Salmon farmer experienced mortalities in November.
Westerly News reports that Cermaq Canada lost 205,000 fish in total during a harmful algae bloom consisting of the species Chatocerous Convolutuson at three farms – Binns Island, Bawden Point and Ross Pass – located along the west coast of Vancouver Island.
At the time, a Cermaq Canada spokesperson told SalmonBusiness: “All three farms have been taking measures to reduce the risk for such events, but as the bloom is found also under the usual depths, some of our tools like algae skirts or bubble curtains are not effective.”
“We are seeing two particular types of algae in these regions – chaetoceros concavicornis and chaetoceros convolutes – which are both native to the Pacific Ocean. These particular algae have rigid “spines” that are harmful to fish when they come in contact with gills. Blooms are often associated with low dissolved oxygen events and warm ocean water temperatures and weather changes – all of which we are, or have been experiencing” explained Cermaq Canada Managing Director David Kiemele.
The publication said that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) confirmed to it that the harmful algae blooms near the sites in Tofino have now rescinded.
