Escape Prevention
Preventing the escape of farmed fish is a priority for the Fisheries and
Oceans Canada (DFO), provincial/territorial governments, the aquaculture
industry, commercial fishers and environmental advocacy groups. Escaped fish can
present risks to wild stocks, and with good quality management, can be
controlled.
Escaped farm fish can be a significant economic loss to the individual fish
farm operator. The goal of both governments and industry is to minimize escapes
to zero. While escape prevention and mitigation is a provincial regulatory
responsibility, DFO’s role is to use a variety of regulatory, monitoring and
scientific research tools to safeguard wild stocks and the marine or freshwater
environment.
Scientific information on the potential effects of escaped salmon indicates
there are presently low levels of interaction between farmed and wild fish,
either through competition for habitat and food or as predators. Escaped farmed
fish pose a low risk to the overall health of wild fish populations, provided
the number of escapes remains low relative to the number of wild fish with which
they interact.
Please visit the links below to learn more about what DFO is doing to ensure
that the aquaculture industry is managed in a responsible way.
Management Tools
There are a number of legislative, regulatory and licencing measures in
place to prevent farm fish escapes. Aquaculture operators are also bound by
industry codes of practice, both at the national and provincial level, aimed
at preventing escapes from occurring.
Escape Prevention Policy in British Columbia and
BC
Fisheries Act: Aquaculture Regulations
BC Salmon
Farmer’s Association Code of Practice
New Brunswick Salmon Growers Association’s Environmental Policy and Codes of
Practice
Monitoring
Atlantic Salmon
Watch Program – Joint Program between the Government of BC and DFO
Escape Statistics – Government of British Columbia (1987 - onward)
Collaborative
Monitoring between DFO and the Atlantic Salmon Federation in Atlantic Canada
Scientific Research
Below are links to federal and provincial research studies of the effects
on the marine and freshwater environment from escaped farmed fish.
DFO
First Nations Atlantic Salmon Watch Program – 2001 Results
Atlantic Salmon Watch Program 1997 Review
Atlantic Salmon Watch Program 1996 Review
Otolith (inner ear bone) analysis for determination of feral versus escapee
Atlantic salmon in British Columbia
Provincial
Escaped Farmed Salmon: A Threat to BC’s Wild Salmon?
Salmon Aquaculture Review (1997) – Government of British Columbia and
DFO
Technical Review of the Minimum Net Strength Standards (December 2001)
- Report to B.C. government and used in review of Aquaculture Regulation
and escape prevention regulation.
A
Comparison of Finfish Farming Regulatory Requirements in B.C. with Other
Jurisdictions; summary table available in
PDF version only
- Four key areas addressed by finfish regulators world-wide are escape
prevention farm siting; fish health; and waste management.
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