Question Period Note: Fish Escape

• Fish escaped a salmon farm near Port Hardy following a fire at the site on December 20, 2019.
• Most of the salmon were removed from the pens prior to the escape event, and the rest of the farm was harvested following the fire.
• It is widely believed that the escaped fish have been eaten by sea lions and other predators in the area.
• My Department takes any threat to the wild salmon populations seriously, which is why the Department is continuing to work with Mowi Canada and local First Nations to find the cause of this issue and prevent any such future occurrences.

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) received a report from Mowi Canada of an escape of farmed Atlantic salmon at their Robertson Island site near Port Hardy, following a recent fire at the site.
• A fire at the Robertson Island site on December 20 caused significant damage to the net pen structure and nets. An inspection of the nets by divers on December 21 revealed a breach of the structure and that the majority of the adult farmed fish in the pen escaped.
• According to Mowi, fish on the farm were being harvested this past week, therefore the majority of the fish had already been removed from the pens. There were approximately 21,000 salmon remaining in the pen at the time of the escape event.
• As per the company’s condition of licence, the reporting of the fish escape to DFO occurred within 24 of the discovery event.

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