Mowi Canada West investigates fire and fish escape
Mowi Canada West is investigating after a fire broke out on Friday at the Robertson Island salmon farm located near Port Hardy, British Columbia.
“Divers investigating our Robertson Island farm pen damaged by a fire have confirmed most salmon in the pen escaped,” said Chris Read, communications manager for Mowi Canada West in a statement.
It is not known how many salmon escaped.
Investigation
“Those fish remaining in the pen have been secured and will be removed. The farm was being harvested last week, so most fish had already been removed from the pen. Approximately 21,000 remained at the time of the fire. Once all fish are removed the pen will be towed to land and an investigation undertaken to determine what caused the fire.”
The company added that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as well as the local First Nations was notified immediately.
“Mowi takes its responsibility to prevent escapes seriously, investing significantly in modern net pens, predator netting and other technologies to minimize the risk of fish getting loose. We apologize that this has occurred, and plan to issue an update once a cause has been determined.”
Phase out
Earlier this year sea net pens operated by Cooke Aquaculture collapsed in northwest Washington, USA. Thousands of Atlantic salmon escaped into local waterways. In response to the incident the state chose to phase out farming of Atlantic salmon by 2022.
The Canadian Government is currently working on a plan to phase out Atlantic salmon sea pens in British Columbia by 2025.
