Marine Harvest Canada has invested in netting to protect its fish farms from predators.

Marine Harvest Canada will protect its fish farms from predators, and will protect the predators themselves from lethal action Credit: Ansgar Walk

Marine Harvest Canada will protect its fish farms from predators, and will protect the predators themselves from lethal action Credit: Ansgar Walk

The nets encompass the whole farm and provide a first wall of defence against marine predators such as seal and sea lions. They are constructed of high density polyethylene and include a stainless steel core and will cost $250,000 to outfit each farm site. They will be in place prior to the winter season when seals and sea lions begin to move into the area.

The company has made this decision to ensure that lethal interactions with seals and sea lions at its salmon farms are drastically reduced, if not eliminated.

Marine Harvest Canada experienced higher than normal culls of seals and sea lions during the first two quarters of 2011. 124 seals and/or sea lions were killed in the first quarter, and 92 in the second quarter representing more than a two-fold increase over the same period in 2010 and a four-fold increase over 2009.

Predator control authorisation for salmon farms is included in the Finfish Aquaculture License issued by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).This means that a farmer may only take lethal action as a last resort against a particularly aggressive and persistent individual marine predator if it presents imminent danger to the facility or human life and only after all reasonable measures have been exhausted.