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Walter & Group...
>From Christopher Bassano on the farming of Atlantic salmon in Tasmania :
His first message :
HI Gordy,
I live in Tasmania and as does Peter Hayes.
I will have a good look at the YouTube video as soon as I find a computer that will do it!
I know that the Tasmanian Salmon Industry does not have the same problems with infections as our northern hemisphere counterparts. They are also very keen to keep it that way. Whenever there is talk of the importation of salmon, everyone here is up in arms as they believe the only way to keep those diseases out is to simply bring no fish here to start with. The industry is huge and brings a lot of money to the state. Every year we get a few seals destroying the nets, releasing tens of thousands of salmon into the sea / estuary. It brings on some brilliant fly fishing when chasing the sea trout!
I will look at the video in the next 24 hours and get back to you with my further thoughts.
Thanks again for the wonderful information your emails provide.
Christopher Bassano
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[GH] His next message :
Hi Gordy,
I have had the chance to look at the you tube segment re Salmon.
Firstly, Tasmania does not have a run of wild salmon. Salmon are not native to these waters.
I have been told that one reason why Salmon farms are so successful here is due to the fact that there are no diseases which affect the fish. This is why they fight so had to keep any foreign salmon from coming into Tasmania even once it has been processed.
We do have wonderful sea trout fishing and I see that they too were mentioned in the you tube segment. I love chasing them and spend many days on the water doing just that. So far, I have not noticed anything wrong with any fish I have seen. It is however worth keeping an eye on as the best rivers for sea trout all have salmon farms in the estuaries into which they flow! There could be a potential problem in the future and they are far too valuable to be affected by any form of disease.
That is my two bob's worth. Peter will no doubt watch the segment and give you his thoughts too.
If you or anyone else has any questions about the salmon or sea trout in these parts, please do not hesitate to ask.
Christopher Bassano
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[GH]
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Christopher,
Thanks.
A couple of questions :
1. Do they also farm or have hatcheries for the anadromous sea trout in Tasmania or Australia ?
2. Were the sea trout originally introduced from elsewhere ?
3. Are these sea trout anadromous brown trout ?
In view of the information on the video, it makes me wonder if the returning wild anadromous sea trout smolt are acquiring sea lice as they go past the salmon pens upon their return to the sea ..... or if that has even been studied as yet.
Best,
Gordy
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Hi Gordy,
1. They do have rainbow trout in some of the cages but not brown trout. We have escapes of those too and in one river, 'steal head' seem to be available but I am unsure as to whether these fish are simply 'over wintered' fish from the farms or if they are breeding in the wild. They certainly feed like the wild fish do as we do not fish for sea trout when they come up the rivers to spawn. We only chase them when they come up the rivers to feed on the white bait which is coming up to spawn. The sea trout then move into the estuaries feeding on the bait balls like tuna do. We leave the trout to spawn in peace.
2 / 3. The sea trout were introduced from the UK in the late 1800's. They were eggs brought mainly from loch Lomand and Loch Leven in Scotland as well as the southern rivers of England. They were hatched here and then released into the and lakes rivers. The fsih were not brought as 'sea trout' and 'non sea trout' but simply 'trout'. A sea trout population soon established and have been totally wild ever since.
Watching the video, there are real problems. I am well aware that any statistics can be shaped to show whatever you want them to, but that was quite daming and disturbing. As someone who has always wanted to visit that part of the world and is still planning to do so, it is very upsetting. Will it be there in ten years from now? How severe is it? It leaves me with so many questions - none of them good!
Christopher
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From Lewis Hinks (Atlantic Salmon Federation) :
Hi Gordy,
Interesting thread and one that I and ASF deal with on a constant basis. Atlantic salmon farms are indeed part of the issues we deal with in the Maritime provinces and in particular in the Inner Bay of Fundy area. This is where the majority of salmon farms are located. At its peak, the rivers of the Inner Bay of Fundy had runs of over 40,000 adult Atlantic salmon in total to all the rivers, 32 rivers in total. The current estimate for 2009 is <200 fish (in total). While it is difficult to draw a straight line from the aquaculture industry to this decline, many have their suspicions. There is no doubt that the industry is better now than in the early 1980's when it really got going, but many believe that was the time most of the damage was done. I worked in the aquaculture industry, for while in the 1980s and the controls are much tighter now than then.
Sea lice is an issue for many of our farms, and the lice appear to be developing a resistance to the current treatment. Interestingly enough, many salmon conservationists, myself included, initially believed that salmon farming would help wild salmon, by removing the demand for commercially caught fish. While this is still true, the aquaculture industry has a lot of work to do to be sustainable and eco-friendly.
I would suggest that if any of the group is interested in following this issue more, they can visit our website (asf.ca) and look under issues in the newsroom section as well as our education section, or they can contact me directly.
Gordy there is also a remarkably ugly person on the Live Release page on the ASF website, that you might recognize. Also, if you are interested under our Current News section is a recent radio interview I did on a major acid rain mitigation project we are conducting.
I am very curious as to the origin of the wild salmon your friend has at his fish market. THere is no commercial Atlantic salmon fishery in the Western Atlantic, but some in the Scandinavian area and off Ireland (I believe). Any chance of finding out where he gets his wild Atlantic salmon?
Cheers,
Lewis
Lewis Hinks, BSc.,
Regional Director, NS
Atlantic Salmon Federation (www.asf.ca)
P.O. Box 359, Chester, NS B0J 1J0
Ph/fax: 902-275-3407
Conservation for a Bright Future
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[GH] Lewis,
I'll find out and let you know.
Years ago, I remember natives actually selling At;antic salmon to customers at Kedgwik when we fished the Restegouche in New Brunswick. I have no idea whether this was legal at the time. We were told that they had been netted way down river.
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From Rich Knowles :
Hi Gordy and Group, Alexandra Morton has been getting the word out about this in Canada for quite some time. she runs an e-mail list and has a website.
http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/ She has fought hard to rid her country of Salmon Farms and is really holding politicians feet to the fire.
Cheers, Rich Knoles
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Dave Jacobson sends a link to Topher Browne's article on this subject :
Hey Gordy,
Great thanks for posting the YouTube link regarding aquaculture.
Topher Browne, one of our MCI’s, wrote a piece on the same subject a little while ago. Here is the link if you feel it be valuable.
Thanks again Gordy! See you in West Yellowstone
Dave Jacobson
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Bob Rumph answers my comment on developers who build on sensitive areas :
Hi Gordy & group,
Gordy you hit on a very personal peeve of mine when you mentioned developers who build in sensitive areas. Here in the Catskills we had rivers such as the West Branch of the Delaware full of wild trout located in somewhat of a wilderness area. The very same people who visit and fish the river because of the scenery and fisheries, for some unknown reason, feel they just must build a second home right on the river which, in my opinion, is a horrible intrusion on the river, trout and scenery. I just cannot imagine what these people are thinking. They are ruining the very place they once thought beautiful due to the solitude with mother nature at her finest. I imagine no one bothers to check to see just how many septic tanks it takes before their number makes it impossible to successfully prevent waste from entering the rivers. And to add to the problem, these people who up until they purchase land to build on, have been crossing private land for years to reach their fishing ground, upon purchasing the land, immediately post it to prevent other anglers from reaching theirs. How utterly absurd! For crying out loud, keep it off the river.
Ironically these are the same people who down the road will tell their children how good a fishery this once was.
Regards,
Bob Rumpf