30,000 Atlantic salmon escape from a B.C. fish farm

VICTORIA, B.C. -- The escape of 30,000 Atlantic salmon from a B.C. fish farm is under investigation by the provincial Environment Ministry, a spokeswoman confirmed.

The breakout from a net pen at Marine Harvest Canada's fish farm was large enough for the case to be assigned to provincial conservation officers, ministry officials said.

Clare Backman, director of environmental compliance at the Marine Harvest office in Campbell River on Vancouver Island, said the company is cooperating with the investigation.

Company workers found that an anchor securing the net pen slipped on Tuesday, pulling a corner of the pen far enough below the surface for the fish to swim away.

A seiner hired by the company recaptured fewer than 400 of the fish, which weighed about 9 pounds each, Backman said.

"The value of the (lost) fish to the company is just under half a million bucks," he said.

About 450,000 Atlantic salmon remain at the operation in Frederick Arm between the Broughton Archipelago and Desolation Sound.