The escape of 30,000 salmon was one of the biggest for Marine Harvest Canada, the largest aquaculture business in the province. This escape has renewed First Nation, NDP and environmentalist calls for the industry to move to closed containers to raise fish and other marine species not native to Pacific coast waters. Clare Backman, spokesman for Marine Harvest Canada, opined that only a few hundred fish had been recaptured.
He also informed that the fish were disease- and antibiotic-free, posing no threat to wild salmon. It is said that on Tuesday July 1, employees at the 12-pen farm noticed that the corner of one pen was dipping into the water, allowing caged salmon to flee into the Strait of Georgia.
According to Backman the loss of the salmon estimated around four kilograms each worth $500,000. He also said that the company has been at the site, 30 kilometres north of Campbell River and adjacent to the mainland, for 10 years without incident. Backman blamed extreme tide variations for causing such massive escape of salmon. He predicted that the majority of the escapees would be eaten by seals and killer whales in the area.
Blaney disagreed with Backman saying that Atlantic salmon have increasingly been found in rivers in the area that are depleted of Pacific salmon stocks. Blaney fears the Atlantic salmon will acclimatize to the streams, permanently affecting Pacific stocks.
