Not only are salmon farms the cause of the outbreaks, but farm-lice infestation of young wild salmon can reduce entire salmon populations. On May 19, 2022, a sentence stating infection of young wild salmon “is influenced” by farm lice was crossed out and replaced with a sentence stating lice on young wild salmon “could not be explained” by farm-source sea lice. If this highly flawed document remains on the record, it can be used in court by the salmon farming industry against any future decision the minister might make to close salmon farms. The industry relied on CSAS reports to successfully challenge a previous decision to close salmon farms in 2020. Robert Chamberlin, Chair of the First Nation Wild Salmon AllianceAlexandra Morton, Independent Scientist

Source: CBC News February 11, 2023 13:58 UTC