Can salmon farmers recapture escaped fish?
After an escape or suspected escape, the most important action for the farmer to take is to ensure that immediate corrective action is taken to prevent further escapes. Under provincial regulation, the farm’s “escape response plan” must be fully executed upon discovery of an escape or suspected escape. (Aquaculture Regulation) Farmers are also required to take all reasonable measures that will result in the recapture of a significant portion of the stock and that will not detrimentally impact on wild stocks. These measures must be consistent with federal, provincial and local government enactments. For many reasons, however, escape recovery is often not effective. Fish escapes can occur during inclement weather conditions, can go undetected for a few hours (if, for example, a seal has torn open a net), and escaped farm fish are unlikely to remain in the immediate vicinity of the farm or in a close bunch to facilitate their recapture once they escape. As a result, the B.C. government pu
