Filed for publication with the Mirror
Dear Graham Auger,
Although you believe that there is plenty of scientific evidence proving that diseases in wild salmon exist as a result of salmon farming on the BC coast, I regret to tell you that you are just plain wrong.
Fact: Salmon smolt must be certified disease free by licensed veterinarians before being moved from fresh water closed containment hatcheries to the ocean farms.
Fish health on all farms is strictly monitored throughout the life of the fish.
This ensures that the exposure that fish face from common, local pathogens does not cause a health issue to either the farm stock, or the surrounding environment.
The film, Salmon Confidential that you cite as proof, is riddled with outright false and misleading information. While the producers of Salmon Confidential seem very passionate about wild salmon, the dogmatic rhetoric continues to be erroneous.
A blog exposing the false claims in the video (http://salmonconfidential.com/busting-the-myths/) is a must read for anyone that truly wishes to educate themselves, not just be exposed to the emotional and unfounded views that are expressed.
While the anti salmon farm lobby continues to tell you that the removal of salmon farms from our coast is necessary, real scientific evidence shows otherwise.
The Cohen Commission did not find Salmon Farms to be responsible for declines in Pacific stocks.
Energy and passion would perhaps be better spent trying to understand all of the issues affecting wild salmon, and not just focus erroneously on finding the bad guys and evil corporations, pointing fingers without knowing all the facts.
Tim Lelliott
Grieg Seafood
