Resource: Speaking for the Salmon: Summit of Scientists on Aquaculture and the Protection of Wild Salmon

Authors / Publisher: Rick Routledge and Patricia Gallaugher, SFU and Craig Orr, Watershed Watch Salmon Society for Continuing Studies in Science, Simon Fraser University

Date: January 25-27, 2007

PDF: Speaking for the Salmon: Summit of Scientists on Aquaculture and the Protection of Wild Salmon

Summary:

The summit of scientists represented a think tank of natural science experts in salmon from Europe, Atlantic Canada and British Columbia. Over three days they engaged in dialogue about salmon farming and the protection of wild salmon on the BC coast and considered recent research conducted around the Broughton Archipelago and elsewhere. During their discussions, this team identified impact pathways, management tools, and research gaps and priorities for future research projects and potential collaborations, and assessed the risks for wild salmon in BC perceived to be associated with salmon farming industry. At the end of the workshop they produced a Statement of Agreement with regard to their risk assessment.

It was important that this workshop deal only with the science underlying current and future policy and decisions, separate from political and societal considerations. This does not mean that the latter are not important – but for the purposes of this workshop the focus was entirely on the known science related to the understanding of interactions between wild and farmed salmon. To address the concerns of both the local and international communities with respect to the impacts of aquaculture in the Broughton Archipelago, a special community public evening session was held. This provided a rare opportunity for the local community to exchange knowledge with a group of international scientists and collectively seek solutions to reduce the impacts of salmon farms on wild salmon.

Acknowledgements:

The conveners wish to thank the ‘Namgis First Nation, the Village of Alert Bay and the Inner Coast Natural Resource Centre for their support in making the workshop possible, and to the ‘Namgis First Nation for welcoming us into their territory and sharing their culture.

A heartfelt thank you is extended to all of the participants of the workshop, and sincere gratitude to Jamie Pepper for his assistance on-site, and to Brendan Connors and Stan Proboszcz for rapporteuring.

A special thank you to all members of the steering committee for their advice and commitment to understanding the aquaculture issue in the Broughton Archipelago, and especially Michael Berry for his help with on-site logistics. We also wish to express our sincere appreciation to Laurie Wood and Jennifer Penikett of Continuing Studies in Science, for their excellent planning and organization of the logistics for the workshop as well as their contribution to the preparation of this report.

The Consortium for Genomic Research on All Salmonids Project is gratefully acknowledged for their financial support.

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