Whistlerite Dave Brown had the chance to provide testimony about the effects of fish farming in B.C. to the federal Fisheries Standing Committee at hearings held last week in Campbell River.

Brown spoke on behalf of a local Fisheries Working Group about concerns on how fish farms are affecting B.C.’s wild salmon stocks, and the potential options to see fish farms continue while protecting wild salmon.

“This issue has been quite divisive,” Brown said on Monday (Nov. 22). “We feel there is a potential to have a positive outcome for both sides.”

The federal standing committee visited Campbell River, Powell River and Olympia, Wash. last week. The hearings were held on Nov. 15 and a dozen people testified, Brown said. Various viewpoints were represented, with those involved in the salmon farming industry also invited to speak, he added.

Brown, who is part of the local working group and also serves as co-chair of the Squamish Lillooet Sportfish Advisory Committee, said various stakeholders in the Sea to Sky started raising alarm bells after the collapse of the 2009 Fraser River sockeye run. The working group is made up of sport fishers, fishing guides, stream keepers, First Nations and concerned citizens.

The group came together after members of the sportfish advisory committee contacted Sea to Sky MP John Weston with their concerns. Weston relayed those comments to Ottawa and the group played a small role in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision last year to launch an inquiry into the decline of sockeye in the Fraser, called the Cohen Commission, Brown said.

Though last week’s hearings were separate from the Cohen Commission, the standing committee is preparing a report for federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea, Weston said on Tuesday (Nov. 23).

“Now it’s up to the committee to sift through the many different views that we received and create a report that will go to the minister,” he said.

The timing of the study is “important” with aquaculture moving under Provincial jurisdiction as of December, Weston added.

The standing committee’s trip was the first visit in 12 years to the federal riding that includes Whistler, Weston said. He’s been encouraging the committee members to put more emphasis on West Coast fisheries issues.

Much of the discussion at last week’s hearing dealt with the option of contained fish farms that protect wild fish from the farmed stocks, Brown said. Land-based tanks or contained water-based systems are both options, and the standing committee visited a few examples of closed-containment farms in B.C. and Wash.

It’s “important” to look into contained options so wild salmon aren’t exposed to sea lice or potential disease, Brown said.

“There are viable options,” he said.

While the record sockeye returns this year certainly made headlines, Brown said the chum run this year was “really bad.” Anecdotal evidence suggests only about 15 per cent of the typical chum numbers were seen in the Squamish river system this year, he said.

There are various theories why the sockeye did so well this year, Brown said, but the fact remains that the 2009 counts were way down.

On the Birkenhead River in Pemberton only about 50,000 sockeye were counted in 2009. Brown said runs as high as 300,000 have been seen on the Birkenhead in the last decade. A 2010 count provided by the Mount Currie Band was about 116,000, he said.

The local working group recognizes that fish farms weren’t the only reason for the sockeye collapse. But with so many ocean conditions out of human control, it’s important to do what’s possible to protect B.C.’s wild salmon, Brown said.

He also stressed that the working group isn’t a one-issue entity. Group members spearheaded a new salmon-viewing platform in Squamish and more projects are planned, Brown said.

“Wild salmon are important to everyone in B.C…. we have to do everything we can to protect them,” he said.