restoration plan have a unique genetic structure that differentiates them from pen-raised strains. No differentiating characteristics are visible to the naked eye, and a fish must be killed to determine if it is wild or farm-raised.

McGonigle, on the other hand, believes no significant runs of wild salmon are left in Maine. The current river runs are really because of Craig Brook hatchery stocking, he said. All the eggs used by the fish farms also come from the hatchery.

While concerned that the stocking program is not working, the state chapter of the Atlantic Salmon Federation doesn't blame the industry.

"Aquaculture has bent over backwards to help the system," said Ralph Keef, the ASF's Maine council president.

But, he added, "it was not a program that was well thought out over the long term. "

Keef said more attention should have been paid to state fisheries biologists when they said they didn't need the extra fish being raising in aquaculture pens.

ASF has filed a lawsuit against federal fishery agencies for not listing Atlantic salmon as an endangered species. They criticize the state's conservation plan for not adequately regulating the aquaculture industry.

The angling group worries that pen-raised fish with European genes will escape and breed with thefew remaining wild salmon, diluting their genes even more. They are also worried about the spread of disease from the European fish.

Although acknowledging that "a large question mark remains" looming over the stocking program, the coordinator of the state's conservation plan remains committed to the program.

"It still has some merit," said Henry Nichols, who works for the State Planning Office.

GRAPHIC: The is one of the 3,000 wild salmon in a small tank at ConnorsBros. salmon pens in Broad Cove off Eastport. (NEWS Photo by Kevin Bennett)Hulme Thompson hands feeds wild salmon Friday afternoon at Connors Bros. Inc salmon pens in Broad Cove off Eastport. (NEWS Photo by Kevin Bennett)

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SUBJECT: Sea lice reduction

Date: 29.09.1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Subject: salmon and salmon farming news Date: Tue, 14 Sep 1999 15:15:18 -0400 From: Bill Mott To: FishFarmRev CC: Allan Berry , JAMES SEMPLE Please read on for the following stories related to salmon and salmon farming: 1) From today's NY Times: Whats happening to Atlantic salmon? (The NYT also ran a front page story in late August on the Blue Hill, Maine battle over fish farming.) 2) From Bangor Daily News: Confusion and conflicts with State and aquaculture companies over responsibilities and priorities in restocking effort __________________________________________________ Bill Mott Coordinator *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse* and The OCEAN Project 102 Waterman Street, Suite 16 Providence, Rhode Island 02906 Phone: 401.272.8822 Fax: 272.8877 Email: bmott@seaweb.org Web site: www.seaweb.org/campaigns/sac __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________



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SUBJECT: Sea lice reduction

Date: 29.09.1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

The New York Times

September 14, 1999, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final

SECTION: Section F; Page 1; Column 4; Science Desk
LENGTH: 1952 words
HEADLINE: As a Species Vanishes, No One Can Say Why
BYLINE: By WILLIAM K. STEVENS

BODY:

On a plate, where most people encounter them, all Atlantic salmon are pretty much alike: orange-pink fillets or steaks that melt in the mouth when baked, broiled, grilled or poached, or when smoked and combined with an onionslice and cream cheese on a bagel.

But alive, in their North Atlantic habitat, salmon today come in two basic varieties, farm-bred and wild. The wild fish are sleek, silvery torpedoes that range from one side of the ocean to the other and whose beauty, heart and acrobatic grace have earned them a reputation as the aristocrat of aristocrats among game fish. The farm fish spend cramped lives in ocean pens just off the shorelines of North America, Europe and Chile. Comparatively short and fat, often with fins frayed or eroded as a result of close confinement, they are a marine equivalent of domesticated cattle.

The odds are overwhelming that what a diner encounters is a farm fish, and that fact reflects a striking reversal: wild salmon, once abundant, are now outnumbered by their domesticated cousins at least 50 to 1, and probably more. According to recent estimates, the wild salmon population is in what appears to be an accelerating downward trend; the number that are returning to spawn in their native streams has plummeted to what some scientists say is an all-time low. "Something terrible is happening in the ocean," said Bill Taylor, the president of the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

Particularly worrisome is a plunge in key brood stocks. These are the older, bigger, egg-rich fish on which the now-cloudy future of the species in the wild mostly depends. Historically, it is estimated, there were 2.5 million to 5 million of these brood salmon migrating between ocean feeding grounds and North American spawning rivers. By the mid-1970's, that figure had shrunk to 800,000; by 1991, to about 300,000; by 1996, to a little more than 125,000, and last year to about 80,000.

What is going on is far bigger than the familiar near-demise of wild Atlantic salmon in the northeastern United States. Fewer than 300 of these prized fish return each year to the nine New England spawning streams that still attract them, all in Maine, and conservationists have recently sued to bring them under the protection of the Endangered Species Act. But now the decline also appears to have accelerated throughout the North Atlantic basin at large. Some experts, like Dr. Carl Safina, a marine biologist with the National Audubon Society, say that "tailspin" is not too strong a description of the situation.

Just three years ago, for instance, more than 200,000 salmon of varying ages returned to spawn in the Miramichi River of New Brunswick, a world-famous sport fishing stream that has been North America's biggest single salmon producer. From 1992 through 1996, the Miramichi averaged about 112,000 returns a year. Then, in 1997 and 1998, the number dropped to a little more than 40,000. The count for 1999 is not yet in, since much of the spawning run takes place in the fall.

While some experts suspect there might be a relationship between the rise of farmed salmon and the decline of wild ones, others doubt that this is driving the decline in the wild. And in fact, the general feeling among scientists is that the cause or causes of the wild salmon crash are unknown; it is as if they are disappearing into some ecological black hole.

The problem, scientists say, is not that too few salmon are being hatched in the wild. While many spawning rivers have been ruined by pollution, dams and silty runoff from farms and logged forests, experts say that there is still enough freshwater habitat on both sides of the Atlantic to produce reasonable numbers of young fish. But it appears that once in the ocean, proportionately fewer of these salmon are surviving to return to their natal rivers when it is their turn to reproduce.

Commercial fishing that began in the 1960's has commonly been blamed for the longer-term decline. But fishing off North America and Greenland, in the area where salmon of North American origin congregate at sea, has been halted by international agreement, and yet North American salmon are still disappearing. On the Miramichi, only about 1 percent of the young, first-year fish that go to sea return to spawn, according to the Atlantic Salmon Federation, an international nonprofit conservation group based in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Ten to 15 years ago, 6 percent to 12 percent returned -- at a time when large-scale commercial fisheries were taking wild salmon wholesale.

Many things, including natural factors, could bring on a population crash by breaking the salmon's classic life-cycle chain. Among possible causes being investigated are a changing climate that alters water temperature; competition, genetic weakening and disease transmission from escaped farm fish, and increased killing of salmon by seals and other predators.

But "we don't actually have an answer to what the problem is," said Dr. Malcolm Windsor, the executive secretary of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, established in 1984 to execute a conservation treaty signed by the region's countries. The organization is based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, appeared in the seas tens of millions of years ago, and for about the last 10,000 years, since the end of the last ice age, their range has spanned the North Atlantic. Young, six-inch-long first-year salmon, called by the old Anglo-Saxon name of smolts, migrate to two main oceanic feeding areas from their home streams in New England, eastern Canada and Iceland, and from rivers distributed along Europe's coast from Russia's Kola Peninsula through Scandinavia, and the British Isles to Spain. Those from North America head for an open-ocean region between southwestern Greenland and northern Canada. European fish make for waters around the Faeroe Islands, north of Scotland (although many also swim all the way across the ocean to Greenland.)

In their feeding grounds, they fatten up on prey like sand eels and capelin, small smelt-like fish. After a year of this, many return to the rivers of their birth to spawn. These first-year returners, called grilse, typically weigh about five pounds. They are predominantly male, and the females produce relatively few eggs. Other fish avoid spawning as grilse, instead staying on the feeding grounds for two or three years and earning the full designation of salmon. These grow to 10 to 20 pounds or more and include many more females, each of which carries many more eggs than grilse do. They are the precious brood stock.

According to surveys taken by temporarily trapping fish as they ascend the rivers, fisheries scientsts have been able to calculate present-day populations of breeders. The Miramichi is an important barometer. From 1991 through 1996, according to the salmon federation, an average of more than 31,000 brood fish ascended the river each year. That number dropped to 18,442 in 1997 and to a mere 9,500 in 1998.

Biologists estimate that the total population of salmon of North American origin has dropped to fewer than 500,000 from about 1.5 million over the last 30 years. Based on sparser and therefore more uncertain data, salmon of European origin are estimated to have decreased to about 3.5 million from about 6 million over the same period. Estimates vary widely; these are in the mid-range. But it seems clear, Mr. Taylor said, that apart from exceptions like the Kola Peninsula and Iceland, "there is not very much good news."

While the number of salmon returning to spawn in their native rivers is the lowest on record, Dr. Windsor said, it is not clear whether it is the lowest ever; records have been kept only since 1960. "But," he said, "one has the feeling that things are not good for the salmon."

Fish populations, like those of almost all creatures, fluctuate naturally, but scientists say that several new factors might be having an impact on wild salmon. One, conservationists say, might be the impact of farm fish on wild ones. While no one has any solid numbers, estimates of the number of farmed Atlantic salmon off Europe, eastern Canada, Maine, the Pacific coast of North America and Chile run from 100 million to 200 million each year.

The potential threat to wild salmon posed by farmed ones is said to be threefold. First, it is argued, the farm fish are bred for selected characteristics like growth rate and tameness, and this could make them less genetically diverse and so less suited for survival in the wild. The concern is that when they escape and breed with wild fish, they may reduce the ability of the offspring to survive.

Surveys on the Magaguadavic River in southern New Brunswick have found that fish escaped from offshore farm pens outnumbered wild ones by up to eight to one, and Dr. Windsor said large numbers had escaped in Europe. Experts say they have no difficulty distinguishing the two varieties. The farm fish "looks like a football as opposed to a sleek, well-tuned muscular fish," Mr. Taylor said.

Second, farm fish may compete with wild ones for habitat and food. Third, diseases and parasites are said to flourish in salmon farm pens, and these may be transmitted to wild fish. Two parasites in particular, tiny brown sea lice and a microscopic organism called Gyrodactylus salaris, literally cover salmon and kill them by eating their flesh. Norway has had to poison all life in some of its salmon rivers to get rid of sea lice.

In North America, aquaculture interests say that while some farm fish may escape their pens, there is no evidence of any effect on wild salmon. "There's no proven impact," said Dr. Brian Glebe, a salmon breeder for the aquaculture industry based in St. Andrews, whose enterprise is overseen jointly by conservationists, aquaculturists and the Government. Moreover, he said, there are no pens anywhere near many important salmon rivers like the Miramichi.

Mr. Taylor of the salmon federation insisted, "We're not antiaquaculture." But, he said, the farm fish needed to be better contained. He also said they could be neutered so they did not pass on their genes to wild fish, noting, "The technology exists." Salmon farming might also be relocated to land-based sites, Dr. Windsor said.

Despite the concern over aquaculture, some experts believe that climatic change may be a better candidate as the primary driver of the decline in wild salmon. Over the most recent period of decline, the salmon-feeding areas have been dominated by a natural climatic regime in which sea-surface temperatures have been unusually warm. The North Atlantic seas alternate over years and decades between generally cooler and warmer states. In the warmer phase, Dr. Windsor said, colder water from melting ice in Greenland may cause the temperature in the oceanic salmon feeding grounds to drop below levels that salmon can tolerate.

Another possibility is that salmon predators like seabirds and seals have increased. Gray seals in the salmon region are indeed increasing by about 8 percent a year, Dr. Windsor said. Why? "Brigitte Bardot," he answered. Miss Bardot, a former actress from France, is a leading animal-rights advocate who has strongly opposed the hunting of seals.

In an effort to solve the salmon mystery, scientists have begun attaching tiny radio transmitters to smolts migrating out of their birth rivers. By tracking them, they hope to learn their fate.

In the end, Dr. Windsor said, that fate may well turn out to have been shaped in one way or another by human activity. With salmon and people, he said, "my guess is that the two of us don't go together awfully well."

GRAPHIC: Photo: A wild Atlantic salmon on its journey upstream to spawn. Fewer are making the trip. (B. & C. Alexander/Photo Researchers)

Chart/Map: "Where the Wild Salmon Go" The Atlantic salmon migrate to two main oceanic feeding areas from their home waters in North America and Europe. After one to three years of feeding, they return to the waters of their birth to spawn.

Over the last 30 years, both the North American and European populations have dropped, possibly due to changing climate, competition, genetic weakening from escaped farmed salmon and increased killing by predators.

Map outlines salmon migration patterns. Areas in white represent origins of North American and European populations of Atlantic salmon. (pg. F1)

Graph: "Smaller Runs" The adult population of Atlantic salmon has rapidly declined in the past decade. Graph tracks the decline, 1971-99.(Source: Atlantic Salmon Federation)(pg. F4)

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SUBJECT: Confusion sinking Atlantic salmon project

Date: September 14, 1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE)

September 11, 1999 Saturday
LENGTH: 1530 words
HEADLINE: Confusion sinking Atlantic salmon project State, aquaculture companies battle over responsibilities, priorities in restocking effort

BYLINE: Susan Young Of the NEWS Staff

BODY:

The death last week of 700 young salmon held in pens in Cobscook Bay is only the latest sign the state's effort to restock Maine rivers with fish raised in private aquaculture operations is in disarray.

In 1995, officials decided the aquaculture facilities in Washington County would help jump-start Maine's Atlantic salmon restoration effort by raising fish to be released into the region's rivers when they reached adulthood. Two companies agreed to raise tens of thousands of fish. Four years later, however, not a single adult fish has been put into one of the rivers.

"It sounded good, but it's not working," said Ed Baum, coordinator of restoration and management programs for the Maine Atlantic Salmon Authority.

The decision to include the aquaculture industry in the restoration program was made at a time when national environmental groups were intensifying their push to get the federal government to listAtlantic salmon as an endangered species in Maine.

The state asked federal officials to forgo listing in favor of a state salmon conservation plan, which included the commercial aquaculture stocking program as well as many other provisions.

This prompted some to conclude that the governor's office gave the fish farming industry a role to play in the state's recovery plan to give aquaculture a boost. But state biologists say they argued even then that they didn't want the extra fish because enough salmon to stock the rivers were already being raised by federal hatcheries in Maine.

Steve Swartz, production manager for hatcheries at Atlantic Salmon Maine, one of two aquaculture facilities that is raising fish for the state, said his company agreed to care for the fish and transport them at its own expense. Now he's angry that government biologists say they don't want his fish.

"This is a case of private industry working with the federal government and trying to help restore the fish, and they're blackballing us for doing it," Swartz said.

He speculates that the federal government -- which has spent $ 100 million since the 1960s to restore wild Atlantic salmon runs in Maine -- doesn't want the aquaculture program to work because it would embarrass them.

Six years after RESTORE: The North Woods petitioned the government to list Maine's salmon as endangered on seven rivers, mostly in Washington County, federal fishery agencies and the U.S. Department of the Interior are still deciding whether the species should be listed. A decision is expected in November.

At the same time, a lawsuit filed in January by environmental groups attacking the federal agencies for not moving ahead with an endangered species listing is proceeding, and a second suit, brought by two international angling groups, has also been filed. While legal and political battles are being fought in Washington to decide the salmon's fate, the number of wild fish in Maine's rivers continues to decline and the commercial aquaculture stocking program is not helping to alleviate the problem.

The 700 fish being raised by Connors Bros. Inc. in Eastport had to be destroyed because they were located within a control zone for infectious salmonanemia, a disease that has decimated salmon aquaculture facilities in the Canadian Maritime provinces.

Although the Connors fish, which were destined for the Narraguagus River, were not found to be infected by the virus, the Canadian government established 5-kilometer control zones around pens where the disease has been found and prohibited fish from leaving facilities within those zones. The Connors facility is within 5 kilometers of an infected facility in New Brunswick.

Joe McGonigle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association, estimates Connors Bros. spent $ 15,000 on food and labor as well as forgoing $ 500,000 in lost revenue by tying up a pen for two years to raise the wild salmon. The fish were processed by Connors and sold for $ 15,000, with the money being put into a fund dedicated to Maine's salmon restoration efforts.

Last year, 1,000 fish that were being raised by Atlantic Salmon Maine to be released in the Narraguagus were eaten by seals who broke into pens in Milbridge.

Connors Bros. and Atlantic Salmon Maine are raising about 10,000 fish each. It's a small amount compared to a parallel federal effort. The Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery in Orland released 155,000 fish this spring on the Narraguagus River.

While not criticizing the mandate to kill the Cobscook Bay fish, aquaculture officials complain of a double standard. They wonder why fish from Craig Brook were allowed to live and later be released into a river even though other fish at the facility were found to be infected with salmon swimbladder sarcoma virus. Baum, the state biologist, said only the seven fish that tested positive for SSSV were destroyed even though fish infected with the disease often show no symptoms.

While the virus threat is the latest cloud to hang over the state's fish stocking program, the effort has not worked well since its inception because there were never any written agreements or instructions as to how it would be carried out, Baum said.

For example, no one knows for sure who is supposed to pick up the fish from the pens and transport them to the river where they are to be released.

There is also disagreement over where the fish should be put.

State biologists want them released at the mouths of the rivers, while commercialaquaculturists think they should be transported a good distance upriver so they don't turn around and head back into the ocean without spawning.

In another case of miscommunication, two years ago one of the aquaculture facilities that was raising the fish said it had parr -- 6-month-old fish -- ready to be released, even though state biologists thought only mature fish would be released. So the state decided to put the parr into rivers where 3-month-old fry from a national fish hatchery had already been stocked. The older fish likely outcompeted the fry for food, causing many of the younger fish to die.

"We've been shooting ourselves in the foot," Baum said.

In fact, state biologists have argued from the beginning against involving the aquaculture industry in raising salmon because their efforts duplicated activities at the Craig Brook Hatchery. The hatchery has raised millions of young salmon that have been released into the state's rivers.

Another objection biologists raise to releasing aquaculture fish into the state's rivers is that the fish, raised to adulthood in cages, will not have natural survival instincts. "These are just big, fat fish that have been babied all their lives," said Baum.

McGonigle agreed that pen-raised fish "swim in circles and are fed by hand. " But, he said, these fish are just being used as a vehicle to enhance salmon restoration efforts.

These babied fish will lay eggs in the wild and their offspring will develop the necessary survival skills, such as hiding when shadows appear on the surface, to make it in the wild, he said.

There is also a disagreement over whether there is a genetic difference between so-called wild fish and those raised in aquaculture pens. Baum, the state biologist, has staunchly maintained that the few wild fish that return to the seven rivers covered by the state restoration plan have a unique genetic structure that differentiates them from pen-raised strains. No differentiating characteristics are visible to the naked eye, and a fish must be killed to determine if it is wild or farm-raised.

McGonigle, on the other hand, believes no significant runs of wild salmon are left in Maine. The current river runs are really because of Craig Brook hatchery stocking, he said. All the eggs used by the fish farms also come from the hatchery.

While concerned that the stocking program is not working, the state chapter of the Atlantic Salmon Federation doesn't blame the industry.

"Aquaculture has bent over backwards to help the system," said Ralph Keef, the ASF's Maine council president.

But, he added, "it was not a program that was well thought out over the long term. "

Keef said more attention should have been paid to state fisheries biologists when they said they didn't need the extra fish being raising in aquaculture pens.

ASF has filed a lawsuit against federal fishery agencies for not listing Atlantic salmon as an endangered species. They criticize the state's conservation plan for not adequately regulating the aquaculture industry.

The angling group worries that pen-raised fish with European genes will escape and breed with thefew remaining wild salmon, diluting their genes even more. They are also worried about the spread of disease from the European fish.

Although acknowledging that "a large question mark remains" looming over the stocking program, the coordinator of the state's conservation plan remains committed to the program.

"It still has some merit," said Henry Nichols, who works for the State Planning Office.

GRAPHIC: The is one of the 3,000 wild salmon in a small tank at Connors Bros. salmon pens in Broad Cove off Eastport. (NEWS Photo by Kevin Bennett) Hulme Thompson hands feeds wild salmon Friday afternoon at Connors Bros. Inc. salmon pens in Broad Cove off Eastport. (NEWS Photo by Kevin Bennett)

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SUBJECT: Aquaculture's limits

Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1999

From: Bill Mott
To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Words of caution to Mainers and others from Scotland's Allan Berry:

Copyright 1999 Bangor Daily News
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE)
September 14, 1999 Tuesday
LENGTH: 697 words
HEADLINE: Aquaculture's limits

BYLINE: Allan W. Berry

BODY:

In his article titled "Down East fish farmers need not apply," (BDN, Sept. 9), Bruce Kyle draws attention to some of the problems which have limited the development of aquaculture along the Maine coast. Heralded in its early years as the saviour of the wild fisheries, the move to farming the sea as an alternative has not fulfilled early promise.

Down East, and elsewhere in the world, there are conflicting demands on the coastal area, aquaculture is just one of many. My own experience of the industry in Scotland over the last 25 years may shed some light on the matter.

Back in the early 1970s the coastal waters of the Highlands and Islands appeared ideal for the development of aquaculture. The industry appeared to be a way to halt depopulation and revive the economy of remote coastal communities.

The farming of salmon in net pens in sheltered sea lochs and bays was in its infancy then, with a production of only 400 tons per year in 1976, shellfish farming, mainly mussels and oysters was beginning to produce, albeit on a very small scale.

Early success convinced politicians and planners that aquaculture deserved real support, and a great deal of public money was spent in promoting and developing the industry. Salmon farming in particular was a great commercial success, and the industry progressed by leaps and bounds. By 1998 production had risen to 120,000 long tons worth around $ 375 million. Employment peaked at around 1,500 jobs in the early 1990s, but has since declined as technical development increased productivity. Modern large scale units now produce between 100 and 200 long tons per year per worker in contrast to the 40 to 60 long tons per year of 10 years ago.

Today's industry provides just over a 1,000 jobs.

All this has not been achieved without cost. Problems caused by the environmental impact of the industry were brushed aside as a small price to pay for the benefits, and research was mainly focused on maximizing production. The growing shellfish industry suffered greatly from the effects of the toxic antifouling Tri Butyl Tin (TBT) used on the pen nets in the 1980s, and the use of the compound was only banned when the public became aware that some salmon on public sale contained levels of TBT high enough to exceed those declared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as "unfit for human consumption. "

Although previously unrecorded, in 1990 a widespread outbreak of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) in areas affected by salmon farm discharges, heralded regular annual shellfish harvesting closures. The latest closure this year, caused by Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) has meant a ban on scallop harvesting in over 10,000 square miles of coastal waters for over six weeks. Theban is still in place.

Naturally these events have caused many to question government assurances that these are "naturally occurring and nothing to do with pollution. " My own visit here is en route to an international conference on the environmental effects of mariculture where I will give a paper showing links between the production of nitrogenous biotoxins such as those causing PSP and ASP, and the current discharge of around 9,000 long tons per year of ammonium from the Scottish net pen salmon industry.

Another environmental problem recognized as related to the activity of the net pen salmon farming industry, is the catastrophic decline in wild salmonid stocks. Research in Norway, Ireland and Scotland shows that wild fish are affected by disease and parasite infestation emanating from salmon pens. The "small price to pay" is growing fast, and current legal action in Scotland may result in the salmon farming industry becoming uninsurable.

In time it is most likely that the industry will have to leave coastal waters and come ashore into closed systems. Those living in coastal areas which have adopted a cautious approach and limited such development will have good reason to be thankful.

Allan W. Berry is chairman of Knapdale Seafarms Ltd., Argyll, Scotland. His e-mail address is awberry@compuserve.com

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SUBJECT: Worldwide Atlantic Salmon production 1.3 million tonnes in 2005

Date: 01.10.1999 (Published by IntraFish)

From: Bill Mott(from IntraFish)
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Atlantic salmon forecast production for 2005 is that the industry will reach 1.3 million tonnes, with Norway (620,000t) and Chile (300,000t) coming first, according to Lars Liabo from Kontali Analyse.

"How clever will the companies be in developing new products, how the market will open up will contribute to adjusting these figures" says Mr Liabo, who adds that only Norway and Chile have a real prospect to increase significantly their tonnage. Overall this represents a represents an 8% annual increase over 1999-2005 for Norway, and 17% for Chile. "Norway has reached an economy of scale: the more they produce, the cheaper it becomes to do so," says Liabo.

"It won't be easy for the UK and Canada to expand, even if they cant to," says the Kontali director who was speaking at Salmon Summit '99 in Copenhagen. The UK, Canadian geographic situation and the lack of site availability will dampen their growth, with 2005 production forecasts - respectively - of 180,000t and 80,000 tonnes against an expected 126,000 t this year ("a lit bit more than first anticipated") for the UK and 63,000t for Canada.

The 1999 estimates total up to 785,000 tonnes for Atlantic salmon world-wide; "100,000t more than expected, it's the biggest increase ever!" says Mr Liabo. [Norway, 387,000t; Chile 115,000t; UK, 126,000t; Canada, 63,000t; Faeroes Islands 32,000t; USA, 22,000t; Ireland, 18,000t; others, 12,000t]. Overall, the Atlantic salmon industry has grown from 67,000t in 1987 to an estimated 785,000t this year: an annual average growth of 25%.

Estimates also show that the EU market will weigh approx. 600,000t in 2005 and will be supplied predominantly by Norway (370,000t) and the UK (160,000t). Currently the EU market stands at 435,000 tonnes; 269,000t of which come from Norway and 115,000t from the UK. In the US, 2005 forecasts show that the market for Atlantics will represent 350,000t; 180,000t will come from Chile, 65,000t from Canada, 25,000t from the US itself and 40,000t from Norway; with the Faeroes and the UK exporting respectively 27,000t and 10,000t.

At present, 30-40% of the EU market goes to the salmon smoking industry [see our special report on the French smoked salmon industry]. "The structure of the industry will change," says Liabo about the overall industry. The feed sector is still undergoing changes, integration of companies will become more widespread and the trading methods will change. "70% of the salmon is [at present] sold on the spot market, not by contract," he says: this will change in favour of more short terms contracts.

As for the price levels, Mr Liabo says in response to a query that he cannot anticipate them. "Cost of production will decrease a bit. It will depend on feed prices. Prices may be lower than today but by how much, its difficult to say." However, the Kontali executive said in his presentation that average price of gutted salmon had rose since 1996 [coincidentally during the enactment period of the current MIP and EU-Norway deal]: NOK/kg 23.44 in 1996; 23.97 in 1997; 25.36 in 1998; and an estimated 25.3 NOK/kg for 1999.

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SUBJECT: Aquaculture Outlook from USDA

Date: Mon, 4 Oct 1999

From: Bill Mott
To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

AQUACULTURE OUTLOOK October 4, 1999 October 1999, ERS-LDP-AQS-10 Approved by the World Agricultural Outlook Board

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AQUACULTURE OUTLOOK, is published twice a year by the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20036-5831.

Subscriptions to the printed version of this report are available from the ERS-NASS order desk. Call toll-free, 1-800-999-6779 and ask for stock # SUB-LDP-AQS-4040, $24/year. ERS-NASS accepts MasterCard and Visa.

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Competition Facing U.S. Aquaculture in 2000 and Beyond Numerous forces are expected to influence the growth of the U.S. aquaculture industry over the next several years. These forces will be in the areas of competition within the seafood market, competition from other protein sources, and changing consumption patterns in many of the world's economies. In the domestic market, aquacultural producers were confronted with a basically flat U.S. per capita seafood consumption over the last decade. This means that the only growth in total U.S. consumption has come from the 1 to 2 million person population increase that the United States experiences each year. Unless this changes, the only way consumption of a specific commodity (for example catfish) will increase is by taking market share from other fish species. This situation would favor already established aquaculture species that have a level of production to justify research into various areas of the production process and to explore promotional efforts to broaden product awareness and acceptance among consumers and the food service industry.

This concentration in the seafood diet to a small number of species can already be seen in the current levels of consumption for the major seafood species. According to 1998 data from the National Marine Fisheries Service, per capita consumption of shrimp, salmon, tuna, and catfish made up approximately 50 to 60 percent of total seafood consumption. This share may increase as a greater percentage of total food consumption is eaten away from home, and food service firms may choose to carry only a limited number of seafood species on their menus.

Domestic aquaculture producers will also be faced with strong competition from other protein sources, especially pork and poultry. Both of these industries are expected to expand production in the coming years, and most of this larger production will be aimed at domestic users. Pork and poultry producers are expected to try to expand consumption of their products through strong promotional effort and the development of new products for both the at home and the food service markets.

Recovery of Asian Economies Benefits Seafood and Aquaculture Many of the Asian countries that experienced economic difficulties over the last several years are either large producers or purchasers of seafood and aquaculture products. Japan has been the world's largest purchaser of seafood. As Japan recovers, it is expected to expand its imports of seafood from a number of countries. The chief beneficiary in the United States is likely to be the wild harvest salmon industry, but higher imports will also impact the farmed mollusk industry. Korea's economic expansion will also positively impact the U.S. mollusk industry and some other speciality items. As the Japanese and Korean currencies strengthen against the U.S. dollar, their markets will become more attractive to U.S. exporters and also to aquaculture producers in other Asian countries. Thailand and Indonesia are large producers of farm-raised shrimp, tilapia, and other species and will benefit from improved economic conditions in Asia, especially Japan. As the U.S. market becomes somewhat less attractive, U.S. producers may find less competition from imports, which could allow for them to expand production.

[catfish, trout, and tilapia sections deleted; please contact me if you would like these sections.]

U.S. Salmon Imports Higher, But Canadian and Chilean Shipments Down U.S. imports of Atlantic salmon in first-half 1999 reached 117.5 million pounds and $311 million, up 13 and 25 percent from first-half 1998. All three Atlantic salmon import categories (fresh whole fish, frozen whole fish, and fresh and frozen fillets) showed increases in both quantity and value, but the largest growth was in the fresh and frozen fillets categories. Imports of filleted products in the first half of 1999 were 56 million pounds, about the same as imports of fresh whole fish. Shipments of filleted products have risen very quickly over the last several years. For example, imports of filleted products totaled 56 million pounds in first-half 1999, but were only 16 million pounds in the first half of 1996. The value of filleted products totaled $161 million in the first half of 1999, passing those of fresh whole fish and accounting for 52 percent of all Atlantic salmon imports.

The biggest development in the Atlantic salmon market so far in 1999 is that the import growth has not come from either Canada or Chile. These two countries are the dominant suppliers of Atlantic salmon products to the United States and have accounted for almost all the growth in imports over the last several years. In the first half of 1999, the growth in imports has come from European growers, notably those in Norway and the United Kingdom. Higher imports from these sources more than offset small declines in shipments from Canada and Chile. The decrease in imports from Canada was puzzling, as the current weakness of the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar would be expected to make the U.S. market very attractive.

If the normal seasonal pattern for salmon imports holds true in 1999, shipments are expected to reach between 230 million and 240 million pounds and to be between $600 million and $620 million in value. With the growth of the worldwide farmed salmon industry, salmon has changed from a seasonal product to a regular component of grocery store retail sales and a popular seafood item at a wide variety of restaurants. The condition of the U.S. economy will be a major factor in the future growth of the worldwide farmed salmon industry. A strong U.S. dollar is expected to make imports from most countries relatively less expensive. Imports are expected to continue to be strong in the second half of 1999 and into 2000. Shipments from Canada and Chile are expected to be close to or slightly above year-earlier levels.

While imports of Atlantic salmon have been increasing, the United States' wild harvest of Pacific salmon in Alaska has been falling, and exports of U.S. salmon products have declined. For 1998, the latest data available, the U.S. wild harvest of salmon was estimated at 644 million pounds. This is an increase from 1997, but it is the second lowest wild harvest in the 1990's and well below the record harvest of over 1 billion pounds in 1995. Even though the quantity of harvest increased in 1998, the value declined by 5 percent to $258 million. This is the third decline in a row and the lowest value for a salmon harvest, even on a nominal basis, since 1978. The primary cause of the lower harvest and the resulting falling value is the lower level of sockeye catch. The sockeye catch has normally been one of the largest, and the price of sockeye is second only to king salmon. Sockeye salmon has also been the primary salmon exported, chiefly to Japan.

The decline in the sockeye harvest had three impacts. First, the falling harvest greatly lowered the total value of the U.S. salmon harvest. Second, because of its relatively high price, the total value of the salmon harvest was also lower. Third, sockeye was probably the salmon species that would have competed most directly with farmed Atlantic salmon, so a partial void in the market was available to be filled by farmed products.

Although Canada and Chile are still the largest suppliers of farmed Atlantic salmon to the United States, the increase in imports from European countries is expected to continue through the end of 1999. A number of factors will influence the Atlantic salmon market in the second half of 1999. First is the impact of the anti-dumping duties on Chilean producers' shipments to the United States. Second is the competitiveness of Canadian salmon prices due to the weakness of the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar. Canada also enjoys an advantage over most producers in transportation costs. Third is the impact on the Alaskan wild harvest salmon fishery and the worldwide farmed salmon industry of a recovery in Japan's economy, which is expected to increase salmon demand in that country.

[shrimp, crawfish, clam, oysters, ornamental fish sections deleted.]

Principal contributor: Dave Harvey 202-694-5177

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SUBJECT: Secondary School Aquaculture Competition

Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999

From: Bill Mott
To: FishFarmRev
CC: Allan Berry
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

It would be good to know what kind of materials are being used for 'aquaculture education' and get some of our collective materials incorporated into school curriculums, as well.

__________________________________________________

-------------Forwarded Message-----------------

From: Jensen Gary PAS,

INTERNET:GJENSEN@intranet.reeusda.gov

Subject: Secondary School Aquaculture Competition

For those of you who are associated in any way with a high school or vo-ag school (grades 9-12) that uses aquaculture in their curriculum or learning activities, please share the following notice with appropriate teachers. This is a great opportunity to recognize outstanding teachers and students who are using aquaculture as an effective complement in their secondary school teaching programs. Please refer to competition deadlines.

Gary Jensen USDA-CSREES

___________________________________________

AQUACULTURE AMERICA 2000 SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT AQUACULTURE COMPETITION

AQUACULTURE AMERICA 2000 and its sponsors, US Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society, National Aquaculture Association and the US Aquaculture Suppliers Association, are committed to promoting aquaculture education at the secondary grade levels (9-12) in the high schools and vo-ag schools throughout the U.S. In order to promote secondary school aquaculture education, AQUACULTURE AMERICA 2000 has developed a contest for secondary school (grades 9-12) aquaculture programs to compete for the award for the best project for 1999.

BEST SECONDARY SCHOOL AQUACULTURE PROJECT CONTEST The contest will be conducted by the following rules. The selected winner will receive a trip to New Orleans for AQUACULTURE AMERICA 2000 (February 2-5, 2000) for the teacher and top student with airfare, hotel and registration provided.

RULES

1. Secondary school programs wishing to participate in the contest must fill out the attached application and return it to the Conference Office by November 1, 1999.

2. Aquaculture programs must conduct actual experiments in order to qualify.

3. Entrants must submit written papers reporting their program work in accordance with accepted scientific principles and paper writing procedures.

4. Projects can be developed on any aquaculture specie.

5. Projects will be judged on:

A. originality of project concept
B. adherence to scientific principles governing experiments
C. quality of record keeping
D. quality of paper - writing, format, neatness
E. appropriateness of conclusions reached

6. Pictures will enhance the paper.

7. Papers must be submitted by January 1, 2000

8. Papers will be judged by a committee of aquaculture researchers, producers and suppliers.

9. The selected winner will be required to present an oral and poster presentation at AQUACULTURE AMERICA 2000.

AQUACULTURE AMERICA 2000 APPLICATION FOR BEST SECONDARY SCHOOL AQUACULTURE PROJECT CONTEST

Secondary School Name___________________________________________
Address________________________________________________
Tel______________________ Fax___________________
Email____________________
Teacher/Faculty Advisor
_____________________________________________
Aquaculture Program Name (if any)________________________________
How long has program been in existence ______________________________
Project Description_______________________________________________
Completion Date (Papers must be submitted by Jan. 1, 2000) _________________________

Send completed application to:

Conference Manager
Aquaculture America 2000
21710 7th Place West
Bothell, WA 98021

Tel. 425-485-6682
Fax: 425-483-6319
Email: worldaqua@aol.com

Also for any additional information or details contact the Conference Manager referenced above.

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SUBJECT: Escaped fish and genetic interactions

Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999

From: Bill Mott
To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Needless to say, this report will be challenged...

_____________________________________________________

The Associated Press State & Local Wire

October 27, 1999, Wednesday, AM cycle

SECTION: State and Regional

LENGTH: 511 words

HEADLINE: Escape of farm fish seen as little threat to native species

BYLINE: By DENE MOORE

DATELINE: VANCOUVER, British Columbia

BODY:

The escape of farm fish into the wild poses little threat to native species and could even be beneficial, according to a report released Wednesday.

But the report, paid for by the federal commissioner for aquaculture development, ignores the real conservation concerns about such farms, say critics.

Instead, it looks at the genetic interaction between wild and farm salmon of the same species - Atlantic with Atlantic or West Coast chinook with chinook.

However, it is not the interaction between the same species that poses a risk to wild salmon, says David Hocking of the David Suzuki Foundation.

"This (report) is not talking about the problem," he said. "We have never said that the worry is that the Atlantics will genetically mingle with Pacific salmon."

The foundation says there is evidence Atlantic salmon spread diseases to wild fish, compete for food and now are moving into natural spawning grounds at a time when there are record low returns of British Columbia's valuable native stocks.

Eighty-five per cent of the 81 active fish farms in British Columbia use Atlantic salmon.

Last month, about 30,000 mature Atlantic salmon escaped from a pen near Port McNeill on Vancouver Island. There are reports a further 40,000 have escaped near Campbell River on Vancouver Island.

And Atlantic salmon appear to have spawned in three B.C. rivers.

"It's not a genetic problem," Hocking said. "It's more an ecological fish health problem."

Studies of the ecological problems have already been done, said Dave Conley, a spokesman for the commissioner's office.

"In the debate over the escape of farmed salmon, some have said that they would breed with wild Pacific salmon," Conley said. "Of course, that's not, scientifically, shown to be a possibility."

Conley could not say how much the report, released Wednesday, cost.

The office has not ordered a report on cross-species mingling, he said.

Report author Ray Peterson, an associate professor of animal breeding and genetics at the University of British Columbia, found gene flow between populations, wild or farm, helps maintain gene diversity and, therefore, species health.

Small escapes of farm fish into large, healthy stocks will have a short-term negative effect but long-term benefits, he said.

However, large escapes of farm fish into the wild "will likely cause a severe decline in fitness, in the short term."

Recovery is likely, but would take several generations and "the stock may not survive the initial flood," the report says.

Peterson did not define small and large escapes.

The concerns about the impact on native salmon prompted the British Columbia government to impose a moratorium on new salmon farms four years ago.

But earlier this month the moratorium was effectively lifted.

No new open-net fish farms will be allowed, and those that exist will be subject to stringent new regulations. But 10 new closed-containment farms will go ahead.

There has been less controversy on the East Coast, where the more robust Atlantic salmon are found in the wild.

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SUBJECT: ESA listing for Atl. Salmon

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999

From: Bill Mott
To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

This decision has major implications for salmon farming in Maine; the fireworks thus far are nothing compared to what will be coming...

__________________________________________________

Proposal to protect salmon criticized

By Robert Braile, Globe Correspondent, 10/15/99

Pleasing neither side in the issue, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt confirmed through a top assistant yesterday that he will seek to protect wild Atlantic salmon under one of America's toughest environmental laws, based on a federal report released last week by two Interior agencies which found that the once abundant species is near extinction.

''It is the intention of the agencies to propose a listing for Atlantic salmon under the Endangered Species Act,'' said Terry Garcia, assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere.

The report by biologists from the Interior Department's US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service found that, despite a two-year effort by Maine to save salmon on its own, the species continues to face threats from the growing, $60 million salmon aquaculture industry, whose cultivated fish are escaping, breeding with, and genetically disrupting, wild fish.

Also threatening salmon are water withdrawals, riverbank erosion, pollution, poaching, recreational and commercial fishing, and disease on the eight Downeast rivers at issue: the Dennys, Machias, East Machias, Narraguagus, Sheepscot, Pleasant, and Ducktrap, and Cove Brook. Several hundred thousand young salmon have been stocked yearly on some of the rivers since 1997. Only 29 were seen returning this year.

Finalizing the proposal could take over a year. But if finalized, salmon would be considered an endangered species, the most protective classification under the law. The federal government first proposed such protection in 1995, but as a threatened species, a weaker classification. It withdrew that proposal in 1997 in favor of a plan by Maine, which it now considers insufficient.

Maine Governor Angus King and US Senator Olympia Snowe, a Republican, lambasted the proposal as a ''betrayal,'' as King described it in an interview. Protecting salmon this way would cripple industries, especially aquaculture, that have provided jobs in economically depressed Washington County, where five of the rivers are located, they say.

Such protection ''would have disastrous consequences in Maine,'' said Snowe, who chairs the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries.

King and Snowe also said the proposal flies in the face of efforts the federal and state governments have made since 1995 to develop and implement Maine's plan, which they say is preferable to federal protection because it was devised collaboratively with many affected local participants. Deferring to such plans in species protection is a policy of the Clinton administration, which prefers such ''partnering.''

''If this is the way these folks treat partners, then I have to wonder whether I want to be one,'' King said, calling the Endangered Species Act ''the atomic bomb of environmental laws'' because of its ''intrusive'' habitat protection provisions. He said the state will try to convince Babbitt his decision was wrong, and if it cannot, will sue.

Babbitt's action has also left some environmentalists unsatisfied. Litigants in the suit against the federal government to win immediate protection for the salmon under emergency provisions of the Endangered Species Act fear Babbitt's approach will take too long to protect the species. The federal government is expected to file a legal brief in court today on the suit.

''Though it's heartening to see the agencies recognizing the salmon's dire straits, this proposal is too little, too late,'' said Charles Gauvin, president and chief executive of Trout Unlimited, a litigant. ''This is where we were in 1995, except that we're talking about endangered rather than threatened status now. But it could take 15 months for this to happen, and you don't need a crystal ball to see that Babbitt will likely not be secretary then, and this will be on the doorstep of a new administration. The agencies are punting.'' Garcia insisted that state and local interests will have every opportunity in the next year to have a say in whether salmon should be protected as an endangered species.

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SUBJECT: BC expected to allow expansion of salmon-farming operations

Date: Mon, 18 Oct 1999

From: Bill Mott
To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

This story ran on page B03 of the Boston Globe on 10/15/99.

Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.

Thanks to John Foss for passing along this news (from http://www.globeandmail.ca/offsite/National/19991018/UFISHN.html):

B.C. expected to allow expansion of salmon-farming operations Policy shift means more jobs for province's out-of-work fishermen

ROBERT MATAS
British Columbia Bureau
Monday, October 18, 1999

Vancouver -- British Columbia is expected to announce new rules this week for "farming" salmon along the West Coast that could mean hundreds of jobs for those put out of work by tough federal government measures to save wild salmon stocks.

The province clamped a moratorium on fish farms four years ago, backed by environmentalists' fears that fish that escape their farms take over fragile spawning grounds and spread diseases and parasites to the wild stock.

Although the moratorium will not be lifted, the B.C. government intends to allow more than 30 licences for fish farms that are not in use to be moved to more suitable locations.

The announcement, which could mean an increase of more than 25 per cent in fish-farming operations along the coast, will likely be accompanied by a commitment of funds for research on environmental problems posed by fish farming and a commitment to new standards to protect the environment, sources say.

The NDP government's decision to allow a significant expansion of salmon farming reflects a seismic shift in the psyche of the province.

B.C. has been closely aligned for decades with the rugged image of fishing for wild salmon. The image began to shift earlier during the nineties, as the value of farmed salmon in B.C. surpassed the value of wild salmon and salmon fishing turned into a highly emotional battleground among fishermen, the fishing industry and environmentalists.

"Wild Salmon Don't Do Drugs," says a popular bumper sticker on the West Coast. Fish farms pose a threat to the health of wild salmon stocks and the coastal waters, environmentalists say.

About 60,000 salmon escape from open pens annually. Aside from fears of the diseases and parasites these fish might spread, environmentalists are also concerned about pesticides and fish waste from the farms polluting coastal waters and about antibiotics in the farmed salmon.

Nevertheless, the NDP government has come under immense pressure lately to allow expansion of salmon farming operations, especially as coastal communities see salmon farming as a lifeline during the current economic downturn.

Hundreds of fishermen have been without work since the federal government bought back 50 per cent of the commercial fishing licences on the West Coast and former fisheries minister David Anderson closed down the lucrative salmon fishery in some areas of the province.

As well, just hours after his appointment, federal Fisheries Minister Herb Dhaliwal boldly called for the lifting of the province's ban on salmon farming.

The province currently has about 85 active fish farms, producing about 4.5 per cent of the world's supply of farmed salmon. With annual sales of $300-million, farmed salmon supports about 2,700 jobs and contributes more than $600-million to the province's gross domestic product.

A recent Western Economic Diversification study held out the prospect that growth in the industry could generate 20,000 new jobs, $900-million in capital investment and $1-billion in annual sales within a decade.

Activists who are against fish farming take a sliver of truth and blow it out of proportion, Mayor Russ Hellberg, from the north Vancouver Island city of Port Hardy, said in an interview yesterday. "Salmon is like any other crop," he said. "You have problems but they are controllable."

Mayor Jim Lornie of Campbell River said expansion of salmon farms would be a welcome bright spot for coastal communities hit hard by the downturn in the forest industry and restrictions on wild salmon fishing.

__________________________________________________



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SUBJECT: AK salmon and ESA

Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999

From: Bill Mott
Sergey Vakhrin , Tim Stearns , Bill Lazar , Christine Malaka , Jim Ratzlaff , Guido Rahr , Yutaka Okamoto , Glen Spain , Geoff Pampush
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

The Commerce Conference Committee is meeting today at 3pm. At issue is the Stevens' salmon rider to waive the Endangered Species Act for salmon in Alaska.

The Administration strongly opposes this rider, as does the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, Governor Locke (WA), and Governor Kitzhaber (OR). A furious letter of opposition from Locke & Kitzhaber was sent last Friday.

Please call the conferees and urge them to oppose Stevens' rider. (Capitol

Switchboard is 202/224-3121.)

House Conferees: Rogers, Kolbe, Taylor, Regula, Latham, Miller (FL), Wamp, Young, Serrano, Dixon, Mollohan, Roybal-Allard, Obey

Senate Conferees: Gregg, Stevens, Domenici, McConnell, Hutchison, Campbell, Cochran, Hollings, Inoyue, Lautenberg, Mikulski, Byrd

BACKGROUND:

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) is holding hostage millions of dollars in funds to implement the 1999 Pacific Salmon Treaty, as well as millions for state programs for salmon coastal habitat restoration. He says that if the Administration and States do not accept his rider then they will not get the money.

Stevens is trying to attach the rider under the guise of implementing the ten-year Pacific Salmon Treaty with Canada. Alaska Governor Tony Knowles has complained in letters that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

is late in finishing documents certifying that the treaty is in compliance with the Endangered Species Act. NMFS officials say the routine documents are just weeks away, but Stevens insists that a wholesale ESA exemption for

all listed salmon (and salmon listed in the future) is needed to protect the treaty.

At real issue is the Snake River hydropower system.

Most of the salmon caught in Alaska waters are not yet endangered or threatened. However, most salmon from Washington and Oregon are listed under the Endangered Species Act (or have gone extinct). Some endangered and threatened salmon from the Puget Sound and Columbia/Snake River areas in Washington and Oregon migrate north and are incidentally caught by Alaska fishermen.

Stevens' rider comes just as the Administration is deciding what to do with

the four dams on the lower Snake River. The dams have reduced the wild salmon on the Snake River by more than 90%. There have been rumors that the Administration intends to let the dams remain standing and eke out additional salmon protections by placing greater restrictions on Alaska fishermen and timber harvests instead. Stevens' rider is an attempt to shield Alaska fishermen from the dams with a wholesale waiver of the ESA.

Heather Weiner

Sr. Legislative Counsel

Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund (the artist formerly known as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund)
1625 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 702 Washington, D.C. 20036

(202)667-4500 x 204
(202)667-2356 (fax)

Check out our hot web page at http://www.earthjustice.org Also, go see the Endangered Species Coalition's new page at http://www.stopextinction.org

__________________________________________________



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SUBJECT: AK salmon numbers

Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999

From: Bill Mott
To: Jay Nelson , Sergey Vakhrin , Tim Stearns , Bill Lazar , Christine Malaka , Jim Ratzlaff , Guido Rahr , Yutaka Okamoto , Glen Spain , Geoff Pampush , Scott Highleyman , Vikki Spruill , Steve Ganey
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

fyi...from FIS: Alaska Landings

By the end of September Alaska's 1999 salmon harvest was practically over. As of 25 September a total of 430,000 tonnes had been harvested. This was 37% more than at the same point last year. This makes 1999 the largest harvest in recent years after that of 1995.

The species breakdown was pink salmon 227,562 tonnes, an increase of 34% compared with 1998, chum 89,893 tonne, up 21%, sockeye108,145 tonnes, up 86%, silver 9,846 tonnes, down 41%. and king salmon 2,076 tonnes, down 55%.

__________________________________________________



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SUBJECT: ISA Found in Wild Salmon

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

The following important info. (press release and research update (Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) now detected in aquaculture escapees and wild fish by Dr. Fred Whoriskey) comes thanks to Andy Goode and Muriel Ferguson at the Atlantic Salmon Federation. Geoff Pampush , Scott Highleyman , Vikki Spruill , Steve Ganey Geoff Pampush , Scott Highleyman , Vikki Spruill , Steve Ganey Geoff Pampush , Scott Highleyman , Vikki Spruill , Steve Ganey

__________________________________________________

GOVERNMENT ACTION IMPERATIVE

TO CONTROL FARMED SALMON IMPACTS

For immediate release October 21, 1999

Ottawa . "For the first time ever, Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA), a deadly disease found in farmed Atlantic salmon, has been found in wild Atlantic salmon," states Bill Taylor, President of the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF).

Mr. Taylor is in Ottawa, meeting with Department of Fisheries and Oceans Senior Officials, to urge the development of a comprehensive plan to safeguard fragile wild populations of Atlantic salmon. He is advocating that government take a leadership role in determining the impacts of farmed fish on wild populations.

Right now, ASF is doing the only research in North America on the interactions between farmed and wild Atlantic salmon. Wild Atlantic salmon are in a state of crisis. Populations in the ocean have plummetted to only 10% of what they were in 1975.

"The Federal and Provincial Governments must take leadership in the development of responsible aquaculture, Mr. Taylor says. "This discovery that wild Atlantic salmon can be infected with ISA drives home the need to maintain the highest standards of vigilance. Full management plans must include strong containment measures for aquaculture sites, in order to reduce the possibilities for disease transfer from farm-raised fish."

ASF researchers discovered that the wild Atlantic salmon were infected with the ISA virus while testing returning salmon as part of their Magaguadavic River research program to study the interactions between wild and farmed salmon. The Magaguadavic River, which flows into Passamaquoddy Bay, is situated near the centre of new Brunswicks aquaculture industry.

ASF is working with the local Magaguadavic River Salmon Association, the aquaculture industry, and federal and provincial governments to initiate a river recovery program. The program was to utilize 12 wild salmon collected from the Magaguadavic River for broodstock. ASF has now found out that eight of those 12 are infected with ISA.

The Atlantic Salmon Federation is an international, non-profit organization which promotes the conservation and wise management of the Atlantic salmon and its environment. ASF has a network of seven regional councils (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Maine and New England) which have a membership of more than 150 river associations and 40,000 volunteers. The regional councils cover the freshwater range of the Atlantic salmon in Canada and the United States.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Sue Scott, VP, Communications & Public Policy Or Muriel Ferguson, Manager, Public information

(506) 529-1033

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SUBJECT: Dr. Whoriskeys report: "Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) now detected in aquaculture escapees and wild fish"

Date: 11 October 1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse* 11 October 1999 Atlantic Salmon Federation Research and Environment Department Research Update

Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) now detected in aquaculture escapees and wild fish

11 October 1999

ASFs monitoring of the wild and escaped aquaculture salmon returning to New Brunswicks Magaguadavic River has confirmed that both escapees and wild fish are now infected with the ISA virus.

For the past several years ASF field teams have been systematically processing escapees and forwarding them to Provincial or Federal laboratories for disease screening.

In 1999, four of twenty-eight escapees whose disease screening has been completed have tested positive for the ISA virus. In addition, two wild fish collected for broodstock purposes have died from the disease.

Additional fish from the Magaguadavic, Bocabec and St. Croix Rivers have been forwarded to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans disease-testing laboratory. Data from them will help establish the prevalence and intensity of the infection. In addition, the remaining twelve wild Magaguadavic broodstock will be non-lethally sampled to see if they test positive for the disease.

The two ISA positive wild fish were held in ASFs broodstock building, which uses cool (8 C), brackish, well water. The use of the well water makes it highly unlikely that this water supply was the source of the infection. Thus, at least one wild fish was infected when it was brought in from the river.

The escapees that were tested were all killed as they were removed from the Magaguadavic fish ladder, sealed in an individual plastic bag, and forwarded on the same day to the disease-testing laboratory.

Diseases are a part of the natural world. What is different about the aquaculture industry is that the culture system (high density cages, sites close together) is very unnatural and provides ideal conditions for rapid transmission of a disease once an epidemic gets started. Given that many of the pathogens are waterborne, they can travel from one aquaculture site to another, and potentially infect wild animals in their path.

ISA is caused by an orthomyxovirus. This type of virus is capable of frequently changing. In salmon, it causes hemorrhages in the kidney and spleen, septicemia, agglutination of the red blood cells, and death. There is no known cure for infected fish.

ISA first hit the Norwegian salmon farming industry in 1984. Subsequently, the disease was detected in Canada (1996), and Scotland (1999).

The east coast Canadian epidemic began in August 1996. At this point, it was classified as Hemorrhagic Kidney Syndrome (HKS), until further work isolated and identified the ISA organism.

Initially, the disease was concentrated in Lime Kiln Bay, Bliss Harbor, and Seal Cove areas of New Brunswick. In an effort to contain it, the New Brunswick Government ordered the slaughter of about two million fish (roughly one-third of New Brunswicks annual production) housed in these areas. Farmers were compensated for their losses (about 16$ million Canadian), and the areas were required to lie fallow for at least six months in an attempt to break the disease cycle.

Despite these efforts, the disease has spread within the industry. It has now been detected from new sites on Deer Island (very close to the USA border and the concentration of US farms in Cobscook Bay), and Nova Scotia.

A vaccine against ISA was developed and first used in New Brunswick smolts that were sent to sea in Spring 1999. While there is no public reporting network in place, it is widely acknowledged that some sites which received immunized smolts in Spring 1999 are now testing positive for ISA.

Between April and July 1999, an additional 120,000 fish with a market value of approximately $1 million (Canadian) have been destroyed because of ISA (Telegraph Journal, 22 July 1999, p. A1).

The 1999 positive test results from both wild and aquaculture fish have major implications.

Firstly, they show that there are infected wild and diseased fish at liberty, which could be potentially acting as disease vectors. There are no contingency plans in place to cope with this threat.

Secondly, it documents the fact that wild fish are infected with the disease. There is no possible scenario under which this can be viewed as a positive development for wild fish, especially in light of the desperately low number of wild salmon returning to the rivers draining into the Bay of Fundy and to Northern Maine.

Thirdly, the wild fish that died were being collected as part of what was hoped to be a joint industry/stakeholder collaboration in a recovery program for the Magaguadavic and eventually other rivers. A number of local growers had indicated a possible interest in providing facilities to rear wild salmon strains for reintroduction to their home rivers as a boost to wild production. Given the ravages that ISA has caused to the industry, it is now questionable whether salmon growers will be willing to run the risk of infecting their own fish by rearing wild strains. Should they decline, and with the closure of the DFO hatchery system in the Canadian Maritime Provinces, wild populations could be cut off from any conservation-driven, hatchery support program.

Dr. Fred Whoriskey, Jr.
V. P. Research & Environment Muriel Ferguson
Manager, Public Information
Atlantic Salmon Federation
Fax: 506 529-4438 Phone: 506 529-1033

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SUBJECT: Upcoming aquaculture events

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999

From: Bill Mott
CC: ALLAN BERRY , JAMES SEMPLE
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Here are some events related to salmon and finfish farming scheduled between December and the end of May 2000. Please check out www.seaweb.org/campaigns/sac for events throughout the end of next year and please also advise me if you know of an event that the SeaWeb Aquaculture Clearinghouse should add to our web site. Thanks!

__________________________________________________

DECEMBER 1999

50th Northwest Fish Culture Conference

December 7-9
Renaissance Madison Hotel
Seattle, WA, USA

For more information, contact: Ray Brunson
Telephone: 360-753-9046
Fax: 360-752-9403
Email: Ray_Brunson@fws.gov

FEBRUARY

Aquaculture America 2000: "Unmasking the Marvels of Aquaculture"

February 2-5
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

The National Conference & Exposition of the World Aquaculture Society

For more information, go to: http://www.was.org/confer/neworleans/neworleans.htm

Conference on Aquaculture in the Third Millennium

Agenda for Action

21-26 February 2000, Bangkok, Thailand

The Network of Aquaculture Centres in the Asia-Pacific (NACA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are co-sponsoring the Conference on Aquaculture in the Third Millenium. The major focus will be on policy and planning with an emphasis on the social, technical and regulatory issues surrounding aquaculture development and aquaculture technologies. The conference will be a unique opportunity for participants to help shape the future direction of aquaculture development. The emphasis on audience participation in discussion groups will allow participants to

The updated prospectus on the conference and trade fair is available from the NACA website http://www.fisheries.go.th/naca or requested directly from the Conference Secretariat.

If you would like to be advised of further announcements regarding the conference via email, please reply to the Conference Secretariat at naca@fisheries.go.th. This service will be used infrequently

The Secretariat
Aquaculture in Millennium III
c/o NACA Headquarters
Fisheries Compound
Kasetsart Campus 10903
Jatujak, Bangkok, Thailand

e-mail: AquaMillennium
http://www.agri-aqua.ait.ac.th/naca/other/aqua2000.htm
http://naca.fisheries.go.th/Default.asp?WCI=File&ID=Conference/millennium/d

efault.htm

20th Anniversary - Milford Aquaculture Seminar will be held on February 28 - March 1, 2000

Quality Inn Conference Center

100 Pond Lily Avenue
New Haven, CT 06525
Phone: (203) 387-6651

For further info, contact: Walter Blogoslawski (203) 579 - 7035 or 7000

walter.blogoslawski@noaa.gov

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SUBJECT: Upcoming Workshops in 2000

Date: 20 Oct 1999

From: Bill Mott
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

April 6, 2000
Eastport, Maine

For further information, contact: Dr. Mike Opitz, Extension Veterinarian University of Maine Cooperative Extension

5735 Hitchner Hall, Rm. 105
Orono, ME 04469-5735
Phone: 207/581-2771
Fax: 207/581-2729
Email: mopitz@umext.maine.edu

MAY AQUA 2000 - "Responsible Aquaculture Development in the New Millennium"

The annual international conference of the World Aquaculture Soceity & European Aquaculture Society

May 2-6, 2000

The Acropolis Convention Center

Nice, France

For more information, contact: World Aquaculture Society

21710 7th Place West, Bothell
WA 98021 USA
Tel: +1-425-485-6682
Fax: +1-425-483-6319
E-mail: worldaqua@aol.com

European Aquaculture Society

Slijkensesteenweg 4, B - 8400 Oostende, Belgium

Tel: +32-59-32-38-59
Fax: +32-59-32-10-05
E-mail: eas@unicall.be

Also, some information available at: http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~booghe/eas/conf/aqua2000.htm

Aquaculture Canada 2000 - The 17th Meeting of the Aquaculture Association of Canada

May 28-31, 2000

Hotel Beausejour, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

For more information, contact: Dr. Andrew Boghen

Phone: 506-858-4321
Fax: 506-858-4541
Email: boghena@umoncton.ca

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SUBJECT: Nominations for Recovery Science Review Panel

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999

From: Bill Mott
To: Sergey Vakhrin , Tim Stearns , Bill Lazar , Christine Malaka , Jim Ratzlaff , Guido Rahr , Yutaka Okamoto , Glen Spain , Geoff Pampush , LeeAnne Tryon
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [I.D. 091799F]
Nominations for Recovery Science Review Panel To Guide Recovery Planning Process for Pacific Anadromous Salmonid Species

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of request for nominations.

---------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is ready to begin formal recovery planning for Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) of Pacific anadromous salmonid species listed as threatened or endangered species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The scope of this recovery planning effort will encompass listed ESUs in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. This notice is a solicitation for nominations to a Recovery Science Review Panel to guide the technical and scientific aspects of the recovery planning process and ensure its consistency and scientific credibility.

DATES: Nominations must be received on or before December 3, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Nominations should be sent to Office of Science and Technology, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 ATTN: Salmonid Recovery Panel.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: M. Elizabeth Clarke, Office of Science and Technology, NMFS, (301)713-2363.

[Federal Register: October 19, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 201)] [Notices]

[Page 56330]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr19oc99-36]

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SUBJECT: Interesting west coast perspective on east coast salmon

Date: Tue, 26 Oct 1999

From: Bill Mott
To: FishFarmRev CC: ALLAN BERRY , JAMES SEMPLE , Zdravka Tzankova
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Salmon in Maine are worse off than in the Pacific Northwest

by Ross Anderson Seattle Times staff reporter

COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine - By Pacific Northwest standards, the Pleasant River is not much of a river at all. It's more of a creek that gurgles out of the woods, past the blueberry fields, through this roadside village in eastern Maine and tumbles down into a coastal lagoon.

Yet the Pleasant River is about to go big time, joining Northwest rivers such as the Columbia and Snake on an environmental roster of dubious distinction - salmon runs on the endangered-species list.

Folks here remember when hundreds of oceangoing Atlantic salmon returned to this river each year, climbing the shallow falls to their spawning grounds upstream, luring sports fishermen from across the region.

Not any more. In recent years, the returns have dwindled to virtually nothing.

"It's been years since we had a real run," says Torrey Sheafe of the Downeast Salmon Federation, a citizens group whose tiny office is propped alongside the river here. "Fishermen don't even stop here any more."

The diagnosis is just as bad for the the nearby Machias, the Narraguagus and other rivers in rural eastern Maine. That's why, before the end of the year, the federal government plans to formally propose placing Atlantic salmon in seven Maine rivers on the list of endangered species.

"The trend is not good," says Terry Garcia, deputy director of the National Marine Fisheries Service in Washington, D.C.

If this all sounds familiar, it should. The environmentalists who formally asked for the Atlantic listing modeled their petition after appeals filed years ago by Northwest environmental groups. Maine and the New England states are just setting off on a scientific and political journey that the Pacific Northwest began years ago. And the route is no clearer in Maine than in Washington state.

Northeast decline began in 1800s

Geographically, the Northwest and Northeast corners of the nation present mirror images. Each is characterized by an intricate coastline and island archipelagoes, by deep, cold seas and glistening rivers and a long tradition of sports and commercial fishing.

Each geography lends itself to the romantic life cycle of the salmon, a fish that is born in freshwater rivers, migrates to the ocean where it feeds and grows, then returns to fresh water to spawn, or reproduce.

There is one fundamental difference. Pacific salmon lay eggs just once, and then die on the spawning grounds. Atlantic salmon return to the ocean for a year or more, and may spawn three or more times before dying.

Despite that biological advantage, the Atlantic salmon are in far worse shape than their Pacific cousins. The decline in New England probably began early in the 19th century and has continued for nearly 200 years.

Preliminary estimates indicate about 1,400 wild salmon returned to New England rivers from Maine to Connecticut this fall - down from an estimated 500,000 per year a century ago. A total of just 29 fish have been counted in the seven rivers to be listed.

Compared with those numbers, Puget Sound salmon are thriving. Some individual wild runs in Washington had 1,000 or more spawning fish this year. And the overall return this year will be in the hundreds of thousands - down from tens of millions a century ago.

The Atlantic runs are so depleted that some critics argue there is nothing left to rescue. After years of interbreeding with hatchery fish, the remaining salmon may have little genetic relationship to the fish that spawned there 200 years ago, they say.

Either way, there is a familiar list of suspected causes for the decline - dams and habitat, hatcheries and aquaculture, overfishing, natural predators, ocean conditions . . . and this complicates the debate over who, or what, is to blame.

"The main issue is dams," says David Carle, a former high-school history teacher and environmental activist who drafted the original petition that eventually forced the government to act. While there are no huge Grand Coulees or even Elwha dams in New England, there are hundreds or even thousands of small and largely obsolete dams along New England rivers. Most were built in the 19th century to turn the wheels of the Industrial Revolution.

Most have been abandoned and a few have been torn down. The 850-foot-long Edwards Dam on the Penobscot River was breached amid considerable fanfare in June. A smaller, 10-foot-high dam on the Pleasant River at Columbia Falls was removed in 1990.

But Garcia, the key federal official, argues that "dams are not a huge factor" in Maine. The real issue, he says, appears to be the commercial salmon farms which grow Atlantic salmon in floating pens along the coast.

But the aquaculture industry responds that wild-fish runs were in decline long before fish farms arrived on the scene. Don't point the finger at us, they say.

Others point to loss of habitat - coastal development or agriculture, including the thirsty blueberry farms that are burgeoning in eastern Maine.

Gov. Angus King, a political maverick elected as an independent, dismisses all of the above.

"My theory is seals," King says. Protected by the federal Marine Mammals Act, the Northeast seal population has exploded, and they are feasting on juvenile salmon, he says. "It's one of those things nobody wants to talk about."

"We may never reach a real conclusion," says Andy Rosenberg, a biologist and deputy director of the National Marine Fisheries Service who has studied the salmon collapse in Maine. "You have a combination of man-made and environmental factors at work, and how you weight them is always difficult."

Uncertainty over the biology makes for a foggy political landscape. Most elected officials, regardless of party, are opposed to the proposed Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing. But the issue in New England has far less political heft than it does in the Northwest.

That's the important difference between the two salmon issues, says Charles Gauvin, of Trout Unlimited, a national sports-fishing group that has advocated ESA listings in both regions.

In the Northwest, politicians are obligated to be pro-salmon, Gauvin says. Commercial fishermen and processors, treaty Indian tribes and thousands of sports anglers live or die by the health of the salmon runs. And even nonfishermen seem to understand that salmon define the region.

In New England, that hallowed position is held by the Maine lobster or the Northwoods moose, by the basketball Celtics or baseball Red Sox.

"In Maine, people will look at you point blank and say: 'Salmon are not really very important.' " Gauvin says. And, politically speaking, they're right.

As a result, while Pacific salmon have been thoroughly studied for many years, relatively little is known about their Atlantic cousins, he says.

The absence of a New England salmon fishery means there is no group of stakeholders to lobby for better management or research, he says. Scientists have not figured out how best to use hatcheries, how to deal with dams or how to protect wild runs from disease.

To complicate things further, efforts to rescue wild runs have collided head-on with a two fledgling industries - aquaculture and blueberry agriculture.

Blueberries, an emerging health food, grow well along this coast, providing much-needed income for rural farmers. But scientists fear berry fields draw too much water from the rivers and encroach on critical spawning habitat.

And salmon farms, which generate healthy jobs and sales in depressed coastal communities, are under increasing attack from environmentalists who believe that escaped fish transmit diseases and even interbreed with wild fish, which weakens the natural genetic pool.

So the listing will get a reception very unlike the Seattle press conference, where governors and mayors stood shoulder to shoulder with federal officials and declared "extinction is not an option."

In Maine, extinction may be deemed inevitable, even acceptable.

King, the governor, argues vehemently that the salmon in one river cannot be distinguished from the fish in the next.

"If they are truly a distinct species," he says, "then I'll guarantee that the Augusta mouse is a different species from the Bangor mouse, because they evolved in isolation from each other."

And if the fish in one river are indistinguishable from the fish in the next, that weakens the argument for listing them as endangered.

Given that fierce debate, federal authorities have been in no hurry to impose the ESA upon the political swing states of New England. The Clinton administration was reluctant to announce another listing, grumbles one environmentalist, until after the New Hampshire primary.

It is a safe guess that the ESA impacts, economic and political, have barely begun.

"Salmon are bound to cause conniptions on both coasts," says Gauvin, of Trout Unlimited. "They're complex critters that are exposed to man's perturbations in a variety of natural systems - freshwater and saltwater, shallow river and distant oceans.

"They're the ultimate challenge for fish managers, and now for politicians as well."

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SUBJECT: Salmon Hatchery issues

Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999

From: Bill Mott
To: FISHFARM CC: ALLAN BERRY , JAMES SEMPLE
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*

Although focused on Pacific salmon, this should be of interest to salmon interests on both coasts and comes thanks to Bill Bakke...

__________________________________________________

-------------Forwarded Message-----------------

From: Bill Bakke, INTERNET:bmbakke@teleport.com
Date: 10/27/99 12:27 PM
RE: Salmon Hatchery issues
TO: Power Council Members
FR: Bill Bakke, Native Fish Society
RE: Scientific studies on hatchery fish

The following studies note some important issues associated with hatchery propagation of salmon. I have provided the citation so you can obtain the complete studies.

____________________________________________________

1) Solazzi, M. et al. 1998. Development and Evaluation of Techniques to Rehabilitate Oregon Wild Salmonids. Final Report. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Sportfish and Wildlife Restoration Project, f125R.

Study 1. Evaluation of the STEP Hatchbox (Fry Release) Program

"...there is little evidence that egg to fry survival rates are limiting the adult production of most salmonid fishes. For salmonid species with extended freshwater rearing (coho, steelhead, cutthroat and some chinook stocks) factors other than egg to fry survival rate are probably more important in determining adult production levels....winter habitat may often be the limiting factor in the freshwater environment, especially for juvenile coho salmon."

2) Reisenbichler, R. R., and S.P. Rubin. 1999. Genetic changes from artificial propagation of Pacific salmon affect the productivity and viability of supplemented populations. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 56:459-466.

ABSTRACT

Although several studies have shown genetic differences between hatchery and wild anadromous Pacific salmon, none has provided compelling evidence that artificial propagation poses a genetic threat to conservation of naturally spawning populations. When the published studies and three studies in progress are considered collectively, however, they provide strong evidence that the fitness for natural spawning and rearing can be rapidly and substantially reduced by artificial propagation. This issue takes on great importance in the Pacific Northwest where supplementation of wild salmon populations with hatchery fish has been identified as an important tool for restoring these populations. Recognition of negative aspects may lead to restricted use of supplementation, and better conservation, better evaluation, and greater benefits when supplementation is used.

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Subject: Organic Salmon in Scotland

Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: FISHFARM


Copyright 1999 Times Newspapers Limited

The Times (London)

October 16, 1999, Saturday

SECTION: Features
LENGTH: 959 words
HEADLINE: Orkney's organic triumph
BYLINE: Simon Brooke

Simon Brooke admires the methods of a successful salmon farm

At first glance, Kirstie McCallum's fish farm is hardly noticeable among the starkly beautiful Orkney islands, dotted with tiny cottages and covered with grass and heather, blown flat by the unrelenting wind.

Here under the clear skies, between some of the bays and coves of the 80-odd islands that make up the Orkneys, are 78 large cages, surrounded by walkways and almost submerged by sea water. What is special about the Orkney Salmon Company, which has five fish farms spread across four islands, is that it claims to be the first fully organic fish venture in Britain. Its pale and delicately flavoured salmon is now available in shops and supermarkets nationwide.

Fish consumption has been rising slowly over the past ten years, mainly because of the association with healthy eating (fish is a useful source of essential fatty acids).

But just as salmon production has increased to meet demand - from just 13,000 tonnes in 1987 to 110,000 tonnes last year- so concerns have been expressed about the quality and wholesomeness of the fish being churned out. When Kirstie McCallum saw how the demand for organic food had risen by more than 20 per cent a year for the past two years she decided organic salmon might be the way forward. "At first, marketing salmon was very easy because it was quite rare but as production increased and it became a commodity things began to get more difficult," she says.

The first step was to produce Conservation Grade salmon - a sort of organic half-way house that pays particular attention to the environmental impact of production.

Then, in 1996, along with a supermarket and smokery, Ghillie and Glen in Aberdeen, she decided to try and take it one step further and work with the Soil Association to develop an organic standard.

Salmon at the farm are fed with special pellets containing fish meal - the by-product of fish prepared for human consumption rather than industrially produced fish meal, which uses considerably more fish. Added to this is shrimp shell, which adds colour and is a natural food source for the salmon, organic fish oil and organic wheat to bind it.

"The welfare of the fish is paramount," says McCallum, who lives on the farm with her husband Bruce and sons Hugh, eight, and Tom, six. "Organic farming is about looking after animals humanely. Our fish are happy. If they weren't they wouldn't thrive."

The density of many modern fish farm stocks means that they are prone to various diseases including sea lice - small parasites which get under the scales and suck the fish's blood. As a result, antibiotics are administered as a matter of course, as in many chicken and cattle farms.

The organic standard forbids such routine antibiotic use. Fish are stored at less than a third of the density of conventional farms and water can pour through the containers, washing away sea lice and replenishing stocks of other sea life. More space in the cages means that they do not get clogged up with slime and algae and have to be cleaned with chemicals. More sea life can also float through naturally for the salmon to feed on. Inevitably output has dropped during the changeover to the organic standard. Conventional fish farms produce 1,000 tonnes a year and there are plans for some farms to double that output.

McCallum's yield this year will be 200-250 tonnes but next year she plans to produce 600 tonnes."I could sell it all standing it on my head," said McCallum. "People are very interested in what they eat now and they care about where their food comes from."

Environmentalists have recently become concerned about the effects of this aquaculture revolution on the delicate ecosystem of the seas around Scotland.

"There are now over 50 million salmon being cultivated around the coast of Scotland which is more than ever before," says Jimmy Hepburn, a fish farmer for more than ten years who helped define the organic aquaculture policy.

"We are particularly concerned about the use of organophosphates like Dichlorvos," says a spokesman for the Pesticides Trust. "It is very dangerous to the marine environment and can damage all kinds of sea life from seaweed to other fish."

Last month the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) decided to look at the effects of the environment of large-scale intensive salmon farming. Professsor David Mackay, chairman of the Agency's Fish Farm Advisory Group, said that expansion of the industry might have to be put on hold while issues were discussed.

Intensive fish farming makes huge demands on the sea surrounding it: the water in one fish farm cage needs 20,000 times that area of sea water to sustain it - a huge ecological footprint. There is evidence that artificial nutrients and other chemicals washed into the sea are producing new types of toxic algae. Incidentally, that pink flesh is often the result of pigments fed to the fish. The most popular is astaxanthin which produces a deep pink hue.

In Canada genetically modified salmon have been produced which reach adult size in half the time of traditional fish. Stopping their growth has proved more tricky.

Controlled, sustainable farming is the only way to protect fish stocks says Jimmy Hepburn. "Two thirds of great fisheries are on the point of collapse. The oceans simply cannot produce any more fish. Just as people are questioning monoculture on land we have to think about establishing mixed sea farms with fish, shellfish and seaweed."

It is a view that Kirstie McCallum shares. "We're not out to exploit the environment. We are family businesses and it's important that they are sustainable so that our children can carry on."

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Subject: Salmon farming news stories from Maine

Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: Guido Rahr , Arthur Whiteley , Jim Ratzlaff , David Comb , Mike Weber , Mark Ritchie , Becky Goldburg , Teri Camery , Yutaka Okamoto , Kate Troll , Darlene Schanfald , Joan Harn , Jason Boehk , Gene Buck , Bill Mott ,

Two stories from Bangor Daily News follow - one on the latest salmon farm proposal in Maine and one on the ISA virus.

__________________________________________________

Copyright 1999 Bangor Daily News

BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE)

November 1, 1999 Monday

LENGTH: 1289 words
HEADLINE: Blue Hill fish farm opponents focus on science
BYLINE: Samantha Coit Of the NEWS Staff

BLUE HILL -- Opposition to the biggest salmon farm yet proposed for Blue Hill Bay emphasized cool science, not hot passion, last week as area residents aired their views during a six-hour public hearing.

Fish farmer Erick Swanson, representing Acadia Aquaculture Inc., wants the exclusive right to raise up to 400,000 Atlantic salmon on a 35-acre tract off the eastern shore of Long Island.

At a hearing Wednesday night, Swanson unveiled plans to apply for two more lease sites in the vicinity within the next year.

Some residents stood firm against the project at the hearing, which drew about 60 people.

But the tenor of the fish farming debate marked a shift from emotional and aesthetic arguments -- which surfaced when the first fish farm proposal came to town in March -- to detailed discussions about the science of the site's suitability, the effect of farmed fish on native Atlantic salmon populations, and how to prevent escape and outbreaks of disease.

The application comes on the heels of two state decisions nixing plans for Belfast-based Atlantic Salmon of Maine to raise more than a million Atlantic salmon on two nearby Blue Hill Bay sites: on the western side of Long Island and off Bartlett's Island.

Five partiesgained legal standing during the hearing on Swanson's plan to use an area covering about 1,000 feet by 1,400 feet off Dunhams Cove for 10 years.

Those who officially intervened -- the town of Blue Hill, Friends of Blue Hill Bay and private property owners Robert Slaven Jr., Donald Eley and Surry residents Hans and Laurel Huber -- took issue with the location, adequacy of mooring gear and the proposal's effect on recreation.

Swanson said his Trumpet Island salmon farm operation off Hardwood Island has tripled in fish production since 1993. He said he wants more pens not to increase production, but to improve husbandry by doing such things as separating classes of salmon by year.

The fish farming operation would span 1.7 acres of the 35-acre site. Mooring gear would occupy the remaining space, he said.

Employees would not use public facilities in town since fish feed would be transported to the site by boat. Fish would not be harvested on site, he said.

To deter predators, the site would employ protective netting.

An acoustic device would be used to keep seals away. Swanson said his current operation reported just one seal attack, in 1996, in which he estimated 18,000 salmon were killed or lost because seals chewed through a portion of netting.

Two people would work on the site at a time.

At harvest time, one or two vessels would come to the site every other day. Feed would be delivered to the site once a week.

From the shore, an onlooker would see a 20-foot-by-30-foot barge riding low in the water, a steel cage system, and support vessels. Only lighting required by the Army Corps of Engineers would be used at the site, except for emergencies. Sanitary facilities on the site would consist of a bucket.

As last week's meeting dragged on toward 1 a.m. Thursday, Swanson agreed to consider a list of conditions for the permit that would: buffer the noise of inboard engines; limit access at Seal Cove; develop a common navigational route for barges and vessels; limit noise to three hours a day; clean nets mostly by a drying method that makes less noise than pressure washing; consult with the National Park Service and the town of Blue Hill on noise, light, debris and other issues; and prohibit use of public facilitiesin Blue Hill.

Swanson said he would not accept conditions that include using only North American strains of salmon and paying allegedly overdue bills.

Speaking in favor of the proposed site, Carter Newell, a mussel biologist from Damariscotta, said net pens serve as artificial reefs that can enrich a site with more diversity.

But Andrew Goode of the Atlantic Salmon Federation said the site has the potential for acting as a vector for disease, and that Swanson's proposal includes no plan to clip the fins of the aquaculture salmon for identification.

In written testimony, Goode said the operation poses a direct threat to the Union River Atlantic salmon run, which now has an active Atlantic salmon restoration program.

Site suitability debated

A Department of Marine Resources site review demonstrated that water circulation and the levels of dissolved oxygen are lower than at other Maine sites.

The state's aquaculture environmental coordinator, Jon Lewis, called the ocean floor beneath the proposed site a "moonscape" that consists of little to no vegetation and soft sediments that indicate slow current. The conditions could contribute to an accumulation of feed and fecal matter under the pens, according to his report.

Lewis said the department's monitoring program would be able to detect changes in oxygen levels or accumulations of food and feces at the site.

The group Friends of Blue Hill Bay presented a study with oceanographer Neal Pettigrew, an associate professor of oceanography at the University of Maine who specializes in coastal circulation problems.

Pettigrew examined about 40 locations throughout the bay for temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen levels at depths extending to 40 meters, compared with the 15-meter depths considered by the Department of Marine Resources' site review.

"At 40 meters, we found a very significant decrease in oxygen," Pettigrew said.

Data collected from the proposed site are marked with variability, which would make the state's water quality standards unenforceable, Pettigrew said.

Oxygen levels at the site seasonally dip below the state's 85 percent threshold of dissolved oxygen necessary for a site to be considered suitable for fin fish aquaculture, and the eastern side of LongIsland is marked by an ambient variability, he said. It would take a "catastrophic lowering of dissolved oxygen levels" before it could be attributed to an aquaculture site, Pettigrew said.

"It would be very difficult for the DEP or anyone else to know conclusively what the effect has been," Pettigrew said.

"The Dunhams Cove site is a low-oxygen, low-flow site. Its measured oxygen levels are among the poorest found in the area southeast of Long Island.

"I do feel that it's a very problematic site because it's in the pathway of a low oxygen plume that happens every summer," Pettigrew said.

Long Island

The site proposed for Swanson's lease is 1,571 feet from the eastern coast of Long Island, which the National Park Service protected in 1995 by buying a $ 6.6 million conservation easement to keep 98 percent of the island "forever wild. "

The easement requires that the bulk of the island remain free from new structures, timber harvesting or commercial use. It is designed to protect the island's ecology and beauty, according to testimony from the Maine Coast Heritage Trust.

Part of the easement aims to "protect the appearance of shorefront property when viewed from the water or from other public viewpoints; and to provide for the continuation of traditional, resource-based, noncommercial recreational land use," the group's testimony says.

The park service cited concern about potential increased noise, debris, lighting and resulting intrusions to the visitor experience, and asked the Department of Marine Resources to make granting the permit conditional upon Swanson's agreeing to consult with the park service.

Friends of Acadia, a nonprofit conservation organization, opposed the project because of its proximity to Long Island and the $ 6 million conservation easement owned by Acadia National Park.

Copyright 1999 Bangor Daily News

BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE)

October 30, 1999 Saturday

LENGTH: 1190 words

HEADLINE: Virus found in wild salmon Maine aquaculture threatened

BYLINE: Mary Anne Clancy Of the NEWS Staff

The discovery of a deadly virus in wild salmon from a Canadian river is more bad news for Maine's wild Atlantic salmon and the state's $ 60 million salmon aquaculture industry.

Canadian researchers have confirmed that 10 wild salmon and four salmon that escaped from aquaculture pens near the Magaguadavic River in New Brunswick have tested positive for infectious salmon anemia.

Before that announcement on Oct. 21, ISA, which causes internal hemorrhaging in fish but doesn't harm humans, had been detected only in farmed Atlantic salmon.

The first report of ISA in wild salmon could also add more weight to a proposal by the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to list the Atlantic salmon in eight Maine rivers under the Endangered Species Act.

"It just puts another issue out there," said Chris Mantzaris, chief of the protected resources division for the Northeast Region of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the National Marine Fisheries services have identified the spread of disease from aquaculture operations as a chief concern in the effort to protect what they believe are the last remaining wild runs of Atlantic salmon in the United States.

The federal fish agencies first proposed listing the Maine salmon under the Endangered Species Act in 1995, but they withdrew that proposal in 1997 and accepted a state conservation plan to protect the fish.

On Oct. 13, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt announced that the services would reintroduce the proposal to list the fish from the Dennys, East Machias, Machias, Narraguagus, Pleasant, Sheepscot and Ducktrap rivers. Based on genetic studies conducted since the original 1995 proposal, the agencies added to the list Cove Brook, a tributary to the Penobscot River.

Mantzaris said Babbitt's decision was driven by a federal court deadline. Several national and state environmental agencies and two sportsmen's groups have sued the services in federal court, maintaining that the two fish agencies violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing Maine to develop its own plan to protect the fish.

"The lawsuit itself wasn't the problem," Mantzaris said, "but it did create a time line where we had to tell the court whether we were going to list the salmon. "

Mantzaris said the pressure of the court deadline was complicated by the fact that negotiations between the federal fish agencies and the state of Maine about the need for more regulation of Maine aquaculture essentially came to a stalemate earlier this fall.

The National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wanted regulations that would require salmon farmers to reinforce their cages and institute other practices to prevent aquaculture escapes. They also wanted restrictions on the use of salmon stocks or hybrid stocks of European salmon, he said.

The concern with European stocks is that escaping salmon could breed with wild salmon and the European strains would change the genetic makeup of the wild fish, he said.

The federal agencies asked the state to develop a time line for aquaculture operations to reinforce their cages and institute a monitoring process to assure that the reinforcements were preventing escapes. The state, represented by the Maine Department of Marine Resources, would not commit to a time line. Nor did they agree to report escapes, Mantzaris said.

Mantzaris said officials from the Washington office of the National Marine Fisheries Service called Gov. Angus King in an attempt to bring the state back to the negotiating table. Those efforts failed, he said.

The stalemate on aquaculture may have accelerated the decision to list the fish, but even if the federal agencies and Maine's aquaculture industry had been able to come to an agreement, the condition of the resource is just too serious to avoid listing, Mantzaris said.

Joseph McGonigle, the executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association, said there is no way that the industry can stop using European stocks or hybrids and remain competitive. The hybrids allow fish farmers to grow a salmon to 10 pounds in 22 months, he said.

Norway began developing those stocks in 1971, and what they produced are salmon that grow more quickly and are more disease-resistant, McGonigle said. In the mid-1980s, when Maine's industry was using North American salmon stocks, it took 26 to 28 months to grow a 7- or 8-pound salmon, he said.

McGonigle said the federal agencies have told the industry they'll have to move their salmon cages at least 12 miles from the mouths of the salmon rivers if the fish are listed under the Endangered Species Act. That would mean the end of the industry because there are very few sites that meet that criteria, McGonigle said.

He also disagreed with a federal description of Maine's salmon aquaculture industry as "greatly expanded. "

Most of the new lease applications are not expansions, he said.

The industry is moving to using three sites to raise fish. One would be used for smolts, another for fish that are between one and two years old and another would remain fallow, hesaid. That will help prevent the spread of disease in the event of an outbreak, McGonigle said.

McGonigle said there is no reason for the federal government to require the state to regulate salmon farmers. All Maine farmers are using reinforced cages, including seal nets to prevent escapes, he said. McGonigle said the industry resists the regulation because they consider it "bureaucratic intrusion. "

Mantzaris said the federal fish agencies have never said salmon farmers would have to move their cages in the event of a listing.

The fish agencies agreed to allow the industry to continue using some European stocks if they could assure that the cages were secure and agree to a monitoring program to prove it, he said.

"We know their fish are escaping because we're finding them in the rivers," Mantzaris said.

McGonigle theorized that "poor husbandry" played a role in the fish in the Magaguadavic River coming down with ISA. When fish are crowded or under stress, such as the stress that would result from climbing a fish ladder, they are more susceptible to disease, McGonigle said.

Mantzaris of the National Marine Fisheries Service agrees that stress plays a role. The organism that causes ISA may live in the water, he said. When fish are placed in cages, such as those used by fish farmers, they are under stress. Escapees from those operations could be infecting the wild fish, he said.

Initial problems with ISA surfaced in Norwegian salmon farms in 1984. In 1996, an ISA outbreak in New Brunswick led the Canadian government to order the destruction of two million farmed fish, almost a third of total production for the province. The Canadian government paid fish farmers approximately $ 16 million in Canadian dollars as compensation and ordered them to let their sites lay fallow for at least six months.

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Subject: President Clinton Announcement on Pacific Salmon

Date: Fri, 5 Nov 1999
From: Bill Mott
E-Mail Address:
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: Sergey Vakhrin , Tim Stearns , Bill Lazar , Christine Malaka , Jim Ratzlaff , Guido Rahr , Yutaka Okamoto , Glen Spain , Geoff Pampush

__________________________________________________

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary (Hermitage, Arkansas)

__________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release November 5, 1999

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN RADIO ACTUALITY

THE PRESIDENT: Today I announced the expansion of a wildlife refuge to protect the prime salmon habitat along the Columbia River. This supports our treaty with Canada to protect Pacific Coast salmon.

My budget proposes increases for salmon restoration, but Congress has provided only a fraction of the resources necessary to do the job. So, again, I call on Congress to provide the necessary resources to support this treaty, and to work with me on a budget process that observes our obligations and protects and preserves our environment.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore

Protecting Pacific Salmon

November 6, 1999

Today President Clinton announces a major expansion of a national wildlife refuge to protect prime salmon habitat along the Columbia River. While taking this step, the President criticized Congress for drastically cutting proposed funding to help protect salmon in the Pacific Northwest and to implement an historic Pacific Salmon Treaty between the U.S. and Canada in the Commerce, Justice, State appropriations bill. In addition, he called on Congress to fund his environmental budget priorities, including the historic Lands Legacy initiative, and drop anti-environmental riders that would put our dwindling salmon stocks further at risk and allow oil companies and other special interests to profit at the expense of public lands.

Taking Action to Protect Salmon: The Administration has worked with Senator Patty Murray to preserve the Hanford Reach along the Columbia River, the last free-flowing stretch of river between the Canadian border and the Pacific Ocean. Earlier this year, the Department of Energy (DOE) released a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on future management of DOE?s Hanford Site. DOE finalized the EIS last month and just this week issued its record of decision on the Site?s future land use. Today, the President announces that lands along the river will be added to the National Wildlife Refuge system. Under this announcement:

-- Management responsibility of 57,000 acres of sensitive lands will be transferred from DOE to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to protect wild salmon and preserve the important ecological, recreational, and cultural values of the area.

-- USFWS will manage the newly transferred land adjacent to the Columbia River as a part of the existing Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge.

Investing in Salmon Recovery.The President?s FY 2000 budget includes new funding priorities to help protect salmon in the Pacific Northwest: -- $100 million to support state, local and tribal efforts to recover coastal salmon runs -- $60 million to implement the historic Pacific Salmon Treaty to improve scientific cooperation, restore habitat, and enhance salmon stocks in U.S. and Canadian waters. -- $25 million increases for Federal efforts to protect this species.

Opposing Congressional Cuts in Salmon Protection. Unfortunately, Congress has drastically cut funding for these two programs and has proposed damaging anti-environmental riders that would hinder salmon protection. The Commerce, Justice, State conference bill currently provides only $50 million for the salmon recovery efforts, and $10 million for Treaty implementation, and an additional $2 million for endangered species protection, only a fraction of the needed funds for salmon stock protection. In addition, Congress has proposed riders that would exempt Alaskan salmon fisheries from the Endangered Species Act and would hamper our ability to manage important salmon stocks under the Pacific Salmon Treaty signed earlier this year.

Blocking Special Interest Giveaways. These salmon protections are not the only environmental safeguards on the congressional chopping block. Other budget bills would underfund the President?s historic Lands Legacy initiative and contain provisions that would allow special interests, like oil and mining companies, to profit at the expense of public land. The President today reiterates his opposition to these stealth attacks by Congress and calls on Congress to send him budget bills that adequately fund his environmental budget priorities with no anti-environmental riders.


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Subject: FoES PR - INTENSIVE SALMON FARMING:A FALSE

Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999
From: "Bill Mott"
E-Mail Address:
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: "Don Staniford" , "Allan Berry" , "James Semple" , "FishFarmReview"

This comes thanks to Don Staniford at FoE Scotland...

-----Original Message-----

From: "Lang Banks, FoE Scotland" To: press@foe-scotland.org.uk

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE USE: Monday 8th November 1999

INTENSIVE SALMON FARMING: A FALSE ECONOMY, SAYS FoE

Operators fall out over latest fish farming crisis

Friends of the Earth have questioned the findings of an industry-funded study launched today [1] in the wake of the Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA) crisis. The environment group described the findings as no more than "creative accounting" and further evidence of industry infighting between the two largest operators, Marine Harvest McConnell and Hydro Seafood [2].

Kevin Dunion, Director of Friends of the Earth, said: "Claims by the industry that it supports over 6,000 jobs are a red herring. Since 1989, production has increased by 400% but the number of companies involved in salmon production has decreased by 40%. Official government statistics show that the industry provides direct employment for less people than it did ten years ago and with ISA decimating the industry the current jobs total is even less. In the context of rising pollution and falling employment, intensive salmon farming in Scotland no longer makes ecological or economic sense." [3], [4], [5]

FoE pointed instead to the definitive Government study which demonstrated a "decline in employment in the 1990s", concentrated in the Highlands and Argyll where employment has dropped 20% between 1990 and 1997. [6]

"Marine Harvest McConnell is stretching credibility by claiming to support 1,400 jobs. With the industry operating at a financial loss, subsidised by the tax payer and the natural environment, it must be held to account.

"We are not against fish farming and welcome the contribution it has made to some of the most economically fragile areas of Scotland. However, we wish to see a truly sustainable Scottish industry. An intensive salmon farming industry which discharges untreated wastes directly into the sea, spreads disease and is controlled by foreign corporations is neither Scottish nor sustainable." [6]

FoE is calling on industry and government to support:

- organic fish farming and small-scale Scottish enterprises - diversification into other finfish and shellfish species - a reduction in stocking densities and the use of chemicals

- an increase in fallowing periods and separation distances between neighbouring farms - a move to land-based containment in tanks rather than open sea cages - waste water treatment and effluent control - Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment - a moratorium on the expansion of intensive salmon farming operations

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] Marine Harvest McConnell press release of November 9th: "Study shows Marine Harvest McConnell supports 1,400 jobs and pumps £20 million into the Highlands and Islands" (Enquiries: Alan Scott - 01667 462111).

[2] According to yesterday's Sunday Times, David Rackham, director of Hydro Seafood, admitted that "There's no doubt at all that we have inadvertently spread it [ISA] from our own operations. We sold smolts on to Marine Harvest McConnell and then they transferred this up to Shetland from their operation on Skye". 8 out of the 11 salmon farms confirmed by government scientists to have ISA are owned by Hydro Seafood. A further two were infected after introducing young salmon from a Hydro Seafood farm.

[3] Scottish Office statistics (Fisheries Research Services: Scottish Fish Farms - Annual Production Survey , 1997) show that in 1988, 1320 people were employed directly in salmon production, rising to 1491 in 1990, falling to 1355 in 1995 and 1295 in 1997. The recent job losses, including 150 by Hydro Seafood, will cut that figure even more. The number of companies engaged in production fell from 176 in 1989 to 104 in 1997 and the number of farms fell from 432 to 340. Since 1990, production has leapt from 30,000 to 120,000 tonnes fuelled by larger farm size and productivity increases (13.6 tonnes per person in 1988 to 76.6 in 1998). In 1992 only 3% of industry output came from sites producing more than 1000 tonnes but by 1997 this proportion had risen to 43%.

[4] The Scottish Environment Protection Agency's 'Annual Report and Accounts' for 1998-1999 report that "water pollution incidents" involving "pollution by fish farm effluent" leapt from 3 to 13 in the last year alone. In August this year, Professor David Mackay, SEPA North Director, warned that "for each tonne of salmon produced approximately 100kgs of nitrogenous compounds, for example ammonia, are released into the aqueous environment" (SEPA Board Paper: 85/99). SEPA is in the process of taking legal action against MMH for a breach of consent conditions for their salmon farm at Loch Hourn.

[5] "Nature's Subsidies to Shrimp and Salmon Farming" (1998), Science Vol 282, p883-884.

[6] The "Economic Impact of Scottish Salmon Farming" (March 1999), a Scottish Office 'Economic Research Paper', stated that "there has been a trend towards increasing foreign ownership, accounting for some 47% of salmon farming output in 1996" and a further "27% of companies are producing under contractual arrangements for another company". The report states: "However, the output produced under a contractual agreement is owned by the contracting company, and where the contracting company is under foreign ownership the corresponding revenue does not accrue to Scotland." Both Hydro Seafood and Marine Harvest McConnell are foreign-owned (by Norway and the Netherlands respectively) and together they account for "over one third of production". The report warns; "of concern to many in the industry is the increasing extent of foreign ownership." Foreign ownership in salmon farming dominates to such an extent that the 19 companies (including 6 in Shetland) represent 18% of all foreign companies operating in Scotland. It concludes: "Scotland is becoming attractive for Norwegian companies wishing to expand production for the EU market. With overall confidence so low in the Scottish industry, due to falling prices, this is a trend that looks set to continue".

For more information: Lang Banks on 0131 554 9977 or (pager) 07654 200937

----------------------------------------------------------

FROM THE COMPUTER OF: lang Banks - Press & Information Officer

Friends of the Earth Scotland, 72 Newhaven Rd, Edinburgh, EH6 5QG, UK

Tel: (44)+131-554-9977
Fax: (44)+131-554-8656

lbanks@foe-scotland.org.uk

pager: 07654 200937

Web: http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/


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Subject: Scotland: ISA spreads

Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999
From: "Bill Mott"
E-Mail Address:
Organization: *Ocean Awareness Campaign* and *SeaWeb Salmon Aquaculture Clearinghouse*
To: "James Semple" , "Allan Berry" , "FishFarmReview"

Copyright 1999 Aberdeen Press and Journal

Aberdeen Press and Journal

November 5, 1999

SECTION: Fishing: Salmon, Pg.1
LENGTH: 772 words
HEADLINE: Salmon farms facing a state of emergency
ISA spreads and infects wild fish
BYLINE: By Kim Munro

THE salmon industry was said to be close to a state of emergency last night after the confirmation of six new suspected cases of a killer fish disease - and the disturbing discovery of the virus in wild fish for the first time.

The Government has launched an urgent review of controls against Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA) while demands are intensifying for a moratorium on any new fish farms.

Scottish Fisheries Minister John Home Robertson announced yesterday that ISA was suspected on a further six salmon farms and tests had revealed the virus - but not the disease itself - in several types of wild fish.

The six farms are in Shetland at Burra, Gonfirth and on the east mainland coast, one in the south of Orkney and two in Loch Roag in the Western Isles. They bring the number of suspected ISA cases on farms to 24. It has been confirmed on a further 11 farms.

Mr Home Robertson said the disappointing news came towards the end of a year in which there had been few outbreaks, and in which restrictions had been lifted in some areas.

"As well as fulfilling our responsibility to impose controls on these farms, we are urgently considering the implication of this new evidence that the virus is present in wild fish," he said.

"That means we will be reviewing our current controls and will be taking stock of what action may be necessary in relation to wild fish."

He said one option was to learn from Norway and Canada, where the disease is contained rather than eradicated.

The minister stressed the disease had no implications for human health but acknowledged it had a devastating effect on fish farms. The disease is estimated to have cost the industry GBP 37million in 18 months.

The discovery of the virus in wild freshwater and marine species has alarmed fishing and environmental groups.

Sea trout in Laxo Voe, Shetland and the River Snizort in Skye are affected, along with eels in Loch Uisg on Mull.

Brown trout in the rivers Conan and Easaidh, Atlantic salmon par in the rivers Conan, Easaidh and Tweed, and rainbow trout in freshwater farms in Aberdeenshire and Kinross-shire are also harbouring the virus.

Officials admit they are unsure how significant these findings are but stress rainbow trout and sea trout, although carriers of the virus, have never been known to develop the disease.

The Salmon and Trout Association - which represents fishing interests - wants to see an immediate ban on the expansion of fish farming until more is known about the origin of the disease and how it spreads.

A spokesman said: "We are extremely concerned about this and the fact that ISA has been found in wild fish stocks. Wild fish supports many jobs in the rural economy - around 3,500 in Scotland - and a balance has to be made."

Environmental group Friends of the Earth warned that Scotland's fishing industry was close to a state of emergency.

Dr Richard Dixon, head of research, said: Scotland's fish-farming industry is now on a knife edge. The Government told us that it had beaten ISA - it hasn't. They told us ISA would not spread to wild fish - it has."

The latest news has added weight to the campaign for an improved funding aid package to help struggling salmon farmers.

Aid package

The Government has so far refused to compensate fish farmers who have to destroy stock to prevent the spread of the disease. It has offered a GBP 9million aid package available over three years but this needs to be matched by farms pound for pound.

Lord Lindsay, the chairman of the the Scottish Salmon Growers' Association, reinforced the need for the Government to work more closely with the salmon industry to alleviate the problem.

He said: "In order to safeguard the thousands of jobs that support fragile rural economies in the Highlands and Islands and maintain investor confidence, the Scottish Executive must review, with the utmost urgency, measures to manage the outbreaks of the virus and financial assistance to help the industry recover from the subsequent losses of unaffected stock and the acute repercussions for other parts of the industry."

David Sandison, general manager, of the Shetland Salmon Farmers Association, last night wanted to see the Norwegian example followed which accepts that the ISA virus is in the water and suspected fish being contained rather than eradicated.

He said: "I think we will possibly find that the Norwegian are right when they say you can't control the virus. They are as strict as Scotland on the fight against the disease, but they have a different set of rules when it comes to deal with the virus. Containment is the way forward."

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: November 6, 1999

Copyright 1999 The Scotsman Publications Ltd.

The Scotsman

November 5, 1999, Friday

SECTION: Pg. 1
LENGTH: 692 words
HEADLINE: FEARS FOR SALMON AS VIRUS SPREADS TO WILD
BYLINE: Ian Smith And Christopher Cairns

A DEADLY virus which has crippled Scotland's salmon farming industry has spread to the wild for the first time.

Scottish executive officials confirmed yesterday that infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) has been found in wild Scottish salmon, trout and eels in several locations.

Previously, the virus has been confined to farmed fish, but its spread threatens to decimate the wild population if it goes unchecked.

The ISA virus, which is not a threat to humans, has been detected in wild fish from several lochs and rivers. It can be carried by other species including rainbow trout and brown trout without developing the full-blown disease.

Last night, environmental campaigners and fish farmers accused the salmon farming industry and the government for failing to check the spread of the disease, saying officials were playing "Russian roulette" with fish stocks.

If the virus continues to spread, the implications could be devastating for Scotland's tourism industry. Angling is estimated to generate about GBP 400 million for the economy each year, a high proportion from salmon fishing.

Confirmation of the virus's spread came as John Home Robertson, the fisheries minister, announced that it had been found in six more salmon farms.

There are now 24 fish farms across the country which have been suspected of harbouring the disease and 11 in which outbreaks have been confirmed.

Under European law, fish infected with the virus have to be destroyed. The disease has cost the industry millions of pounds since it was first discovered 18 months ago.

Mr Home Robertson said: "Of course, we will be carrying out our usual investigations into the source of the infection on the new farms, but we are urgently considering the implications of this new evidence that the virus is present in wild fish."

Monitoring this summer has confirmed the ISA virus in several species in locations around the country including sea trout in Laxo Voe, Shetland, and the River Snizort in Skye. Eels in Loch Uisg, Mull, were also found to be carrying the virus.

Laboratory results indicate that the virus may also be present in brown trout in the Rivers Conon and Easaidh in Sutherland. Atlantic salmon in these rivers and the Tweed also show signs of the infection as do rainbow trout in freshwater farms in Aberdeenshire and in Kinross-shire.

Three of the new fish farms affected by ISA are in Shetland as well as the first ever cases in the Western Isles - two in Loch Roag, and one in Orkney.

Andrew Wallace, the director of the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards, accused the government and the fish farming industry of playing "Russian roulette" with wild salmon stocks. He said: "This news confirms our worst fears about diseases associated with salmon aquaculture and demonstrates, once again, the risks attached to intensive production of salmon in a relatively unregulated environment in which disease and parasites can be transferred easily from farmed to wild fish."

Dr Richard Dixon, head of research at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "Scotland's fish farming industry is now on a knife edge. The government told us that it had beaten ISA - it hasn't. They told us ISA would not spread to wild fish - it has.

"ISA