Salmon Escape from Campbell River Fish Farm

Marine Harvest said that immediate action was taken to repair the pen and to recapture at least some of the approximately 4.0 kg fish.

Provincial and federal authorities were notified and are now looking into the event.

"We don't yet know what happened—other than there was a problem with a pen anchor slipping into deeper water and then pulled the corner of one of our net pens under water allowing the fish to escape," said Clare Backman, Director of Environment Compliance and Community Relations.

"Our own internal review is underway to ensure that we learn from this incident and take whatever steps we need to take to prevent a re-occurrence."

Marine Harvest is the world’s largest aquaculture company with operations in Norway, Scotland, Chile, and British Columbia. Here, Marine Harvest Canada produces about 42,000 tonnes of high quality farmed Atlantic salmon every year for sale to export markets. The Company employs approximately 500 people on Vancouver Island and the central coast.