2012 reporting escapes for farmed fish
Information on escapes is collected by:
- provinces in:
- Nova Scotia (NS)
- New Brunswick (NB)
- Newfoundland and Labrador (NL)
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada under the Pacific Aquaculture Regulations in British Columbia (BC)
There are no marine net-pens in Quebec (QC) or Prince Edward Island (PEI).
The number of escapes is based on best estimates. Exact numbers are often difficult to obtain and can sometimes only be verified when fish are harvested.
The average size of fish is based on codes of containment and is a more accurate measurement than life stage.
The result refers to using recapture methods as detailed in the relevant code of containment and summarizes the results of the recapture attempt.
Date of escape information has been collected since 2011 in BC and since 2013 in the Atlantic provinces.
| Species | Number | Average size of fish | Location | Result | Cause of escape | Date of escape |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlantic salmon |
More than 100 fish |
5.1 kg |
Seeley’s Cove, NB |
No recapture attempt |
Net failure; hole in net pen |
No data |
Atlantic salmon |
Potential breach; no change in biomass observed* |
4.0 kg |
Seeley’s Cove, NB |
No recapture attempt |
Net failure; centre line broke |
No data |
Atlantic salmon |
Potential breach; no change in biomass observed* |
3.4 kg |
Maces Bay, NB |
No recapture attempt |
Net failure; predators (seals) |
No data |
Atlantic salmon |
Potential breach; no change in biomass observed* |
4.5 kg |
Beaver Harbour/Maces Bay, |
No recapture attempt |
Net failure; predators (tuna breached the net) |
No data |
Atlantic salmon |
No reported escapes, but small numbers of escapes (less than 20) identified in fisheries monitoring |
No data |
NL |
Net holes documented and repaired ranged in size from a few meshes similar to 1.5 m in length |
9 breaches were associated with net damage caused by sharks and tunas over a 4-week period in July to August; 1 breach was attributed to a mort ring tearing or abrading a hole near the bottom of the net; escape estimates, if any, to be verified upon inventory reconciliation |
No data |
Chinook salmon |
2,745 |
2.1 kg |
Middle Bay, BC |
Most fish were harvested |
Extreme storm damaged containment structure |
March 12, 2012 |
Chinook salmon |
1 |
10.72 kg |
Tofino, BC |
No recapture effort |
Fish escaped while being transferred to a transportation tank on a transport truck |
September 25, 2012 |
Atlantic salmon |
1 |
13.9 kg |
Cecil Island, BC |
No recapture effort |
Fish escaped while being transferred to a transportation tank on a transport truck |
August 19, 2012 |
Atlantic salmon |
7 |
760 g |
Dr. Islet, BC |
No recapture effort |
Fish escaped while being transferred by dip net |
December 2, 2012 |
*Companies have indicated that feed responses pre- and post-incident were not materially different, leading them to believe that the losses were not significant.
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