60 years of salmon study lead to a new report

The BC Pacific Salmon Foundation has just released a 600 page study into the Broughton Archipelago that provides a complete examination of the controversial waters that have seen farm fish proponents and wild salmon advocates square off over the years.

Dr. Isobel A. Pearsall, compiled the data from a number of sources from as far back as 1952, providing one of the most comprehensive examinations of the waters of the Broughton ecosystem.

The Daily News featured a report on the study in Tuesday’s paper.

Fish farm 'epicentre' subject of vast new study
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Pages one and three

A new comprehensive study has been released by the BC Pacific Salmon Foundation that claims to expose environmental conditions and other events in the Broughton Archipelago from the past almost-60 years.

The 600-page study, entitled Broughton Archipelago: A State of Knowledge, contains extensive data on salmon escapements, commercial salmon harvests, farmed salmon production, sea lice counts on wild and farmed salmon, climate and rainfall, river discharges, ocean currents, waste management and marine escapes, forest harvesting and watershed assessments.

The author of the study, Dr. Isobel A. Pearsall, pulled all of the data from a wide variety of government sources as well as from non-profit organizations, forest companies, fish farming companies and private individuals, going as far back as 1952.

As one of the most complex ecosystems in the province, the Broughton is a turbulent region of fjords, passages and mountains swept by winds, tides and currents, fed by numerous rivers and streams, said the report.

The ecologically sensitive area is host to a majority of the province's salmon farms and has been the epicentre of a multi-year debate around the environmental impact of those salmon farms, particularly their impact on wild pink salmon stocks.

"The BC Pacific Salmon Forum commissioned the study because it will serve public understanding and help stimulate good research, putting into the public domain as much information as possible on environmental and other forces that have shaped the Broughton," said John Fraser, chair of the BCPSF.

"It is also intended to provide a context for the forum's research program in the Broughton," said Fraser.

"We didn't ask the researcher to make a judgment on what has caused these fluctuations.

"We asked her to gather together data that would help everyone understand the complexities of the region and the multitude of factors that have, or may have, impacted wild salmon over the past five decades."