Sustain Our Sounds reply to “Salmon farm expansion plans”, Scoop, 8 June 2012

There are serious reasons behind lobby group, Sustain Our Sounds’ so-called “scaremongering” and it is disappointing to see New Zealand King Salmon has fallen to this low tactic of accusing us of this.

Is it scaremongering to warn the community about the potential risks of expanding salmon farming in the Marlborough Sounds? Are we supposed to sit back and accept King Salmon’s assurances about building another nine farms in the Sounds without questioning the negative effects on the environment? It is important to see what has gone so wrong overseas and learn from their mistakes. We are still in a position to avoid those mistakes and the negative effects.

King Salmon have been salmon farming for 25 years in the Sounds at five farms. Yet even at that level the company now has a biosecurity alert at its Waihinau Bay farm. Chief executive Grant Rosewarne says that in quarter of a century, the company has not had “one credible environmental issue being reported”. SOS says the unexplained death of tonnes of fish at Waihinau is an environmental issue, and it has been reported. What is causing the fish to die? What is New Zealand King Salmon going to do about it? We would like answers but King Salmon is still unable to give them, 5-6 months after the first fish started dying off.

We do not feel reassured that if there were 14 salmon farms in the Sounds and a similar unexplained event or disease broke out that King Salmon would be able to contain the situation. A decision to allow King Salmon and their Malaysian partners to expand in the Marlborough Sounds will affect everyone in the area if anything goes wrong.

We are concerned about the independence of experts cited by King Salmon. For instance, NIWA scientist Dr Andrew Forsythe was a salmon farmer for Marine Harvest, one of the biggest salmon farming companies in the world. And he has been reported as saying salmon farming was a wonderful opportunity for New Zealand [The Press, 30 April 2012]. Is this the statement of an independent expert?

Mr Rosewarne has said it is not valid to compare their operations with those in the Northern Hemisphere because King Salmon farms a different species (Chinook). But Chinook is indeed farmed in the Northern Hemisphere and there was an infectious disease-outbreak with Chinooks in British Columbia.

“Evidence surfaced December 15th at the Cohen Commission in Vancouver that Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) virus is present in Clayoquot Sound at Creative Salmon’s chinook salmon feedlots. A newly emerging deadly virus called Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation (HSMI) is also present in Creative’s farmed salmon” http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/717441/8f4c07fa18/281632219/88464f4f90/

There’s no doubt that King Salmon care for the immediate environment that their fish live in, but what about the adjacent water space and blind bays? No research has been done on this, so they cannot prove there has been no effect in those areas.

Photos on the SOS Facebook page show seafloor samples taken from recent diving trips: the black, lifeless sludge from near a salmon farm and the light-brown sand from an area away from a salmon farm.

King Salmon’s current five farms provide enough fish for the “food tourism” that Mr Rosewarne refers to. Nine more farms make a mockery of the District Plan rules established to protect the water space for all people to enjoy while fishing, scalloping, diving, swimming or simply dropping an anchor and soaking up the tranquility of the Sounds. These are the attractions that tourists want to pay for.

Sustain Our Sounds is not ‘determined to scuttle sustainable ecomonic growth for the top of the south’, but we are still waiting for evidence of how ‘sustainable’ these practices actually are. We also want to see what King Salmon plans to do when things go wrong, as they have in Waihinau Bay.

By refusing the King Salmon application, the EPA Board of Inquiry would help preserve the clean, clear waters of the Marlborough Sounds for future generations to enjoy. Let’s learn from salmon farming overseas, and not repeat their mistakes.

SCOTLAND : "Shame Below the Waves"

CANADA : "Shocking New Footage Reveals Devastation Beneath Salmon Farms”

NORWAY : "The Condition Under a Fish Farm in Norway: Leroy West" and also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHsOBQgmFnk

CHILE : http://www.tvn.cl/programas/fronteraazul/2011/index.aspx?id=127328

About Sustain Our Sounds:

• Sustain Our Sounds (SOS) is an incorporated society set up to oppose the further expansion of aquaculture into prohibited areas of the Marlborough Sounds.
• SOS believes salmon farming on this scale will pollute the clean waters of the Marlborough Sounds, damage fish habitat and affect public enjoyment of this unique landscape. It will impact on our tourism industry and clean, green image.

• SOS opposes recreational areas in the Marlborough Sounds being cordoned off for private profit. The New Zealand Government has brought in a fast-track planning process to make it easier for companies such as King Salmon to use our waters for aquaculture.

• SOS needs your financial support. We are a community group that relies heavily on the donated time and resources of our members. With your help we can present the evidence to the EPA Board of Inquiry to stop King Salmon’s expansion plans.

www.sustainoursounds.org.nz

ENDS

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