Federal sea lice study becomes B.C. issue
Fisheries minister rejects opposition claims about withholding report on fish farms

Peter O'Neil
CanWest News Service

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

OTTAWA -- Federal Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan rejected opposition allegations Monday that his department is withholding potentially damaging information on British Columbia fish farms until after the May 17 B.C. provincial election.

"I can assure you that no one from the provincial government has asked for it to be delayed," Regan told The Vancouver Sun. "In fact, the department is reviewing and analysing the report. It doesn't wish to release it prematurely."

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced on March 22 it would make public "by mid-April" the final results of sea-lice tests on wild salmon in the Broughton Archipelago -- the location of more than two dozen fish farms.

The official public briefing has since been delayed until "later this month," and a DFO official rejected a media report saying the information is being deliberately withheld until after the provincial vote.

"The technical briefing could be held before or after May 17th, it depends on when the results and the scientists are available," Phil Jenkins wrote in an e-mail. "There is no relation between the timing of the technical briefing and the B.C. election."

But critics say the federal and B.C. Liberal governments, both strong promoters of the aquaculture industry, may be colluding for political reasons.

"The whole thing is rather suspicious," said Conservative MP John Cummins. "If this thing is delayed it may very well have something to do with the election, because it's a potential huge embarrassment, not only for the federal government but also the province, which has been so supportive of the industry."

Federal New Democratic Party MP Nathan Cullen also questioned the timing of the delay.

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell's Liberals have vowed to expand the fish-farm industry to northern B.C., with up to 18 new sites planned in the Skeena River system.

The provincial NDP and Green party have both said they will place a moratorium on new sites and then help the industry develop "closed containment" facilities that are less of a danger to the ocean ecosystem.

DFO, in a July 30, 2004 news release, announced the preliminary results of sea-lice tests on wild stocks showed an increase in sea lice infections on wild salmon last year. The release downplayed a possible link to the farms.

But internal documents obtained recently by The Vancouver Sun point to a possible fish farm link.

"Ongoing DFO fieldwork confirms earlier reports of substantially higher sea lice levels in the Broughton Archipelago in 2003 relative to 2004," states a September 2004 briefing note to Regan.

The documents said the predominant species of lice was Lepeophtheirus salmonis, most commonly found on farmed Atlantic salmon. A few months earlier, government and industry officials noted in 2003, the most common lice was more associated with wild salmon.

Environmentalists have for years alleged the farms are a breeding ground for parasites, which latch onto fish and feed on the mucous, skin and blood.