How do fish farming impacts compare to fishing?
Sea lice infestations are sufficiently damaging to both displace and exceed fishing. When sea-lice infestations began in the Broughton Archipelago, pink salmon populations collapsed and the commercial fishery was closed. Although the fishery remained closed, sea lice continued to drive the pink salmon toward extinction. Just north of the Broughton Archipelago, there are no salmon farms, no sea lice infestations, and the salmon populations continue to support commercial fishing. Doesn’t Canadian government research show there is no sea lice problem? No. Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists have not published an analysis of sea lice data that tests for the effect of salmon farms or the effect of sea lice on wild salmon population dynamics. They have shown that adult Pacific salmon returning to coastal waters are infected with sea lice and are probably the source of sea lice that infect farmed salmon. They have also shown that fallowing salmon farms is associated with improved ocean sur
