Transcript No Slide Title

Science Friction: The incredible story of
Atlantic salmon in British Columbia
John Volpe
Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
[email protected]
http://www.biology.ualberta.ca
1999 Production
46,738 tonnes dressed (capture fishery all spp. 30,200 t)
$347M farm gate (capture fishery$53M)
81% Atlantic salmon
Largest agricultural export product (77%) in BC - 4th largest
salmon producer in the world
Atlantic salmon in BC.
Why?
• Faster growth and feed conversion
• Docility
• Larger market
• Better price
• Knowledge base
1905 5.5 - 13.2 M eggs + alevins released in B.C.
Interspecific agonism (ST) 10 resistance factor
1934
Import of AS eggs for aquaculture
1984
1987
First capture of AS in B.C. waters
1991
First reported escape of AS
1995 SAR initiated
SAR
released
First Atlantic salmon research
on Pacific coast initiated
1997
????? 2002
0%
Revenue
loss
resulting
from
escaped
fish
Retention
of salmon
in net pens
100%
Cost of building / maintaining net pens
According to DFO’s ASWP 396,552 Atlantic salmon
have been reported as escaped 1991-2001
Escapes
• 0.5 – 1% of cage population lost via “leakage” (not reported)
Therefore in 1999
55,400 – 110,800 Atlantic salmon + (~443,200)
12,650 – 25,300 Chinook
+ (~101,200)
2,900 – 5,900 Coho
+ (~23,600)
sub-adults escaped in addition to the 35,730 reported
Atlantic salmon escapes.
• Only rough estimates of fish on
on hand
• Holes in nets a constant
problem
• Reporting of escapes is
voluntary
 Actual number of escapees per year = UNKNOWN
Recoveries
7833 Atlantic salmon reported captured in BC marine waters and
145 Atlantic salmon reported in BC fresh waters in 2000
Like escapes, recovery reports are voluntary. No work has
ever been conducted to evaluate the precision or accuracy
of these data – however it is widely accepted these
numbers do not represent reality.
Continued use of these
“estimates” sets a dangerous
precedent for reliance on
fictitious data.
Two major farm escapes in summer 2000
3500
3000
2500
2000
4500 Atlantic salmon escape in
Johnstone Straight
32,000 Atlantic salmon
escape in Sargeaunt's Pass
How many
captures if
there were no
openings?
1500
1000
Commercial fishing
season opens in Area 12
500
0
8/
1/
00
8/
3/
00
8/
5/
00
8/
7/
00
8/
9/
8/ 0 0
11
/
8/ 00
13
/0
8/ 0
15
/
8/ 00
17
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8/ 00
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/0
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27
/0
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Number of Atlantic salmon
reported captured
DFO’s passive ASWP = 7833 AS; All BC marine waters, whole year
Date
15 day active survey in only Area 12 = 10,826 AS (+41%)
•58 m channel
•Variable habitat
•30 females; 20 males
transplanted without
acclimatization
Spawning Chronology
Chum
Little Qualicum
Atlantic Salmon
Sockeye
Sept
Oct
Pink
Nov
Steelhead
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Coho
Chinook
Wild Atlantic salmon in native range
Apr
May
Tsitika River August 18 1998
0+
•
•
•
•
•
1+
Natural reproduction
Two year classes present (0+ & 1+)
~50 juveniles identified to date
Sympatric with strong steelhead population
0+ AS > ST (50%)
1+ AS >> ST (125%)
Feral Atlantic Salmon populations in Vancouver
Island Rivers
Port Hardy
Tsitika R. Eve R.
Amor de Cosmos Cr.
Campbell R.
Port
Alberni
<< 0.01% suitable habitat
surveyed
100 km
Nanaimo
Tofino
Victoria
Atlantic salmon have been
reported in 79 BC streams
and rivers
Atlantic salmon are
now part of the
terrestrial food web
via predation
What we know so far...
• 10’s - 100’s K escaping annually
• Significant marine survival
- commercial fisheries, Alaska fresh water captures
• Adults ascending all major drainages on Vancouver Island
• Production fish will spawn to produce viable
offspring and may do so during low native spawner density
• Feral progeny are capable of persisting with steelhead
But,
Why did historical AS introductions fail?
Wetted area:
2.2m x 0.6m x 0.9 m
Coarse river cobble
(19.4  5.6cm)
~ 10% replacement per
hour
Flow 0.85 ms-s
(4542.5 L min-1)
10 hp centrifugal pump
Water temp maintained
by a 240V, 60amp chiller
Clear Lexan viewing
windows
Natural prey provided by
a unique “upweller”
feeding system
Treatments
High Forage
4 AS
4 AS
4 ST
4 AS
4 AS
4 ST
• High / low forage
4 ST
4 AS
4 ST
4 ST
Response Variables
aAA aSA assembly
• Growth
Low Forage
4 AS
4 AS
4 ST
4 AS
4 AS
4 ST
4 ST
• Density
• Intra- / interspecies comp.
• Assembly of “community”
4 AS
• Foraging
• Agonism (action + result)
• Territory size
a = comp. coefficient (Δ g)
A = Atlantic salmon
aSS aAS S = Native Steelhead
4 ST
4 ST
ST engage in agonism 5:1 over AS
ST show intraspecific bias 2 : 1
AS show interspecific bias 2.2 : 1
Residents with 3 days prior residency
performed better than challengers under
all conditions
A significant “residency effect” was
observed in both species
Amor de Cosmos Cr.
Study Site
From Bear Lake (2km)
ST
Control Site (ST Only) ST
N
50 m
Small Falls
AS
ST
Experimental Site
(AS & ST)
To Straight of Georgia /
Inside Passage (~3km)
86.5 hrs behaviour data
•ST - ST aggression 11.8 x > ST - AS
•ST-ST aggression was significantly
higher with AS
•ST horizontal range on average 9 x > AS
•ST - ST aggression > 3x AS - AS;
but AS - ST aggression >2x ST - AS
Vertical Partitioning
Proportion > 10cm
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
Steelhead
Atlantic Salmon
75
**
10
50
5
**
25
0
Atlantic Steelhead
Salmon Experimental
Steelhead
Control
0
Foraging efficiency %
Foraging attempts per 5 min
Foraging
Atlantic salmon in Competition
- residency
+ residency
Perform well
relative to steelhead
Perform poorly
relative to steelhead
1905-1934: Very low likelihood of establishing prior
residency in Vancouver Island rivers
But,
Today: Vancouver Island steelhead populations are at
~ 10 - 20% of historical abundance

Potential for successful colonization is likely much
higher today than during historical intentional introductions
Inputs and outputs
“What are the impacts of salmon farming on the sea floor
below fish pens?
Salmon farms occupy a very small percentage
of BC coastal waters, so the habitat affected is also very small. If
placed side by side, all the salmon farm sea cages would occupy
only about 70 hectares, less space than the new runway at
Vancouver International Airport.”
BC Salmon Farmers Assoc. web page
TSS allocation for 4 Salmon
Farms Bremerton, WA
Seattle (830k people)
No Filtration & Sterilization
US$0
Filtration & Sterilization
(US$536M build
US$80M / yr.)
5.2 M lbs. feces

4 M lbs. TSS
Effects of effluent generated at BC’s 104 active farms is unknown
Dr. Arthur Whitely U. of Washington
Outputs
Antibiotics
Pass through the net cage intact or in feces
are ingested in low chronic doses by benthos
6.4 tonnes used in 1998
Effects: - generation of “superbugs”; transfer
across individuals possible, including to
humans
- significant alteration of sediment species
composition affecting nutrient cycling
Pesticides
Neurological disruptors used to control sea lice
Effects: - Lethal to crustaceans (zooplankton,
shrimp, crab etc.) and other fauna
including polychaetes and starfish
Irish farm company being sued
Copper
Toxic net treatments to kill fouling organisms
Effects: - Undetermined
Inputs
Organic
Salmon, unlike all other cultured “farm” animals (save shrimp)
are carnivorous – feed is 45% fishmeal and 25% fish oil.
2.8 kg wild fish to produce 1 kg farm fish
(equivalent by-catch)
 The marine area required to produce the feed consumed
in a salmon farm is 40,000 to 50,000 times the production area
The European industry (production leaders) consume the
equivalent of 90% of the North Sea’s 1o production
Naylor et al. 2000. Nature 405: 1017-1024
Herring; Mackerel; Anchoveta; Anchovy; Sardinella.
South American oceans being mined at tremendous rates to
satisfy northern hemisphere demand for fish meal in the
production of a luxury product.
Many of these fisheries are in a state of collapse forcing
commercial fishers to target species even lower in the food
web, further aggravating the problem.
Currently a salmon glut on world market. Commercial salmon
fishers must now catch more wild salmon to maintain historical
earnings
Outputs
The Product
Feed contaminated with
PCBs
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) - genotoxin / mutagen
Polybrominated biphenyl ethers (BPDE) - flame retardant
Organochlorine pesticides (OPs)
# of servings of BC farm salmon required to exceed WHO
guidelines: 1.5 / week
Easton et al. 2002. Chemosphere 46: 1053-1074
Inputs
Energy
Industrial Energy Inputs
per round tonne (litres of
diesel equivalent)
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
(tonnes of CO2 equivalent
per round tonne)1
Cultured Atlantic
2,612
6.5
Cultured Chinook
3,244
8.0
Captured Chinook
977
2.0
Captured Coho
1,144
2.9
Captured Sockeye
755
2.3
Captured Chum
665
2.0
Captured Pink
616
1.8
Tyedmers 2001. PhD Thesis, UBC
Food Production System
Edible Protein EROI
Seaweed culture (West Indies)
100%
Cultured carp (Indonesia)
94%
Wheat (USA)
41%
Purse seine fishery for salmon (B.C.)
18%
Groundfish trawl fishery (Washington State)
17%
Commercially caught pink salmon (B.C.)
14%
Commercially caught chum salmon (B.C.)
13%
Commercially caught sockeye salmon (B.C.)
11%
Turkey (USA)
7.7%
Milk (USA)
7.1%
Swine (USA)
5.6%
Commercial cod fishery (USA)
5%
Chicken (USA)
3.8%
Intensively cultured Atlantic salmon (B.C.)
3.3%
Intensively cultured chinook salmon (B.C.)
2.6%
Intensively cultured shrimp (Thailand)
1.4%
Beef (USA)
0.8%
Tyedmers 2001. PhD Thesis, UBC
Sea Lice
Sea lice are native however the density of farms may act
as bio-magnifiers of parasites and disease such that the
migratory habitat becomes saturated ie. pink smolt run
Pink salmon smolts
June 2001
“Nothing in biology makes sense
except in the light of evolution“
Theodosius Dobzhansky
Natural
Selection
“Normal curve”
Character Trait (e.g. Aggression)
Spawn
Escape
Farm
Low
Wild
Aggression
High
Second feral generation displays appropriate
levels of aggression - much greater performance
and survivorship.
Wild
Low
Aggression
High
Escapees selected for “wild type” behaviours and traits
Treatments for parasites and diseases “select” for resistant and
more virulent strains – passed back to wild populations
(Anti bacterial soaps - “97% effective”)
Processes are likely to change as fast, or faster, than we are
capable of describing them.......
Is there a plan?
How many escaped Atlantic salmon are too many?
What infestation rate of sea lice on native salmonids is too high?
How much industrial waste is too much?
Etc....etc.....etc.....
Is salmon aquaculture so different from other industrial activities
that threshold effects on the environment are unnecessary?
Principle 15 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (to
which Canada is a signatory) explains the precautionary principle as, "Where
there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty
shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent
environmental degradation."
1) all reasonable actions must be taken to protect the
environment
2) inherent to this statement is the understanding of
“reverse onus” - the burden of proof lies with industry
to satisfactorily demonstrate their activity is not detrimental
to the environment. The burden is not on the public to
demonstrate the opposite
Research Assistants
Chris Borkent
Rick Ferguson
Jeff Hopkins
Ian Jacobs
Megan Kaneen
Tye Lougheed
Steve Martin
Dan O’Neil
Emily Rubidge
Malcolm Wyeth
Dr. Brad R. Anholt - UVic Biology
Dr. Barry W. Glickman - UVic CEH
Gerry Horne - UVic Aquatics Facility
Funded by:
B.C. Habitat
Conservation
Trust Fund
B.C. Min.
Fisheries