The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Seafood giant sparks heated debate
Seafood titan advocates for reduction of environmental effects from aquaculture
John Risley says he just wanted to get people talking. And he succeeded. His latest Devil's Advocate column in Atlantic Business magazine focused on aquaculture and started with this headline: “John Risley calls for moratorium on ocean-based salmon farming.”
In it, Nova Scotia's bestknown former seafood mogul alleged farmed salmon is “a deadly enemy to (wild) salmon's survival” and “salmon farming, as currently practiced, is not sustainable.”
That's not a Green candidate talking but a billionaire who made a lot of money catching and selling fish.
There's more:
“The government's science community is increasingly concerned about the environmental costs of salmon aquaculture, as it is currently carried out on the south coast of Newfoundland (and for that matter the southwest coast of Nova Scotia and the south coast of New Brunswick.”
It didn't take long for Risley to hear from friends and foes.
“I've had calls from folks in the aquaculture industry who have been upset with me over the column,” he told Saltwire on Tuesday.
On social media sites like the Newfoundland Fishermen's Forum, comments tended to weigh against the aquaculture industry.
But just hours after the column was posted on the Atlantic Business website, it was pulled down. Editor Dawn Chafe said the magazine received calls accusing it of publishing false information.
“We are investigating it further,” she told Saltwire.
“We had some data that supported it but according to alternate sources, some of that data was incorrect. So, it requires deeper investigation.”
Chafe said later they decided to republish the column on the web with “some very slight changes.”
The printed version of the magazine has the original column.
Risley, meanwhile, said his main intent was to point out the need for more discussion on the potential environmental impacts of fish farming before adding more net pens to the water in Atlantic Canada.
He said he's not advocating for a shutdown of the industry.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Risley said no one can disregard the fact the industry is offering good jobs in rural communities and, in that respect, aquaculture is making a valuable contribution to the ocean economy.
However, before the industry is permitted to expand in areas like the south coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, there needs to be a better understanding of the potential environmental impacts and consensus among industry, science, environmental groups and regulators on how to mitigate them, he said.
“What I was trying to say, and maybe I didn't do a good job of doing this, is if the industry wants to continue to grow in Newfoundland and Labrador and operate more salmon farms, then it has to be seen in a different light than it's seen now. And that means being more responsible, not just one guy with a PHD telling another guy with a PHD that they're wrong and vice versa. That's
not helpful dialogue.”
The federal government started a process last year to review aquaculture rules and regulations across the country and develop a national Aquaculture Act. Risley says industry shouldn't have to wait for regulators to act.
Risley said that in calls with members of the aquaculture industry, he told them, “Look, you guys need to get ahead of this. If you want to be seen as a socially acceptable enterprise then get your message out . ... Don't wait for the regulators to find fault with you and impose rules to prevent that behaviour from taking place.
“Look at the regulations in Norway, where you've got a very sophisticated industry that's been around for longer than our industry. Why not proactively adopt the rules that govern that industry, and do so voluntarily?”
Risley said he's not in anyone's camp.
“I'm for responsible economic activity. I care a great deal about the environment, and I'm also very supportive of anything that will create jobs in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. God knows we need them. So, we can't just summarily shut the door here.
“We need to better understand the risks and we need to figure out what we can do to mitigate those risks so the industry can operate in an environmentally
responsible manner.”
INDUSTRY REACTION
The Atlantic Fish Farmers Association said Risley's column is full of errors and misleading statements, like his suggestion that wild salmon are in decline because of salmon aquaculture.
Executive director Sue Farquharson said salmon farming didn't cause wild salmon's decline but came about because of it. Canada developed hatcheries across the country starting a century ago to stock rivers with Atlantic salmon in an attempt to address declining stocks.
“The Atlantic Salmon Federation actually ran one of the first independent hatcheries and began mixing genetic stocks of wild salmon from various rivers (and countries) and throwing them in rivers in the region more than 50 years ago,” she said.
Risley also said farmed fish “get the cheapest protein-based diet, mostly soy based, to which is added fish meal and/or fish oil. Next time you see a piece of farmed salmon, check out the white lines running through the flesh . ... These are lines of fat which occur both as a function of the artificial diet and the difference in exercise for farmed fish versus its wild cousin.”
He also mentioned antibiotics fish get in feed. Farquharson's take: “Farmed salmon get their colour from their diet, which contains carotenoids. Carotenoids are natural compounds found in carrots, egg yolks and a wide variety of other foods; they are not ‘artificial.'”
She said that a very small percentage of farmed salmon are given antibiotics in a hatchery or farm site and that salmon get less than other food animals. Antibiotics are federally certified, she said, and are not present in adult marketsize fish upon harvest and processing according to Canadian Food Inspection Agency rules.
She also took issue with Risley's reference to superior Norwegian regulations.
“I would put our regulations up against Norway's any day.”
NET PENS DEBATE
Arguments over use of net pens in aquaculture is not limited to Atlantic Canada. Last year, Fisheries and Oceans Canada decided to ban net pen farming in British Columbia.
In a recent interview with Undercurrent News, a news agency focused on the seafood industry, a former salmon farming CEO predicted that before the end of this decade finfish aquaculture operations will use only closed-containment sea cages and land-based production.
Atle Eide, formerly with Marine Harvest (Mowi), said that to expand growth, the sector will require “new technology, new expertise, zero lice and zero escapes.”
Open-net pens will become more rare, he said.
“We probably won't have fully open, traditional net pens by 2030,” said Eide.
“Society's demands have shifted too much, and technological advances will make it profitable to change, I think.”