Anti-farmed salmon activists applaud Canada ruling on farm licenses

A federal court in Canada has struck down licensing rules allowing salmon farms to transfer diseased fish into open ocean net pens, awarding victory to environmentalists and noted salmon aquaculture opponent Alexandra Morton.

“This is a great day for wild salmon,” said Margot Venton, Ecojustice staff lawyer, who represented Morton, a biologist who filed the lawsuit in 2013. “The court has sent a clear message confirming the Department of Fisheries and Oceans duty to protect and conserve wild fish and the marine environment.”

Morton’s lawsuit argued that federal aquaculture licensing was inconsistent with the law protecting wild fish and the marine environment, allowing private companies like Marine Harvest Canada to make their own decisions regarding the transfer of fish from freshwater facilities to ocean pens. Morton and Ecojustice argued that fish carrying viruses may harm wild fish.

“In my view government has tried to perpetuate a dangerous myth that this disease is no threat to BC's wild salmon,” Morton wrote on her blog after the decision was announced on Wednesday. “Most BC farmed salmon are infected with piscine reovirus. Many scientists in Norway have published research showing that piscine reovirus (PRV) causes the disease, HSMI, which is known to damage salmon hearts to the point that fish can barely move.”

Morton and Ecojustice filed the lawsuit after PRV was found in fish held in Marine Harvest's Dalrymple hatchery, on the migration route of Fraser River sockeye. Justice Rennie ruled that the specific licensing regulation under examination is inconsistent with the broader protective regulatory pre-conditions. He declared the regulation invalid, awarding a four-month suspension of judgement to cover the upcoming salmon migrations.

Up to 120 licenses, due to expire at the end of the year, could be affected, according to the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans. In a statement, Marine Harvest said the decision provides the company “legal clarity,” confirming its right to “transport healthy salmon to and from its coastal BC operations.”

“There was no evidence that Marine Harvest transferred unhealthy fish,” the company said, adding that the decision removes two sub-conditions of the aquaculture license that were not relied upon for the company’s day-to-day business.

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