Salmon farmers fighting back
Philip Round
The case for farmed salmon was put to Comox Valley Regional District directors this week.
Vincent Erenst, the managing director of Marine Harvest Canada, had sought a direct audience of directors because he considered arguments in favour of the industry were not being heard.
Most stories in the press were coming from opponents of the industry, he contended, and the fish farms of Vancouver Island were not getting a fair hearing.
He said Marine Harvest, which is based in Campbell River, operated in six countries internationally.
On Vancouver Island and the B.C. coast, it had 41 operational fish farms and two processing plants - the biggest being at Port Hardy.
On and around the Island the company employed 550 workers - 80 of them living in the Comox Valley - and between them they helped produce 38,000 tonnes of fish product a year.
That generated sales of $220 million annually, 70 per cent of that sum being export trade to the U.S.
But their products were also sold and enjoyed locally, he added, through businesses such as Superstore in Courtenay.
The industry had been attacked over sea lice issues, but he said the issue was taken very seriously and was being tackled vigorously.
He claimed the incidence of sea lice at the company's farms had dropped dramatically over the past four years.
It was now at the point where, when taken as an average, only one fish in every 13 had a single sea lice on it.
At that level, sampling showed that there were more sea lice on salmon in the Skeena - where there were no fish farms - than on salmon in farms in the Broughton area, he contended.
He acknowledged the industry needed to take additional steps to minimize any effect it had on wild salmon, and said it was working hard on further initiatives.
But he urged directors to recognize the importance of the industry in terms of jobs and trade to Vancouver Island, and its potential to grow further.
Regional district chair Fred Bates thanked Erenst for the presentation, but there was no discussion about the issue at Tuesday's meeting.
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