Fish farm losses explained

Canada: Stormy and cold weather blamed for unusual mortalities at Eastern Canada farm.

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Odd Grydeland

As previously reported in FishfarmingXpert, a group of anti-salmon farming “experts” had suspected that some dead fish from a Nova Scotia farm had suffered from disease, while the farm’s owners said all along that the losses were due to cold and rough weather. As a recent report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) explains, a provincial veterinarian is expected to confirm the company’s explanation for the losses as being caused by a cold weather episode- which is not unusual for the area;

A number of fish at the aquaculture facility in Owl’s Head, N.S., died because of a recent cold snap, says Snow Island Salmon Inc. The company could not say how many fish died.

The fish deaths have sparked concerns among residents who live in the area, but company manager Robert Taylor said the fish died because of the stormy weather over the past few weeks. “We’ve had a provincial veterinarian; she was out on the site on Thursday. She took samples of the fish and it’s consistent with what we reported. The fatalities are weather related. They will confirm it later this week,” he said. “[The fish] have cold water sores. They have net marks on them. When they touch the net and the water temperatures are cold it removes the protective layer and some of the fish continually bumped into the net and that caused their death."

Taylor said the dead fish were taken to a rendering plant. Snow Island Salmon Inc., is the Canadian subsidiary of Scottish aquaculture company Loch Duart Ltd.