Salmon farms spewing untreated bloodwater puts wild fish at risk: advocates | iNFOnews.ca
Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc fields questions as the Liberal cabinet meets in St. John's, N.L. on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. An international corporate watchdog says Leblanc needs to immediately stop fish farms from spewing untreated blood water into the ocean after their fish are processed. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Salmon farms spewing untreated bloodwater puts wild fish at risk: advocates

OTTAWA – An international corporate watchdog says Fisheries Minister Dominic Leblanc needs to immediately stop fish farms from spewing untreated blood water into the ocean after their fish are processed.

A video filmed by a B.C. photographer going viral this week shows clouds of red liquid billowing out of a pipe under the surface of the water.

Tavish Campbell, the photographer who made the video, says testing showed the blood-tainted water contained piscine reovirus which is deadly to wild salmon.

His video shows the bloodwater being released just a few hundred metres from a school of juvenile wild salmon and along one of the main migratory routes for Pacific wild salmon.

Sum of Us, a U.K.-based advocacy group targeting corporations it believes are acting unethically, launched a petition Wednesday calling on Leblanc to force companies to properly treat wastewater so there are no viruses or other pathogens that can harm wildlife.

Spokeswoman Emma Pullman said there are no regulations in Canada at either the provincial or federal level to control or monitor what is in the wastewater released into from fish farms and processing plants.

Blood Water: B.C.’s Dirty Salmon Farming Secret from Tavish Campbell on Vimeo.

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Taylor Rae

Before university, Taylor spent a year abroad living in Thailand which encouraged her to finish her degree studying in Turkey, both experiences have made her an avid traveller. Taylor graduated from Thompson Rivers University with a degree in Communications and Public Relations. Although born on the coast, Taylor has lived the majority of her life in Kamloops and enjoys what the region has to offer. In her spare time, you can find Taylor volunteering in the community or out on an adventure with her friends and her dogs.

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