The Cohen Commission into Fraser River salmon wants the province and British Columbia Salmon Farmers' Association to turn over to the commission fish health records stretching back to 2000 from 120 salmon farms.
The ruling, issued by Commissioner Bruce Cohen on Wednesday, expands the scope of information he had asked for, and for the first time will give the public a look at farm-by-farm information on things such as sea lice infestation, disease outbreaks and water conditions.
The commission had initially asked for five years worth of fish health data from 21 farms, but submissions to the commission by conservation groups "persuades me that there is a likelihood that the respondents possess documents in a usable format from 2000 to the present which will assist me in making findings regarding the impact, if any, of salmon farms on Fraser River sockeye salmon."
Cohen gave the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association until Jan. 21 to submit the data. "I wish to make it clear that this ruling is not to be construed in any manner as a finding on whether aquaculture is a cause for the decline of Fraser River sockeye salmon."
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