Icicle Seafoods Case Study
Should the state of Washington allow Icicle Seafoods to establish a net-pen salmon aquaculture operation in the Straits of Juan de Fuca, just off the coast near Port Angeles?
Decision makers should be mindful and have all the information when deciding on whether to allow the Icicle seafoods to establish a net pen salmon aquaculture operations. I am going to give you some background information regarding the Salmon population in Puget sound/ Strait of Juan de Fuca and net pens, to help you make a well thought out decision.
I am going to discuss the Biology of the Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha). It is one of the major Salmon types in the Puget sound and Juan de Fuca Straits region. The chinook Salmon are the largest of the pacific …show more content…
salmon, with some of them growing up to more than 100 ponds, but most Chinook mature at 50 pounds(Salmon). The average life span or the chinook salmon is three to seven years, two to four years of this will be spent in the ocean before returning to spawn then die. You can tell a chinook salmon by their dark mouths that poses a black gum line along with large teeth, spots on both sides of the tail and their large black spotted back. The chinook breed in large rivers including the Columbia, but they are also found in smaller streams if they have a steady water flow. They tend to spawn in places of the river where the water flow is high, because of their enormous size they can spawn in the larger gravel spots unlike other salmon that tend to be smaller. Some of the salmon will travel up to hundreds of miles upstream to each their spawning ground, the same spawning bed they were born, sometimes the same gravels beds where they were born, just to lay eggs of their own and die. This is commonly known as the Salmon run, the salmon set off in early spring and reach their grounds by the time fall comes around. The Chinook are a vital food source for orca whales, bears, seals, large birds of prey, and the people who harvest them. The diet of a young chinook contains small invertebrates such as amphipods and crustaceans, while the adult feed on smaller fish(Chinook). Chinook prefer the colder regions of the Pacific Ocean, living around Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Northern California, and Western Canada. The Puget sound provides the perfect climate and access to fresh and sea water. So, should the Puget sound have net pens for the salmon? Net pen aquaculture is the practice of raising fish in an underwater net that serves as a pen hence the name net pen. They are typically found offshore in costal seas or in fresh water lakes or bodies of water. Raising these fish in submerged pens is a more exposed method then fish farming on land. Open ocean waters or fresh waters can move freely through the nets without letting the animals out. In the early spring, young salmon are brought into the net pens, were they are raised by staff until old enough to be released to migrate to the ocean. The young salmon can spend anywhere from a few weeks to six months in the pens, however long it takes for them to smolt(Fishery). The small mesh net is suspended from a floating round or rectangular frame. This differs from land based culture operations because it is open and exposed to the elements of the waters, they’re not in a controlled environment. Salmon, Tuna, and many popular fish can grow up in these net pens. The main difference is the costal environment versions the land environment for the Salmon.
There are currently successful pen cultures exist now in the Benin Republic in Africa(Moehl). Benin is a popular commercial fishing place that relies on their hatcheries. There are advantages and disadvantages of the net pens. The tow ability of the cage is one main advantage. The ease of harvesting is also one of the advantages. The cost to build one of these pens is oral cheaper than building a new hatchery on land. Feeding the fish can be hard in an open container the food can be swept away from the fish. One of the main concerns here was the high amount of excrements that would accumulate on the bottom due to a high fish population in one closed area. This could pollute the water if not removed or recycled in some way. If a fish escapes the pen for some reason and is not native to the area or has a disease it can cause serious problems. Overall the net pens have shown to have better outcomes then and operated hatcheries. If the net pens help will the salmon in the Puget sound, will it be a big enough difference to change the current problem?
Scientist say that the Puget sound salmon are dying young. For every adult salmon that leaves the hatchery fewer and fewer are returning to spawn. Survival rates for the salmon have decreased over the past 30 years. They are unsure of the cause, is it food? Is it the predators? In the salmon’s life, the bigger they are the better. Salmon have a larger chance of surviving and returning to spawn if they are larger. One of the factors that may be responsible are the zooplankton the salmon are consuming. Scientist are unsure of the ecology of the zooplankton in Puget sound as they are hard to study, it could be the food the salmon are eating causing a depletion in numbers (Sible). Salmon aquaculture is being considered for the salmon because the numbers are dropping and this may be a successful way to insure the salmon live to adulthood in natural waters, and return year after year.
The Department of Ecology in the state of Washington is responsible for authorizing aquaculture operations in Washington state. They are the environmental protection agency. They ty to protect and enhance Washington’s land, air and water. They operate with budget and strategic planning, putting laws and rules in place, being accountable and having public involvement(About).
Overall I think making the choice to allow Icicle Seafoods to establish a net-pen salmon aquaculture operation in the Straits of Juan de Fuca, just off the coast near Port Angeles requires research and discussion. I do believe that the Icicle Seafood company should be allowed to establish net pen salmon aquaculture operation, it will make the company more reliant on water and natural resources instead of manmade on land hatcheries.
References
About us (n.d.). In Department of Ecology State of Washington. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
Chinook Salmon (n.d.). In National Wildlife federation. Retrieved April 22, 2017
Fishery-Net Pen (n.d.). In Clatsop County Oregon. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
Moehl, M. (2001). Aquaculture. In Africa Aquaculture. Retrieved April 20, 2017
Salmon in the Pacific Northwest (n.d.). In Washington state department of Fish and wildlife.
Retrieved April 21, 2017.
Sible, M. (2014, August 28). Salmon Population. In Puget Sound Institute. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
Argument Section
For
1.Fish would be in their natural environment- Having fish grown in the net pens instead of traditional land hatcheries seems to be more helpful to the fish, they will grow and thrive more in their natural water being exposed to the climate and surroundings. They could feed more of off their natural prey and not fish food.
2. The cost of the net pens seems to be less then starting up a whole new land hatchery. The in-water pen is just mesh netting on floating pipe, while the hatchery consists of a lot of water flow, concreate pools, and more. The on-land hatcheries consist of a lot more complex technology to keep it running.
3.
To me this seems more like a green environmentally friendly way to harvest fish for commercial use, you will not need the electricity or gas to power a normal hatchery if the fish are in the water enclosed in the mesh netting. You will have a naturally controlled system that will not rely on power to run.
Against
1. The net pens seem to have a temporary effect on the sediment and quality of benthic life directly under the pens. This is the result of a high fish population in one area and a high release of fish poop. Studies have shown once the net is moved or removed the sediment will recover to its preconditions within 2 to 12 months depending on how large the net was and how many fish it held.
2.The current Washington state net pen management rules are over 30 years old, they have not been updated to use the new scientific findings that may be different from 30 years ago. Old recommendations that have not been updated or relooked at can cause the environment harm we are not yet aware of.
3. We are not sure of the long-term effects on the environment in which a net pen resides. If it ends up posing a threat to other species around the pens action will need to be taken. Or if the salmon inside the pens are exposed to a nonnative species or other local salmon with a virus is will spread very rapidly in the small enclosed
nets.
Decision makers should be mindful and have all the information when deciding on whether to allow the Icicle seafoods to establish a net pen salmon aquaculture operations. I am going to give you some background information regarding the Salmon population in Puget sound/ Strait of Juan de Fuca and net pens, to help you make a well thought out decision.
I am going to discuss the Biology of the Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha). It is one of the major Salmon types in the Puget sound and Juan de Fuca Straits region. The chinook Salmon are the largest of the pacific …show more content…
salmon, with some of them growing up to more than 100 ponds, but most Chinook mature at 50 pounds(Salmon). The average life span or the chinook salmon is three to seven years, two to four years of this will be spent in the ocean before returning to spawn then die. You can tell a chinook salmon by their dark mouths that poses a black gum line along with large teeth, spots on both sides of the tail and their large black spotted back. The chinook breed in large rivers including the Columbia, but they are also found in smaller streams if they have a steady water flow. They tend to spawn in places of the river where the water flow is high, because of their enormous size they can spawn in the larger gravel spots unlike other salmon that tend to be smaller. Some of the salmon will travel up to hundreds of miles upstream to each their spawning ground, the same spawning bed they were born, sometimes the same gravels beds where they were born, just to lay eggs of their own and die. This is commonly known as the Salmon run, the salmon set off in early spring and reach their grounds by the time fall comes around. The Chinook are a vital food source for orca whales, bears, seals, large birds of prey, and the people who harvest them. The diet of a young chinook contains small invertebrates such as amphipods and crustaceans, while the adult feed on smaller fish(Chinook). Chinook prefer the colder regions of the Pacific Ocean, living around Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Northern California, and Western Canada. The Puget sound provides the perfect climate and access to fresh and sea water. So, should the Puget sound have net pens for the salmon? Net pen aquaculture is the practice of raising fish in an underwater net that serves as a pen hence the name net pen. They are typically found offshore in costal seas or in fresh water lakes or bodies of water. Raising these fish in submerged pens is a more exposed method then fish farming on land. Open ocean waters or fresh waters can move freely through the nets without letting the animals out. In the early spring, young salmon are brought into the net pens, were they are raised by staff until old enough to be released to migrate to the ocean. The young salmon can spend anywhere from a few weeks to six months in the pens, however long it takes for them to smolt(Fishery). The small mesh net is suspended from a floating round or rectangular frame. This differs from land based culture operations because it is open and exposed to the elements of the waters, they’re not in a controlled environment. Salmon, Tuna, and many popular fish can grow up in these net pens. The main difference is the costal environment versions the land environment for the Salmon.
There are currently successful pen cultures exist now in the Benin Republic in Africa(Moehl). Benin is a popular commercial fishing place that relies on their hatcheries. There are advantages and disadvantages of the net pens. The tow ability of the cage is one main advantage. The ease of harvesting is also one of the advantages. The cost to build one of these pens is oral cheaper than building a new hatchery on land. Feeding the fish can be hard in an open container the food can be swept away from the fish. One of the main concerns here was the high amount of excrements that would accumulate on the bottom due to a high fish population in one closed area. This could pollute the water if not removed or recycled in some way. If a fish escapes the pen for some reason and is not native to the area or has a disease it can cause serious problems. Overall the net pens have shown to have better outcomes then and operated hatcheries. If the net pens help will the salmon in the Puget sound, will it be a big enough difference to change the current problem?
Scientist say that the Puget sound salmon are dying young. For every adult salmon that leaves the hatchery fewer and fewer are returning to spawn. Survival rates for the salmon have decreased over the past 30 years. They are unsure of the cause, is it food? Is it the predators? In the salmon’s life, the bigger they are the better. Salmon have a larger chance of surviving and returning to spawn if they are larger. One of the factors that may be responsible are the zooplankton the salmon are consuming. Scientist are unsure of the ecology of the zooplankton in Puget sound as they are hard to study, it could be the food the salmon are eating causing a depletion in numbers (Sible). Salmon aquaculture is being considered for the salmon because the numbers are dropping and this may be a successful way to insure the salmon live to adulthood in natural waters, and return year after year.
The Department of Ecology in the state of Washington is responsible for authorizing aquaculture operations in Washington state. They are the environmental protection agency. They ty to protect and enhance Washington’s land, air and water. They operate with budget and strategic planning, putting laws and rules in place, being accountable and having public involvement(About).
Overall I think making the choice to allow Icicle Seafoods to establish a net-pen salmon aquaculture operation in the Straits of Juan de Fuca, just off the coast near Port Angeles requires research and discussion. I do believe that the Icicle Seafood company should be allowed to establish net pen salmon aquaculture operation, it will make the company more reliant on water and natural resources instead of manmade on land hatcheries.
References
About us (n.d.). In Department of Ecology State of Washington. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
Chinook Salmon (n.d.). In National Wildlife federation. Retrieved April 22, 2017
Fishery-Net Pen (n.d.). In Clatsop County Oregon. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
Moehl, M. (2001). Aquaculture. In Africa Aquaculture. Retrieved April 20, 2017
Salmon in the Pacific Northwest (n.d.). In Washington state department of Fish and wildlife.
Retrieved April 21, 2017.
Sible, M. (2014, August 28). Salmon Population. In Puget Sound Institute. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
Argument Section
For
1.Fish would be in their natural environment- Having fish grown in the net pens instead of traditional land hatcheries seems to be more helpful to the fish, they will grow and thrive more in their natural water being exposed to the climate and surroundings. They could feed more of off their natural prey and not fish food.
2. The cost of the net pens seems to be less then starting up a whole new land hatchery. The in-water pen is just mesh netting on floating pipe, while the hatchery consists of a lot of water flow, concreate pools, and more. The on-land hatcheries consist of a lot more complex technology to keep it running.
3.
To me this seems more like a green environmentally friendly way to harvest fish for commercial use, you will not need the electricity or gas to power a normal hatchery if the fish are in the water enclosed in the mesh netting. You will have a naturally controlled system that will not rely on power to run.
Against
1. The net pens seem to have a temporary effect on the sediment and quality of benthic life directly under the pens. This is the result of a high fish population in one area and a high release of fish poop. Studies have shown once the net is moved or removed the sediment will recover to its preconditions within 2 to 12 months depending on how large the net was and how many fish it held.
2.The current Washington state net pen management rules are over 30 years old, they have not been updated to use the new scientific findings that may be different from 30 years ago. Old recommendations that have not been updated or relooked at can cause the environment harm we are not yet aware of.
3. We are not sure of the long-term effects on the environment in which a net pen resides. If it ends up posing a threat to other species around the pens action will need to be taken. Or if the salmon inside the pens are exposed to a nonnative species or other local salmon with a virus is will spread very rapidly in the small enclosed
nets.