RISING SALMON GRADES

Behind the headlines about salmon lawsuits and draconian regulations, the aquaculture industry, regulators and environmental groups have slowly developed rules and practices that, when fully implemented, should position Maine salmon farms to be leaders in the industry. These efforts to encourage sustainable farming should be rewarded, by consumers willing to pay more for salmon raised under environmentally friendly conditions, by regulators willing to lessen scrutiny of companies with histories of compliance and by environmental groups willing to forgo lawsuits in favor of negotiation.

Maine’s progress is highlighted in a recent report on salmon aquaculture by two fish conservation groups. In 2003, the first year the Atlantic Salmon Federation and World Wildlife Fund released their progress report on salmon aquaculture, Maine received a score of just 0.5 out of 10. This year, the state was given a 7 out of a possible 10.

Andy Goode, vice president of U.S. programs for the Atlantic Salmon Federation, attributes much of Maine’s progress to a comprehensive discharge permit formulated by the Department of Environmental Protection. The permit covers not just water quality, but containment, fish health and ecosystem management as well. As a result, Maine got a perfect score for considering the cumulative impact of salmon farming on an entire ecosystem, not just the location of a specific farm.

On another contentious matter, the state got perfect marks for its containment plans and management. When federal regulators announced their decision to place Maine Atlantic salmon on the Endangered Species list, the potential mingling of wild and farmed fish was a top concern. At that time, it was not unusual for hundreds of farmed fish to escape during storms or other adverse events. In some rivers, farmed fish outnumbered wild salmon. As a result, each aquaculture company was required to develop a containment plan that met state and federal standards. Even before the state permit, salmon companies and several environmental groups, including ASF, worked together to develop standards for containment and other farming practices.

As a result of these measures, there was only one escape incident last year and it was quickly rectified.

Maine received low marks for allowing fish farms too close to rivers that are home to wild salmon and for allowing too many fish with a farm, which can allow disease and parasites to more easily spread. These are difficult problems to solve because fish farms are best located in areas of high tides and strong currents, thus limiting the number of potential sites. After a devastating outbreak of infectious salmon anemia that led to the slaughter of 2 million fish, fish farmers and regulators in Maine and neighboring New Brunswick are working on rules and practices that will minimize the spread of disease.

On top of more regulations and ISA, three aquaculture companies lost a lawsuit which required them to leave nearly half their sites in Maine empty for two years. Companies scaled back operations and laid off hundreds of people in Washington County.

Rebuilding the state’s salmon farming industry is not assured of success, but the regulations and agreements put in place in the last few years should increase the chances.