Dr. John Volpe, a U of A fisheries ecologist in the Faculty of Science, has just published a paper in the journal The Alaska Fishery Research Bulletin that outlines how he measured escaped farmed Atlantic salmon in a region of intense salmon farm activity.
Volpe and his research team recorded the number of Atlantic salmon caught by commercial salmon fishers for the entire 2000 commercial salmon fishing area in a region off northeastern Vancouver island. They broadcast requests 10 times daily on channels used by the commercial fishing fleet and visited all vessels within range of the research craft to gather samples and confirm radio reports.
During the 17 days of commercial fishing activity, Volpe recorded the capture of 10,826 Atlantic salmon by 249 different vessels. These figures are 40.8 per cent higher than the numbers published by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, says Volpe.
"The message coming out of fisheries and oceans is false," said Volpe. "Their numbers fly in the face of the data we found and these escapees are endangering other species."
In 1998, Volpe confirmed that Atlantic salmon, having escaped from B.C. salmon farms, had successfully reproduced in a Vancouver Island river. Multinational companies are capitalizing on a world-wide demand for salmon by growing Atlantics, deemed easier to farm than native Pacific species, in open-net cages along the B.C. coast. Young salmon are reared in fresh-water hatcheries and then moved to sea cages to be grown to market size.
That discovery came after assurances from the provincial and federal governments that the salmon wouldn't be able to escape and if they did, they wouldn't survive or reproduce, said Volpe. "The Pacific salmon is already at the edge, having faced such factors as loss of habitat, global warming and pollution. They now have one more insult that may be the straw on the camel's back. This is a very serious issue, not only for the species, but for the economy."
In Alaska alone, Pacific salmon are a crucial resource and are responsible for 47 per cent of the private sector jobs. While salmon farming is not permitted in Alaska, Atlantic salmon are clearly ranging considerable distances from their farms of origin, says Volpe.
Volpe is now launching a new initiative that calls for full reporting of captured Atlantics and that will allow his research team to access biological samples of these fish (www.escapedatlantics.com).
The U of A in Edmonton, Alberta is one of Canada's premier teaching and research universities serving more than 33,000 students with 6,000 faculty and staff. It continues to lead the country with the most 3M Teaching Fellows, Canada's only national award recognizing teaching excellence.