Concerns raised by salmon group over discoveries of farmed fish in East Coast rivers

Concerns raised by salmon group over discoveries of farmed fish in East Coast rivers

Source: cbc

12/3/2021

$Michael Tutton$
Credit: Neville Crabbe/ASF

Federation says when domesticated salmon breed with wild fish, their offspring are less fit
A conservation group is sounding the alarm about the discovery of farmed salmon in East Coast rivers, citing research suggesting the potential interbreeding could damage the wild stocks' long-term health.

Two Atlantic salmon originally from aquaculture sites were among seven adult fish collected on Nova Scotia's Gaspereau River this year by the federal Fisheries Department, the Atlantic Salmon Federation said Friday in a news release.

The New Brunswick-based conservation group said it was the second year in a row — and the third time since 2017 — that escapees were removed from the Gaspereau River. The fish captured in Nova Scotia were being collected for a Fisheries Department hatchery, where populations of endangered Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon are maintained, the federation said.

The salmon federation cited studies over the past two decades indicating that when domesticated salmon breed with wild fish, their offspring are less fit, contributing to population decline.

A 2003 study published in a Royal Society journal found that farmed salmon in Ireland consistently showed lower freshwater and ocean survival compared to wild salmon and that hybrid salmon were weaker than wild salmon.