INFORMATION BULLETIN
For Immediate Release 2002WLAP0124-000474 Feb. 28, 2002		Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries
FISH FARM COMPLIANCE IMPROVES IN 2001

NANAIMO – Fish farm inspections in 2001 showed operators had improved their overall compliance with regulations compared with the previous year, according to reports released today by the ministries of Water, Land and Air Protection and Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.

 

The Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection report covers 44 finfish farms, including at least one from each company operating in the province. Conservation officers and ministry staff checked that farms met provincial and federal standards for waste discharge and disposal of feed, sewage, dead fish, garbage, water with blood from fish harvesting and other waste; storage of hazardous materials; and licensing and use of firearms.

 

The report found compliance rates have increased due to improved management practices, installation of new or upgraded facilities, ministry inspections and investigations, discussions with industry, and implementation of the B.C. Salmon Farmers' Association code of practice.

 

Areas identified as needing improvement include net cleaning, disposal of footwear disinfectant, upgrades to facilities and employee training. Ministry staff will continue to perform compliance audits and investigate non-compliance.

 

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries staff inspected all 83 active fish farms during the 2001 inspection cycle. Inspectors used standards and guidelines brought in last year for escape prevention and response, record-keeping, net maintenance, general site operations and compliance with licensing terms and conditions.

 

Inspectors noted upgrades to containment systems, escape procedures, net quality and equipment design. Areas of concern included inconsistencies between approved management plans and actual operations. Those involved location of farms, volume of fish in pens, species of fish being farmed, and absence of written net maintenance records on site.

 

Inspection staff from both ministries have informed companies about areas of concern, and operators have been told to fix them. Firms failing to comply will face enforcement action, which may include warnings, violation tickets, fines or charges. 

 

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The Marine Salmon Farming Compliance Report is at httm://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/vir/cos/index.htm.

 

The 2nd Annual Inspection Report on Marine Finfish Aquaculture Sites is also on the Web at http://">www.agf.gov.bc.ca/fisheries/aqua_report/index.htm.

 

Contact:    

 

Alex Dabrowski, 250 387-9423

Communications

Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection

Victoria           

 

Dave Townsend, 250 356-5861

Communications

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries

Victoria

 

 

Visit the province's Web site at http://www.gov.bc.ca/ for online information and services.