What other animals are affected by open-net salmon farming?
The entire coastal ecosystem is threatened by declining salmon populations. By feeding in the open ocean and then migrating to the place of their hatching, salmon transfer nutrients inland from the sea. Along the way, they provide food for birds and land carnivores and after spawning, the salmon die, providing nutrients for the flora. Marine Mammals: Fish farms are fatal for other creatures too. The open net-cages attract predators like sea lions and dolphins that drown in the farms’ nets. Many salmon farms are licensed to shoot mammals that may threaten their stock. The pens of fish attract mammal predators that drown when caught in the nets or can be shot by fish farmers. Land Mammals: Coastal carnivores depend heavily on salmon. Grizzly bears in the Broughton Archipelago are starving due to collapsing pink salmon runs. Other Fish: Raising carnivorous fish like salmon that need wild fish in their feed also impacts the marine environment. More wild fish are used to raise farmed salmon
