Where have 750,000 farmed salmon gone?

Concern is escalating on Newfoundland's south coast about the effect escaped farmed fish will have on the wild salmon population.

Fishermen say farmed salmon are showing up as far west as the Grandy River, near Burgeo.

Tony Tuck, who runs a fishing lodge near the Grey River on the south coast, fears fish farming is harming wild salmon.

Hebelievessea lice infestations atfish farms are killingyoung, wild salmon.

"[The] vicinity around the sea cages is heavily infested with sea lice ... and the sea lice gets on these smolt and kills them."

More than 750,000 salmon have escaped from sea cages on the south coast since fish farming started, and DFO has confirmed that farmed salmon are now in nine south coast rivers.

Don Ivany of the Atlantic Salmon Federation said no one knows what's happened to them.

"DFO doesn't have an ongoing monitoring program on all the other rivers, and given the large number of escapes that have occurred down there recently, farmedfish may be in other rivers such as Grandyand Grey River, and others if you looked," said Ivany.

Ivany said the situation is out of control, and added the solution is land-based, contained fish farming.