Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing-related Issues & News => Topic started by: Dr. Backlash on August 13, 2009, 07:50:35 AM
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Mark Hume
Vancouver — From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Last updated on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009 08:56AM EDT
The Fraser River is experiencing one of the biggest salmon disasters in recent history with more than nine million sockeye vanishing.
Aboriginal fish racks are empty, commercial boats worth millions of dollars are tied to the docks and sport anglers are being told to release any sockeye they catch while fishing for still healthy runs of Chinook.
Between 10.6 million and 13 million sockeye were expected to return to the Fraser this summer. But the official count is now just 1.7 million, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Where the nine to 11 million missing fish went remains a mystery.
“It's beyond a crisis with these latest numbers,” said Ernie Crey, fisheries adviser to the Sto:lo tribes on the Fraser. “What it means is that a lot of impoverished natives are going to be without salmon. … We have families with little or no income that were depending on these fish. … It's a catastrophe,” he said.
Mr. Crey said a joint Canada-U.S. salmon summit should be called to find solutions.
The sockeye collapse is startling because until just a few weeks ago it seemed the Fraser was headed for a good return.
In 2005 nearly nine million sockeye spawned in the Fraser system, producing a record number of smolts, which in 2007, began to migrate out of the lakes where they'd reared for two years. Biologists for the DFO were buoyed by the numbers – the Chilko and Quesnel tributaries alone produced 130 million smolts – and because the young fish were bigger than any on record.
Those fish were expected to return to the Fraser this summer in large numbers, and those projections held until a few weeks ago when test fishing results began to signal a problem.
Barry Rosenberger, DFO area director for the Interior, said test nets at sea got consistently low catches, then samples in the river confirmed the worst – the sockeye just weren't there in any numbers.
There had been some hope the fish – which return in five distinct groups, or runs – might be delayed at sea, but Mr. Rosenberger dismissed that possibility.
“There are people hanging on to hope … but the reality is … all indications are that none of these runs are late,” he said.
Mr. Rosenberger said officials don't know where or why the salmon vanished – but they apparently died at some point during migration.
“We've been pondering this and I think a lot of people are focusing on the immediate period of entry into the Strait of Georgia and asking what on earth could have happened to them,” said Dr. Brian Riddell, President of the Pacific Salmon Foundation. “What we're seeing now is very, very unexpected.”
Some are pointing accusing fingers at salmon farms, as a possible suspect, because of research that showed young sockeye, known as smolts, got infested with sea lice as they swam north from the Fraser, through the Strait of Georgia.
“This has got to be one of the worst returns we've ever seen on the Fraser. … It's shocking really,” said Craig Orr, of Watershed Watch.
Dr. Riddell said sea lice infestations are a possible factor, but it is “extremely unlikely” that could account for the entire collapse.
“We have had the farms there for many years and we have not seen it related to the rates of survival on Fraser sockeye [before],” he said.
Dr. Riddell said a sockeye smolt with sea lice, however, might grow weak and become easy prey or succumb to environmental conditions it might otherwise survive.
Alexandra Morton, who several years ago correctly predicted a collapse of pink salmon runs in the Broughton Archipelago because of sea lice infestations, in March warned the same thing could happen to Fraser sockeye.
She said researchers used genetic analyses to show Fraser sockeye smolts were getting infested with sea lice in Georgia Strait.
“I looked at about 350 of this generation of Fraser sockeye when they went to sea in 2007 and they had up to 28 sea lice [each]. The sea lice were all young lice, which means they got them in the vicinity of where we were sampling, which was near the fish farms in the Discovery Islands. If they got sea lice from the farms, they were also exposed to whatever other pathogens were happening on the fish farms (viruses and bacteria), ” said Ms. Morton in an e-mail.
“There's a lot of different beliefs as to why the fish haven't shown up, but I think it's pretty clear where there are no fish farms salmon are doing well,” said Brian McKinley, a guide and owner of Silversides Fishing Adventure.
“It's pretty frustrating to watch what is happening,” he said from his boat, anchored on the river near Mission. “I remember sockeye would just boil through here in August and September. It was insane. . .now the river seems dead.”
Dan Gerak, who runs Pitt River Lodge, said there is an environmental crisis on the river.
“Definitely something's got to be done – or it's finished forever,” he said of the Fraser's famed salmon run.
Other big runs of salmon are expected to return this year - notably pinks where are projected to number 17 million - but it is too early to tell if the sockeye collapse will be repeated with other species.
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If there ever was any solid proof of how destructive those Norwegian fish farms in the Straight of Georgia are to sockeye smolts, the fact that they've collapsed this year on the Fraser seems pretty evident to me. How much money and jobs do those fish farms bring to the BC economy anyway? We should all write our MLA's or MPP's and voice our disgust! We're witnessing the collapse of a species at an alarming rate and our government doesn't give a damn. I've never voted for Gordie Campbell and to all of you who did vote for him - well, I hope you're happy that he still hasn't gotten rid of the fish farms. I feel sick to my stomach!
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The sea lice problem seems to me to be a NO BRAINER... sea - lice are killing salmon. (28 lice on a salmon smolt) --------- Also a possibility WHAT IF the humbolt squid moved into our waters in great numbers & intercepted the sockeye ??? These squid are fish eating machines............ But if the pinks come back in great numbers....(who knows maybe pinks will have a low return also-wait & see).... then the question that comes to me is WHY ? Do these same pinks go past fish farms ? Maybe just the timing as some runs get through when the lice are not as bad.....(???) What about ....what happens in the open sea... do these big fish factory ships know where salmon will be travelling off our 200 mile limit thus they hit them hard with 100's of nets ? Maybe some of my pts. are pointless(THROWING IDEAS OUT THERE) as I'm no expert BUT even the experts are asking questions........ For those who give the answer to "WHY ?" they must be very frustrated that people keep asking questions when they feel they answered the questin. But Ms. Morton views are getting more & more consideration by the media etc... guess it takes a crisis like this to get people's attention.
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In regards to the Humboldt squid that were seen in Tofino/Ucluelet this year, the beached ones and those caught by anglers did not have any trace remains of Salmon in their gut. Apparently a major component of their diet is shrimp, hake, and lanternfish. There have been no reports to my knowledge of Salmon found in their bellies.
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(squid .... what's in their stomach...no salmon GOOD !!! ---- One person said get rid of MAN & the salmon will come back in the MILLIONS in x number of years :o.............. (pollution global warming fish lice from "fish farms commercial fishing etc....) But I don't think that's an option. ;D
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I would not place all the blame on fish farms... False Creek is LOADED with sea lice with no farms in sight ... I would say it is a contributing factor, however significantly more dominant is our ever growing environmental footprint. The Straight of Georgia is a relatively isolated piece of water with major centres like Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria all providing pollutants which stimulate an environment that allows sea lice to thrive. Victoria dumps it's raw sewage right into the ocean :-\ ... Fish Farms are an easy target because they are a visible and distinct group. If we were serious about the health of our oceans there would need to be some significant changes with the way most people live their day to day lives.
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Victoria dumps it's raw sewage right into the ocean :-\
Iona sewage plant only has primary treatment (sewage plants at developed countries typically have primary, secondary and tertiary) discharges over 500 million litres of relatively raw sewage into Georgia Strait from a Fraser River mouth. Guess where smoltification occurs?
In order to maintain the quality of life that Vancouverites wish to enjoy, I propose an immediate selective culling of evil species that are probably threatening our beloved salmon.
The followings probably qualify to be on the species of evil.
Humbolt squid
Salmon shark
Killer whale
Harbour seal
Sea lion
Sea otter
Sea gull
Bald eagle
Golden eagle
Black bear
Grizzly bear
River otter
Bull trout
Cutthroat trout
Rainbow trout
Northern pikeminnow
Sculpin
Lingcod
Rockfish
Pacific cod
Chub Mackerel
Jelly fish
Tuna
Marlin
The rest of the species should probably also be considered as possible species of evil so partial culling maybe required to cut the population in half, just in case they probably eat salmon.
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Iona sewage plant only has primary treatment (sewage plants at developed countries typically have primary, secondary and tertiary) discharges over 500 million litres of relatively raw sewage into Georgia Strait from a Fraser River mouth. Guess where smoltification occurs?
Rodney, could you explain to me from a marine-biologists perspective what the adverse effects of 'raw' sewerage are on a smolt?
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Direct effect is most likely minimal, depends on what chemicals are present of course. High concentration may kill the fish obviously, low concentration just inhibits their growth and ability to carry out natural processes like smoltification. Dioxin is a good example and its effect on smoltification is studied pretty in depth. My understanding from lectures long ago when I was not asleep is that dioxin concentration has been significantly reduced on the Fraser River once they've determined its impact on Pacific salmon.
The indirect effect of raw sewage is the depletion of oxygen in Georgia Strait, which leads to an environment that is not inhabitable by organisms. No primary productivity, no food for outmigrating smolts, raising mortality rate above normal.
The Iona sewage plant discharges the following chemicals into Georgia Strait each year. These numbers are from 2005,
82 kg of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), 2248 tonnes of Ammonia, 21 kg of Mercury, 12 tonnes of Zinc, 332 kg of Arsenic, 63 kg of Cadmium, 587 kg of Lead and 14 tonnes of Copper.
Environment Canada has found the sewage plant to fail toxicity tests repeatedly, meaning the sewage discharged is toxic to fish.
Despite of the urgency to upgrade the plant so it'd have secondary and tertiary treatments, there are no immediate plans to do this. Maybe in ten or twenty years from now.
A better person to talk to about this is Doug Chapman from the Fraser Riverkeeper.
http://www.fraserriverkeeper.ca/
Most members of the animal kingdom know not to poop and urinate in their food. I guess human have evolved to the point that we are no longer animals and have found better ways to treat out food and drinking source. ;D
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Remember a dvd of Elvis singing a... (few months before he died)...song inwhich he could not remember the words to...so he says "AH ...THE HECK WITH IT".... but at least he laughed it off. -------- With all the problems taking place in the Fraser River fishery...maybe in reality the "powers that be" are putting on a brave face..... but in reality there is no political will so thus in essence they are saying (not out loud but behind the scenes) "AH..THE HECK WITH IT".... As Rodney says raw sewage...at the mouth of the Fraser R.--- Once we were boatiing from the main Fraser to the N. Fraser & the water was so so filthy because of sewage I remember thinking "We don't like having the boat & motor to go through this stuff" (slack tide...little current...no winds at the time) It was sewage & not from the Spring snow melt...(bringing soil into the waters) --- Just a few yrs ago a small city in Wa. put in a really good sewage treatment plant...(residents had higher taxes)... only to have Victoria's sewage wash up in their waters... Remember the oullligans (sp) runs nearly wiped out as of 10 or more yrs ago. They used to sell them in New Westminster not that long ago (on the river near Brunette River) ---- I would not be surprized if factories, plants ...where-ever along the Fraser River (Anacis Is.) use the Fraser to dump hazard toxic chemicals into the water. ---Plus with all the big boys meaning ships barges etc... that use the river more & more (marine industrial hwy) moving 100's of millions... maybe billions of dollars of "goods".....they do not like for 2-3 months dodging or slowing down for fish boats with their nets out.... Maybe the "powers that be" have accepted that as long as there are salmon on the WCVI & other northern BC coastal waters...that is good enough.
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Iona sewage plant only has primary treatment (sewage plants at developed countries typically have primary, secondary and tertiary) discharges over 500 million litres of relatively raw sewage into Georgia Strait from a Fraser River mouth. Guess where smoltification occurs?
In order to maintain the quality of life that Vancouverites wish to enjoy, I propose an immediate selective culling of evil species that are probably threatening our beloved salmon.
The followings probably qualify to be on the species of evil.
Humbolt squid
Salmon shark
Killer whale
Harbour seal
Sea lion
Sea otter
Sea gull
Bald eagle
Golden eagle
Black bear
Grizzly bear
River otter
Bull trout
Cutthroat trout
Rainbow trout
Northern pikeminnow
Sculpin
Lingcod
Rockfish
Pacific cod
Chub Mackerel
Jelly fish
Tuna
Marlin
The rest of the species should probably also be considered as possible species of evil so partial culling maybe required to cut the population in half, just in case they probably eat salmon.
Are you being sarcastic. It's hard to tell since no smiley.
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I go to the Iona Sewage Treatment Plant every 2 weeks (for work) and for at least a month now they've been doing some serious renovations; I always thought that they're doing some major upgrades because they've got heavy duty equipment there and they're digging big time - maybe they are finally upgrading the plant? (I sure hope so anyway)
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>:(DFO and its big media machinery are sure in high gear and so many of us are swallowing it hook, line and sinker. Blame is being levelled in every direction except one...at DFO. Their job/purpose is to look after the fish that all of us treasure so much and every year they screw it up. Their explanation for lower than expected returns...."we don't know what happened" and their reaction to this..."we must close down the sport/recreational fishery." Wow...millions of missing fish; I think I heard that a couple of times from DFO over the past few years.
How can a government department get it wrong soooooo often and still be immune from criticism. Oh yeah...it's government ::)
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Lots of good pts. being made...... also Justin makes a good pt. about on a small scale if his aquarium water gets to a poor quality & if parsites infest his fish = BAD NEWS. .............. Well our Georgia Straight waters in a sense is a LARGE aquarium & our smolts are in un-clean toxic dirty waters with sea-lice. = BAD NEWS ------------------------------------ Was web-surfing & a chap posted an article from the Vancouver Sun newspaper. It was an eye-openner !!! Basically said that BC fish stores can & are importing all the wild sockeye they need from Alaska & Russia. The acticle tells about the abundance of wild sockeye & of good quality from Russia. Great article. I'm not too computer smart so maybe someone would make a link to the article if ya think it is interesting.-------------------------------------- In your search box type in : Vancouver Sun June 19/2008 Russian Salmon invades B.C. seafood marketplace. ------------------------------------------------------------ Imagine BC has to import wild salmon. ( NOW TO GIVE MY COMPUTER KEYBOARD A REST FOR A WK. or so... AS I've posted alot lately but will enjoy reading all member's posts.... this is a great site & thanks to Rodney & gang to have us gather in this way to share)
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It's our own fault for electing a government with no conscience. Blame gov't all you want but its your own fault for voting them in. (the royal you)
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The followings probably qualify to be on the species of evil.
Humbolt squid
Salmon shark
Killer whale
Harbour seal
Sea lion
Sea otter
Sea gull
Bald eagle
Golden eagle
Black bear
Grizzly bear
River otter
Bull trout
Cutthroat trout
Rainbow trout
Northern pikeminnow
Sculpin
Lingcod
Rockfish
Pacific cod
Chub Mackerel
Jelly fish
Tuna
Marlin
The rest of the species should probably also be considered as possible species of evil so partial culling maybe required to cut the population in half, just in case they probably eat salmon.
No there is only one species of evil--- homosapien
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One would think the sewage must be better now than years ago when the raw stuff entered the ocean?
Ever wonder why the Crabbing is so good at Tsawassen? ;D
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With salmon stalks down (and in some cases, gone) in many of the traditional salmon producing systems, demand and pressure will switch to these Russian stocks mentioned. We, and everyone else will be importing their fish...and I wonder (worry) how long it will be, with that much pressure, for these stocks to begin to fail also. :-[
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Sad to see this happening, but I am pessimistic that DFO can reverse this disturbing trend. But just think if instead of spending billions of dollars on the 2010 Olympics, if that money had been spent updating sewage plants along the Fraser, and doing extensive research on the Sockeye salmon. And then acting on their findings with the end goal of saving this species. But nah, it ain't going to happen >:(.
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Salmon is the responsibility of the federal government.
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...Blame is being levelled in every direction except one...at DFO....
(http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/DFO_Clown_Logo.jpg)
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Are you being sarcastic. It's hard to tell since no smiley.
That post drips of sarcasm. Rodney?
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Subject: Need Your Help
From: Alexandra Morton <wildorca@island.net>
Date Monday, August 17, 2009 8:13 pm
Hello All
Every time I send an email out to this list you ask what can you do. I am sorry for so many emails, but time is of the essence. As our wild salmon stocks suffer an enormous setback, the Minster of Fisheries is in Norway with a large delegation promoting Canada to the Norwegian fish farming industry. An organization called Pure Salmon (www.puresalmon.org) is there and will be delivering all 300 pages of our letter to Fisheries Minister Shea at the Aqua Nor tradeshow. Pure salmon has sent a letter to the King of Norway which I signed and have have pasted below.
Vancouver filmmaker Damien Gillis is showing this film in Norway asking them to stop killing our salmon.
http://in.sys-con.com/node/1073790
When I was in Norway last spring it was clear that Norway has no idea how Canadians and Americans feel about their industry. With our top Fisheries representative telling Norwegian fish farmers that Canada is open for business, this is not surprising. There are 10,000 emails on this list. If you want to set the record straight yourself - here are the people in Norway to contact:
The royal palace of Norway: post@slottet.no
The Norwegian Fisheries Minister, Helga Pedersen: helga.pedersen@fkd.dep.no
The Norwegian Prime Minister's: postmottak@smk.dep.no
Pure Salmon: lkaran@pewtrusts.org
Canadian Minister of Fisheries: Min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
King Harald V
The Royal Palace
Drammensveien 1
N-0010
Oslo
Norway
14th August 2009
Your Royal Highness,
Protecting wild salmon from open net cage salmon farms
Further to our letter of 15th December 2006 (re-enclosed here), we appeal to you as the King of Norway to stop the killing of wild fish by Norwegian-owned open net cage salmon farms. We ask that you take time during your visit to Trondheim on 18th August when you will be opening the Aqua Nor trade show1 to watch the new film “Dear Norway – Help Save Canada’s Wild Salmon” produced by Damien Gillis.
Your visit to the Trondheimsfjord area – one of only two fjords in Norway where salmon farming is completely banned under the Laksfjord regulations – represents an opportunity to hear how Norwegian companies are operating to lower standards in other regions. We think it is important that Norwegians understand their impact on temperate coastal countries worldwide – especially in British Columbia where the Norwegian companies Marine Harvest, Cermaq and Grieg control 92% of salmon farming production2 . We expect a country such as Norway who signed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 20073 and who published a white paper on Corporate Social Responsibility Abroad in 20094 to respect the rights of First Nations whose culture depends upon healthy wild salmon populations.
Since our letter to you in 2006, the situation has deteriorated and the weight of scientific evidence linking open net cage salmon farms with declines in wild fish is now overwhelming5. Canada’s largest wild salmon runs are failing every year while in neighbouring Alaska where salmon farming is banned they are harvesting record runs. Another film by Damien Gillis – “Aquacultural Revolution: The scientific case for changing salmon farming”6 – presents the scientific perspective and is recommended viewing in advance of your trip to Trondheim. You may also be interested in watching a sea lice animation recently released by Norges Jeger-og Fiskerforbund7.
In May this year, the Pure Salmon Campaign brought a delegation of First Nation chiefs, scientists, wilderness tourism, labor union, fishing and environmental leaders from Chile, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and the United States to Norway to bear witness to the problems of Marine Harvest and Cermaq in particular8.
You may have read Alexandra Morton’s passionate plea published in Bergens Tidende in May which ended with:
“It's still not too late to stop the collapse of wild salmon and social decay here in western Canada. But to do so, it will take the efforts of concerned citizens working across borders, to make it clear to the Norwegian government that salmon farms must not destroy the wild salmon arteries flowing into the coast of British Columbia. In today’s world such behavior is an act of inexcusable immorality as future generations will need life on earth to survive.
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Continued)
And you may have read about our visit to Preline’s closed containment farm in Hardangerfjord10. Chief Bob Chamberlin of the Kwicksutaineuk Ah-kwa-mish First Nation, who delivered letters to you in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and visited Norway again this year, said:
“It is difficult to put to words how I felt standing on an operating closed containment fish farm, watching Atlantic salmon swimming inside. It was an amazing circumstance for me to speak with the owner of Preline who has developed the closed containment system, and both of us needing something to give hope for our individual yet intertwined dreams”11.
Bergens Tidende also featured the Preline closed containment system in an article published in June12. Representatives from Preline – together with other closed containment companies – will be in Trondheim for the AquaNor trade show and we encourage you to explore these technologies which can protect wild fish from the spread of sea lice and escapes from salmon farms.
During his visit to Norway in May, Chief Robert Joseph of the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Tribal Council said:
“The demise of wild salmon is tantamount to genocide because it reflects the demise of our culture, way of life and spirituality. Since the advent of salmon farming in our territories we have seen an apocalyptic decline in the state of our wild salmon stocks in the Broughton Archipelago. And because Norway is the world leader in salmon farming and the Norwegian Government is the leading shareholder in Cermaq we are asking for their moral leadership to bring about best practices and to mitigate environmental degradation”13.
Public opposition to Norwegian-owned salmon farming companies operating in British Columbia is building with negative press coverage of ‘rapacious Norwegians’ in the international media14 as well as at home in Norway15. You may be aware that this issue was raised in the Norwegian Parliament in May this year via a Parliamentary Question tabled by Heikki Holmås MP with a reply from Helga Pedersen, Norway’s Fisheries Minister16. Public comments were also made in the Norwegian media by several MPs including Peter Gitmark from Hoyre17, Ola Borten Moe from Senterpartiet18 and Heikki Holmås from Sosialistisk Venstreparti19.
Cermaq – whose largest shareholder is the Norwegian Government – is now the subject of a complaint filed with the OECD in May by Norges Naturvernforbund and ForUM20. In the same month, Norway was criticized by First Nations groups for failing to adhere to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with respect to Cermaq’s operations in Canada21. In October 2008, Cermaq’s operations in Canada were criticized for blatantly violating their licences after years of over-production22. And NRK reported only yesterday that Cermaq was encountering local opposition in Norway with a petition signed by 6,000 people objecting to expansion in Ofotfjorden23.
Marine Harvest’s operations in Canada have also been subject of growing controversy and legal action in the B.C. Supreme Court24. Grieg’s plans to expand in the Georgia Strait in British Columbia have angered local residents, fishermen and tourist operators alike25. And in June, the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform called for the emergency closure of five farms operated by Marine Harvest, Cermaq and Grieg to protect migrating wild salmon26. The issue will only continue to heat up at the expense of Norway’s reputation.
Nor is Canada the only region where Norwegian-owned companies are experiencing local opposition. In Ireland, where Marine Harvest control over 50% of production, Salmon Watch recently filed a complaint with the European Commission contending that salmon farms are responsible for the generation of high levels of sea lice infestation in juvenile salmon migrating from rivers to their feeding grounds in the sea27. And in the UK where Norwegian-owned companies control in excess of 80% of salmon farming production, the Salmon and Trout Association (whose patron is Prince Charles) have organized a petition calling on the Scottish Government to move salmon farms away from the estuaries of major rivers28.
We hope that you agree with John Fredriksen, owner of Marine Harvest, who in July 2007 when he was fishing on the River Alta called for salmon farms to be moved out of the path of wild salmon29. In September 2007, over 30 fishing and environmental groups including Norsk Lakseelver, the Norwegian Salmon Association, Granvin Fiskarlag and Nausta Vernegruppa, wrote to Marine Harvest urging them to follow Mr Fredriksen’s wise advice30.
As both the King of Norway and a wild salmon angler on the River Alta yourself31, Your Royal Highness surely has an interest in protecting wild salmon both in Norway and internationally as well as preserving Norway’s international reputation. The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held along the shores of the Fraser River where the wild sockeye salmon that run past Norwegian-owned fish farms have been closed to fishing again this year. Yesterday’s Globe & Mail newspaper in Canada reports that “the Fraser River is experiencing one of the biggest salmon disasters in recent history with more than nine million sockeye vanishing”32 with The Straight newspaper reporting that “fish farms could be a contributing factor”33. Today’s Globe & Mail also featured the issue34.
When you meet with Marine Harvest, Cermaq, Grieg, the Norwegian Minister of Fisheries, Helga Pedersen, the Canadian Fisheries Minister, Gail Shea, and Scotland’s Minister for the Environment, Roseanna Cunningham, during Aqua Nor we therefore encourage you to ask why Norwegian companies are still being allowed to kill wild fish not just in Norway but also in Canada, Scotland and Ireland. And if you have time to view the new film “Dear Norway – Help Save Canada’s Wild Salmon” please come and visit the Pure Salmon Campaign at booth # B-111C at Aqua Nor to arrange a private viewing.
Yours sincerely,
Bob Chamberlin, Chief of the Kwicksutaineuk Ah-kwa-mish First Nation and Chairman of the Musgamagw-Tsawataineuk Tribal Council, Canada
Alexandra Morton, Director of the Salmon Coast Field Station, Canada
David Suzuki, Executive Director of David Suzuki Foundation, Canada
Brian Gunn, President of the Wilderness Tourism Association of British Columbia, Canada
David Lane, Executive Director of the T Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation, Canada
Damien Gillis, Save Our Rivers Society, Canada
Darren Blaney, Homalco First Nation, Canada
Geoff Meggs, Councillor, City of Vancouver, Canada
Valerie Langer, Friends of Clayoquot Sound, Canada
Rafe Mair, Official spokesperson for Save Our Rivers Society, Canada
Shannon Ellis, Bella Coola Grizzly Tours, Canada
Steve Lawson, National Coordinator, First Nations Environmental Network, Canada
Des Nobels, Chair of Friends of Wild Salmon, Canada
Blake Covernton, President, Wild BC Salmon, Canada
Michael Price, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Canada
Evan Loveless, Executive Director of the Wilderness Tourism Association of British Columbia, Canada
Terry Anderson, Canadian Wild Salmon Alliance Society, Canada
Luanne Roth, Marine Director of the Prince Rupert Environmental Society, Canada
Geoff Senichenko, Research Director of the Wilderness Committee, Canada
Craig Orr, Executive Director of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, Canada
Stan Proboszcz, Fish Biologist, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, Canada
Ruby Berry, Salmon Aquaculture Program Coordinator, Georgia Strait Alliance, Canada
Michelle Young, Salmon Aquaculture Campaigner, Georgia Strait Alliance, Canada
John Volpe, Professor, University of Victoria, Canada
Corey Peet, David Suzuki Foundation, Canada
Lawrence Dill, Professor Emeritus, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Catherine Stewart, Salmon Farming Campaign Manager, Living Oceans, Canada
Kim Petersen, co-editor of Dissident Voice, Canada
Tiffany Hilman, Markets Campaigner, Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform, Canada
Susanne Hare, Tofino citizen, Canada
Mat Lawson, B.C. citizen, Canada
Misty Lawson, B.C. citizen, Canada
Quoashinis Lawson, B.C. citizen, Canada
Oren Lawson, B.C. citizen, Canada
Peter Dimitrov, lawyer and concerned citizen, Canada
Kevin Bruce, Friends of Clayoquot Sound, Canada
Tom Rivest, Great Bear Nature Tours, Canada
Leonard Ellis, Bella Coola Grizzly Tours, Canada
Vegard Heggem, wild salmon conservationist, Norway
Geir Kjensmo, Chairman of the Norwegian Salmon Association, Norway
Sondre Båtstrand, Spokesperson for the Norwegian Green Party, Norway
Frode Strønen, Marine Spokesperson for the Norwegian Green Party, Norway
Lawson Devery, Scottish Field Officer, the Salmon and Trout Association, Scotland
Bruce Sandison, Scottish Sporting Services, Scotland
Colin Kirkpatrick, Environment Committee Chairman, Orkney Trout Fishing Association, Scotland
Brian Fraser, ghillie from Wester Ross, Scotland
Fiona Cameron, Sea Trout Group, Scotland
Frank Buckley, Society for the Protection of Salmon and Sea Trout, Scotland
Andrew Graham-Stewart, Writer on wild salmon conservation issues, Scotland
Jenny Scobie, Rhidorroch Estate, Scotland
Niall Greene, Chair, Salmon Watch Ireland, Ireland
John Mulcahy, Save The Swilly, Ireland
Noel Carr, Secretary, Conaidhm na Slat Iascairi Bradan & Breac Geal (Federation of Irish Salmon & Sea Trout Anglers), Ireland
Bill Bakke, Executive Director, Native Fish Society, United States of America
Anne Mosness, Go Wild Campaign, United States of America
Neil Frazer, Professor, University of Hawaii at Manoa, United States of America
Bartlett Naylor, Capital Strategies Consulting Inc., United States of America
Don Staniford, Global Coordinator, The Pure Salmon Campaign, United States of America