Biologist Alexandra Morton has found alarming evidence of drug-resistant sea lice on Nootka Island within sight of a local fish farm. And the young farmed salmon are being shipped across Vancouver Island to be processed on Quadra Island, posing a major threat to the Discovery Islands and the whole Georgia Strait.
In a 12-minute video on her blog, Morton and her assistants are seen collecting samples of sea lice just a few meters from a ship where the salmon are being processed -- and where sea lice are even clinging to the ship's hull.
Morton explains in the video that this fish farm used "Slice" (a drug against sea lice) in October. That should have reduced the population to near zero for several months. Instead, the population has remained high.
Moreover, the fish are then being trucked across Vancouver Island for further processing on Quadra Island. Morton quotes a DFO message stating that a 500-micron filter is keeping waste from the fish plant from contaminating the water. But her assistants dive 30 meters to film an open discharge pipe gushing "blood water."
Sampling the outflow shows live sea lice in the blood water.
"This Quadra Island plant is out of compliance," Morton told The Tyee. She's concerned that sea lice will easily migrate to the fish farms in the rest of the Discovery Islands. Their Slice-resistant descendants will kill the farm fish (as sea lice have done in Norway and Chile). Then they will form a lethal barrier to all the wild salmon runs between the mainland and Vancouver Island.
Morton told The Tyee that people working in the industry are now coming to her, "even though they're risking their jobs," instead of to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
"I called DFO and they said, 'No, the province is in the driver's seat.'" But she said the provincial authorities haven't answered her. "The provincial government is covering for Grieg Seafood," she added.
"People have to clamour for DFO to be released to fight this," Morton said. "If we admit sea lice into the Discovery Islands, it will be an expensive lesson."
Morton is scheduled to speak on this issue at the Ladner Community Centre, 4734 51st Street, at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 23.
Crawford Kilian is a contributing editor of The Tyee.
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Dan the socialist
2 years ago
I really do admire Alexandra
I really do admire Alexandra Morton and what she is trying to do but nothing will come of it. Too many sheep in this country who expect others to do the work for them instead of pulling up their socks and trying to help or change things themselves.
Society as we know it will be over within 50 years anyway. We are a greedy consumerist bunch and it will cause the end of us.
And in just over 3 years the Liberals will get in again and nothing will change. Business runs this province with help of the bias media and until people get off their lazy butts and do something of take to the streets or storm the parliament buildings, nothing at all will change.
The people will regret it once more cuts to education, health care, pensions start coming to pay for corporate tax breaks and the huge deficit and debt the BC and Federal governments have.
I really feel sorry for future generations.
Half of us don't even bother to vote anymore...
I really dunno what else to say but Baa! Baa! Baa!
Tbarnston
2 years ago
Wow Dan
What a typical leftist defeatist perspective.
As a member of the future generation you feel so sorry for, I would really appreciate if you would help us thin the herd by quietly putting yourself out to pasture. Your allotment of the world's resources, meager as it may be, can be utilitized much more effectively by someone else who actually gives a crap.
blackie
2 years ago
one-sided story
I don't expect anyone here to write positive stuff about fish farms -- but I do expect an attempt at objectivity in what passes for a news story. Was there no attempt to talk to the company? or the government? Or anyone else who can either confirm or deny Morton's "drug-resistant sea lice" angle?
I wouldn't take a fish farmer's word without checking it out; and I wouldn't take Morton's either. How about applying some journalistic standards here.
Tbarnston
2 years ago
Its the hook blackie
The hook is a blog, blackie. It is a place to bring to light leading issues before they become news. It is up to the reader to apply the critical thinking. Take it or leave it.
Illahie
2 years ago
Morton would not want you to know
That pink returns to the Broughton's has increased hugely since the introduction of fish farms. She would also not be happy to report that the multimillion dollar multi year research project that DFO did showed that fish farms had no impact on wild stocks.
Furthermore DFO found that there was no impact on juvenile Pink and Chum salmon smolts out migration in the Broughtons's because of the very low salinity of the Broughton's. Sea lice die at these salinities. Dead sea lice cannot cause problems. 90% of the Broughtons have salinities which will compromise sea lice in the spring smolt migration
Morton has now cried wolf far to often to DFO. Surprisingly to some, she has lost all credibility with the scientific community.
there have been reports of mutated sea lice in a distant ocean's far away from here.
Resistance is something that actually thats takes skills and technology to determine. Morton has neither.
Whiskey River
2 years ago
illahie/[EDITED. - MODERATOR.]
[EDITED. -MODERATOR.]
You are not a biologist,you are a registered government lobbyist.
[EDITED. -MODERATOR.]
You have written in your blog that the HST should be 15%....Along with more tax cuts to the wealthy.
You don`t care about Wild Salmon,you care about making money.
[EDITED. -MODERATOR.]
If your so concerned about fish farm expansion,write about it on your blog!
Oh yea,no one visits your blog, despite Vaughn Palmer giving your Blog a big plug in the Vancouver Sun just before the last BC Election...
Looks like even BC Liberal aren`t interested in your slop!
Whiskey River
2 years ago
Ooops
[EDITED. -MODERATOR.]
Write about Alien Fish Farm expansion on your blog if your so interested in it!
[EDITED. -MODERATOR.]
So drop the mask!
G West
2 years ago
Yeah [EDITED. -MODERATOR.]
And maye learn that the spelling is the BROUGHTON archipelago - not Broughton's!
Really, one shouldn't have to mention it but this has to be the 25th time you've made the same mistake
It's another dead giveaway that you're really here for the purpose of obfuscating, not educating.
Well done Alexandra