ALEXANDRA MORTON on the Virulence of Farmed Salmon /78

Collapsed Atlantic Salmon net pen near Cypress Island, PNW; Photo by Department of Natural Resources

This week’s episode centers around the devastating impacts of salmon farming on the Pacific coast of British Columbia.  This week’s guest, Alexandra Morton, is an expert in salmon farming and the viruses perpetuated by this destructive aquaculture practice– she has written 26 papers on the topic alone and is a leader in the movement to halt salmon farming off the coast of British Columbia.

Alexandra Morton

Salmon farms exist in calm ocean inlets, where overcrowded salmon are enclosed in netted areas about the size of 2 football fields. Below the nets, there are dead zones where the fish are essentially saturated in their own excrement and where water circulation and oxygen availability are limited. In order for farmed fish to maintain the appearance of salmon, because farmed salmon flesh will remain white in the absence of a rich wild diet, synthetic carotenoids are added to their feed so their flesh turns pink. As a result of forced enclosure, disease agents spread rapidly and farmed salmon must be regularly vaccinated. The greatest threat posed by enclosed salmon farms are these diseases that they foster and spread to the precious, remaining wild salmon.

Alexandra co-published the first scientific article about Piscine reovirus, a salmon virus that travelled from Norway to Canada when salmon farms were first introduced, and how the coverup is becoming an international scandal. Infected farm salmon from BC salmon farms, are continuing to impact wild salmon, who, if infected with this disease are too weak to swim upstream to spawn.

♫ Music featured in this episode is "B and Os Blues" by Eola and "On The Way Down" by Kite Lines (Ben Chace).

TAKE ACTION

In June 2018, British Columbia salmon farm tenures expires–

Please email premier@gov.bc.ca to respectfully request/demand that the Premiere of British Columbia do away with the Salmon Farms in the waters off the west coast of B.C. or move farmed salmon to contained holding tanks on land.

As well as contacting the Minister of Fisheries Canada at min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca to tell them that its un-acceptable to be introducing this Atlantic virus into the Pacific.

Alexandra is mounting numerous litigations against these huge corporations and she needs help with supporting her legal fees. Visit alexandramorton.ca to view her research and please consider donating to her cause.

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