01.08.2002 07:04 US - Alaska - BC - Escapee
Atlantic salmon caught in Alaska waters
Seattle (WA), USA: The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) confirmed
yesterday (Wednesday) that an Atlantic salmon was caught by a commercial purse
seiner in Chignik last week. The catch was more than 1,100 miles from the nearest salmon
farming site in British Columbia, making it the first in the state's waters this year and the
third-farthest sighting of an Atlantic salmon yet.
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<!--[if !vml]--> <!--[endif]-->Andy Thomson, director of the Department of Fisheries and
Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Atlantic Salmon Watch Programme, said that preliminary
identification seemed to indicate that the salmon was indeed Atlantic.
“It certainly does appear to be one from the photos,” Thomson said, though he
cautioned that identification was difficult from photographs. “It’s difficult to tell, but it
does look like an Atlantic salmon to me.”
The photos, obtained by IntraFish, show clear gill cover markings consistent with Atlantic
salmon, as well as worn tail fins characteristic of farmed salmon. Glen Oliver, a Pacific
Salmon Treaty research supervisor awaiting delivery of the fish to Juneau for further study,
concurred with Thomson.
“It looks like it’s been in a pen,” Oliver said. “It looks ‘farmy’.”
ADF&G, DFO will conduct independent studies
The ADF&G lab in Juneau is still awaiting the sample’s arrival, after which a series of tests
will be conducted on the salmon to confirm its identity and learn more about its tour in
Alaska. Among the tests, the department will test the stomach contents of the salmon, to
determine if the fish is competing with wild fish or preying on juvenile salmon.
“Most don’t have anything recognisable in their stomachs, but some have had prey
items in their stomachs,” Oliver said of past Atlantic salmon escapees.
Following ADF&G’s analyses, head, gonads and stomach remains of the Atlantic salmon
will be shipped to Thomson at DFO for further examination, including confirmation of its
farmed status – determined by studying a fish’s otolith markings.
Chignik makes five in 2002
Thomson said that Atlantic salmon recoveries aren’t too uncommon, with between 50
and 60 reported from Alaska each year. So far this season, the Chignik Atlantic is the first
reported to his department this season.
However according to Oliver, five Atlantic salmon have been recovered so far in Alaska
waters: from Copper River (the second in two years), Sitka, Petersburg, Ketchikan and
now Chignik. He added that for every Atlantic salmon caught and identified, several
more are likely to escape capture or identification.
“There’s a lot of people who can’t tell a coho from a king,” Oliver said. “They get an
Atlantic, they might think they have a steelhead or a king, so there’s likely several more
than ended up in people’s pans.”
Chignik, Bering Sea within farmed escapee range
Atlantic salmon have been recovered even further away than Chignik. In 1993, a farmed
escapee was recovered from the Shumigan Islands, southwest of Chignik, and in 1997 a
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) sampling trawler recovered an Atlantic salmon
in the Bering Sea. Oliver says the species’ range could theoretically be even further.
“It’s not uncommon,” Oliver said of thousand-plus mile migrations. “It’s well within their
range.”
Oliver adds that among the department’s concerns with the recoveries is the number of
fish being recovered in freshwater – an indication that the Atlantics are heading towards
spawning grounds.
Political tension mounting
On nearly every political level, the state of Alaska has been putting political pressure on
BC to curb their escapes, and has openly opposed the expansion of fish farming in the
province. In response to the increasing threat, ADF&G recently began drafting an
invasive species plan to combat and eradicate escaped Atlantic salmon.
“We’ve tried to make it [a political issue],” Oliver said of fish farm escapes. “We don’t
seem to be able to get much traction.”
Odd Grydeland, president of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, said the threat posed
by farmed salmon was mainly one to the market, with such concerns - as opposed to
sound environmental science - driving political pressure. He added that the most recent
escape probably wouldn't affect plans to lift the province’s moratorium on new finfish,
slated now for this September.
“I don’t think it will make much difference in the direction the provincial government
here is going to take,” Grydeland said of the capture.
Read also:Alaska plans to eliminate invasive species; Atlantic salmon tops list (11.07.2002)
Drew Cherry, IntraFish