The mayors in the Coast of Bays region are responding to the recent salmon die-off on the south coast.

The mayors issued a joint news release indicating that while the incident is disappointing, it’s not “the end of the world” for the salmon industry on the South Coast.

Northern Harvest indicates the salmon died due to prolonged exposure to warmer than normal water.

Mayor of Harbour Breton, Georgina Ollerhead, says since the issue arose, senior management with Northern Harvest have been in “continuous” consultation with the community. She says the die-off is not related to a fish health issue, and was confirmed by both government and veterinary officials.

Mayor for Hermitage-Sandyville and Chair of the Coast of Bays Joint Mayors Committee, Steve Crewe, says the company is committed to the region and realizes that warmer water temperatures like those experienced in the past several weeks are becoming the norm.

He says they have every confidence that the company is prepared to take immediate steps to “prevent another environmental event like this.”

Jason Card of Northern Harvest Sea Farms says water temperatures reached 17 to 21 degrees for 11 to 13 days.

That might not normally be an issue, but it causes problems for the fish, that have to dive to deeper, cooler waters.

He says the fish cluster together as low as they can to get cool, but with that many fish clustered together, there’s not enough oxygen to carry them all, resulting in mortalities.

Card says they’ve accepted that warm water events are likely the new normal and they’re working on new pens to help prevent future die offs. He says they may not experience a similar event for ten years, or they may see it every year from here on in.

Regardless, they don’t want to lose fish, and they’re working on ensuring they can handle a similar event in future.

As for employment, Card says it shouldn’t affect employment numbers this season, but the season may start a bit later next year.