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U.S. market chain wants salmon farm changes
Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun
Friday, May 13, 2005
B.C.'s salmon farming industry was hit Thursday by a fresh wave of bad publicity with revelations that the Albertsons supermarket chain in the U.S. "sees serious environmental problems" with the way the industry produces its fish.
In an April 6 letter to a salmon farming lobby group, Albertsons says it wants a number of changes, which, if adopted, could make it prohibitively expensive if not impossible for the industry to continue.
B.C. is North America's biggest-volume producer of farmed salmon and sells about 90 per cent of its annual output to grocers and other fish marketers in the United States.
Idaho-based Albertsons is one of the three largest grocery retailers in the U.S., with 2,300 stores in 31 states.
The letter was released by the New Democratic Party and was separately obtained by The Vancouver Sun.
B.C. salmon farming industry representatives said they were previously aware of it.
They said Albertsons's concerns are misplaced because salmon farmers are already making changes that should satisfy consumers that their production methods are environmentally responsible.
Environmental groups countered that the letter shows the industry is losing public support and won't recover without a complete makeover.
Provincial political parties also weighed in, with the Liberals blaming environmental lobbyists for Albertsons' letter and the NDP and the Green party saying it underscores the legitimacy of their election campaign promises to encourage wholesale reforms of the salmon-farming industry.
The letter was addressed to lobby group Salmon of the Americas, from Albertsons vice-president Jim Smits.
It reveals that the company has been encouraging salmon farmers since December 2003 to address a series of environmental problems and stated that it would "monitor the progress of the industry" towards solving them.
"Unfortunately, since then, the environmental problems of farmed salmon have become an even more conspicuous issue. Due to the values we hold as a food retail leader, we remain concerned about these problems," writes Smits, Albertsons group vice-president for fresh foods market.
The letter goes on to list five concerns, including a virtual rejection of the industry's traditional practice of raising fish in open-net pens in protected waters along the B.C. coast.
Instead, the grocery chain suggests "adopting technology that eliminates disease transfer and farmed salmon escapes so that wildlife is not harmed as a result of salmon farming."
That would likely mean changing to land-based "close containment" systems that would prevent escapes and potential transfers of sea lice to wild salmon.
The B.C. Salmon Farmers Association says closed containment is unproven, and rejects the call for a switch.
Albertsons also calls for elimination of antibiotics -- which are critical to fish health when a population is raised in close quarters.
Albertsons did not respond to The Vancouver Sun's request for an interview.
The NDP put the letter into general release Thursday, saying it shows that the Liberals are misguided in supporting the industry during the present provincial election campaign.
Salmon of the Americas (SOTA) executive director Alex Trent said the letter was a "rehash" of industry criticisms that had previously been expressed by the B.C.-based Canadian Alliance for Aquaculture Reform, a coalition of B.C. environmental groups opposed to salmon farming.
Trent said he was "a little taken aback" by Smits' letter, adding that SOTA is already working with Albertsons and other retailers to develop a quality certification program.
Mary Ellen Walling, executive director of B.C. Salmon Farmers, said the industry intends to continue a campaign demonstrating the safety and quality of its product and noted that U.S. demand for farmed salmon continues to outstrip supply.