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Following a video of a bloody fish effluent spilled in BC The province conducted an audit of fish processing plants and found that many of them were exploited in violation of the permits.
Of the 30 fish processing facilities inspected, 72% did not meet their licenses. Ministry of the Environment.
Although most offenses were administrative, some exceeded the authorized amount of authorized effluent volume, and others violated effluent quality and toxicity standards, according to George Heyman, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
These permits are decades old and obsolete with respect to technological and environmental standards, Heyman added, adding that the government did not conduct regular inspections
. The effluent affected the levels of oxygen in the water and the amount of light pbading through, which can be dangerous for fish populations, he said.
The e plan is to start working with facilities that process the largest volume of fish and begin a process of writing new conditions in permits that reflect current environmental standards and include the best available technology .
"We can not wait for a steep decline in health or salmon stocks. We have already seen a reduction, we want to build health and not see it further deteriorate, "said Heyman to Jason D & # 39; Souza from All Points West.
The video, shot by photographer Tavish Campbell in 2017, shows a continuous cloud of blood flowing from the dump to the Browns Bay Packing Company near Campbell River.
The BC Aquatic Health Sciences Center contracted to examine wastewater and fish for reovirus levels in swimming pools , which can be deadly for wild salmon stocks.
This virus is relatively new to researchers and was discovered in 2010 by Norwegian researchers. of a potentially fatal disease in fish that causes heart damage and organic bleeding.
"People were wondering if this would be a factor here in British Columbia. Said Jim Powell, author of the review and CEO of BC CAHS.
"When it was detected in the effluent water, of course, we had populations of wild salmon crossing areas where there are"
M. Powell said that because the pathogen has recently been identified, researchers are still struggling to discern its impact on fish populations.
He said that they were going to have to set up a wet lab. Controlled tests on fish to determine how this strain of pool reovirus affects wild stocks, a recommendation that the province supports.
"We should not use the ocean as a wet laboratory, we should do everything we can to apply the" We will work with them to see that the science that needs to be done is done. "
. 19659002] To hear the full interviews with Jim Powell and George He yman listen to audio below:
With records from All Points West
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