Are Atlantic Salmon being Impacted by Aquaculture?

News from the Atlantic Salmon Federation

ASF President Bill Taylor sets the record straight on the health of wild Atlantic salmon that migrate or spawn near salmon farms in this**letter that appeared in the Financial Post
http://asf.ca/news.php?id=570*
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This was in response to a letter that appeared in the same publication on September 4, from Ruth Salmon, Executive Director of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, who*said that salmon aquaculture posed*no threats to wild salmon.* http://asf.ca/news.php?id=571

This year?s good wild Atlantic salmon runs do not include rivers that are adjacent to the salmon aquaculture industries in the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick and the Conne River in southern Newfoundland.*

Map of proximity of Conne River to NL aquaculture industry
http://asf.ca/docs/uploads/nl-aquaculture2.pdf
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Map of proximity of inner Bay of Fundy and Magaguadavic River to NB aquaculture industry
http://asf.ca/docs/uploads/fundymap2010v3.pdf
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Sue Scott, ASF?s VP of Communications, hits the highlights in the latest Atlantic Salmon Journal on efforts to keep wild Atlantic salmon front and centre at this year?s North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization?s meetings, held in Quebec City:** http://asf.ca/docs/uploads/asj-nasco-fall2010.pdf
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As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gets closer to approving genetically modified salmon, ASF?s Todd Dupuis speaks out on the risks they could pose to wild Atlantic salmon.*
http://asf.ca/news.php?id=567

I went to a university that had many faculty that had an interest in wild atlantic salmon, and many were involved with various organizations and such. So being there and going to school there you pick up a lot of information. Think about it logically, if the aquaculture fish were all right and could be used the same as hatchery fish then stocking efforts would probably utilize the aquaculture industry, but alas they don't. States and organizations use fish that come from the wild, for spawning in their hatcheries. Other problems with hatchery fish is that they are able spawn with the wild populations, but they aren't exactly the same fish, many aquaculture fish can contract diseases that can decimate populations if they mix in. Fish may be more susceptible to certain diseases and then that gets passed on to the next generation. Keeping aquaculture fish in ocean pens in such high densities can be breeding grounds for diseases and sickness and if they get out again spread them to wild populations. Infectious Salmon Anemia is a big thing right now and if it shows up in aquaculture that whole group of farmed fish is supposed to be disposed of with out any of the waste going into ocean, but ISA is now showing up in wild fish ( the disease is often fatal and can cause massive die off in a population). There are other problems like the massive amounts of feed that are used to grow the fish is unsustainable, new genetically altered fish may become authorized for use soon and they often don't mix well with the wild fish as their offspring don't have good survivorship, aquaculture fish can be much more aggressive and most don't live as long as wild fish.