Some B.C. fish farms to close or move in bid to help wild salmon recover
VICTORIA — All 17 fish farms in British Columbia’s Broughton Archipelago will either be closed or moved in an effort to create a migration path for wild salmon.
The agreement between the federal and provincial governments, First Nations and two fish farm companies, Marine Harvest Canada and Cermaq Canada, was announced Friday with a goal to protect and restore wild salmon.
Opponents to open-net pen fish farms in the Broughton Archipelago have conducted protests and occupations on some of the farms.
Experts and First Nations in the area have long complained the farms spread disease, viruses and sea lice, harming the wild juvenile salmon that migrate through the same waters. The B.C. Salmon Farmers Association has said there is no evidence that farmed salmon negatively impacts wild salmon.