Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing-related Issues & News => Topic started by: chris gadsden on March 25, 2010, 09:57:32 AM
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The Dominion, 24th March 2010
Norwegian Farms Poison the Wild Run
BC's salmon stocks plunge; sea lice, salmon farms to blame
by Kim Petersen
The Dominion - http://www.dominionpaper.ca
TRADITIONAL TERRITORY OF SNUNEYMUXW FIRST NATION (NANAIMO, BC)—In the late 1980s, as Norway's Consul General in Vancouver was paving the way for Norwegian salmon farming operations in BC, Norway's Prime Minister Gro Harlem headed the United Nations commission that produced the 1987 report, "Our Common Future," popularizing the concept of sustainable development.
Two decades have passed, and the salmon-farming industry, dominated by Norwegian multinationals, is charged with imperilling ecosystems worldwide, including in Norway.
In 2002, the spawning run of pink salmon in the Broughton Archipelago off northeast Vancouver Island decreased from 3.6 million to 147,000—four per cent of its population the year before. Biologists pointed to sea lice from salmon farms as the culprit. Juvenile salmon, called smolts, leave the rivers where they are born and are forced to run a gauntlet of salmon farms once they reach the archipelago, where they are exposed to high numbers of sea lice.
“Everywhere there are salmon farms and wild salmon, the wild salmon are eaten to death by sea lice,” said Alexandra Morton, following the pink salmon collapse. Morton is a biologist and founder of the Raincoast Research Society which studies ecosystems and aquatic life on the BC coast.
Last summer, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) forecast over 10 million sockeye salmon spawners would return to Sto:lo (Fraser River). Fewer than 10 per cent returned. Morton again implicated sea lice from salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago as the cause of the 90 per cent collapse in sockeye spawners.
Sockeye runs elsewhere did comparably well, Morton noted, such as in N'ch-iwana (Columbia River), Somass River and Heydon Creek—the latter situated north of the Campbell River fish farm cluster.
Morton sees a bigger threat to wild salmon than sea lice. “I know sea lice are on the Fraser sockeye—I first found this in 2005—but I think the issue is farm disease in this case.”
“The biggest threat is the virus ISA [Infectious Salmon Anaemia],” said Morton, “but sea lice are a problem enough that they [the sea lice] can destroy [wild salmon].”
Salmon in Chile, Norway, Scotland and New Brunswick have all suffered ISA outbreaks.
“What Alexandra means is that ISA is a serious imminent threat because wild Pacific salmon may not be immune to strains of ISA present in farm salmon eggs imported from Atlantic waters," geophysist Dr. Neil Frazer told The Dominion.
"If a wild population suffers a very large decline, recovery is uncertain because the ecological niche of the devastated species may be filled by other species,” he said.
A myriad of factors impact the viability of wild salmon in BC: clearcut logging, global warming, agricultural runoff and dam construction. According to the BC Salmon Farmers Association, salmon farming began in BC in the early 1970s. In 1984, it was introduced into the seascape of Broughton Archipelago. The Broughton Archipelago now supports 29 salmon-farming operations, BC’s highest concentration of salmon farms.
In their 2006 book, An Upstream Battle, Karl K. English, Glova J. Gordon, and Anita C. Blakely reported a 70-93 per cent decline in salmon stocks in 10 areas in BC since the early 1990s.
Wild salmon advocacy circles have recently begun to pressure Norway—where multi-national salmon-farming headquarters of the likes of Marine Harvest, Cremaq and Grieg Seafood own 92 per cent of BC's salmon farms.
“Norway is the key to solving the salmon-farming problem and [is] still home to healthy wild Atlantic salmon populations,” said Don Staniford of Pure Salmon Campaign, a global salmon advocacy project. “There is still time to save Atlantic wild salmon by moving the farms out of the path of migrating smolts. And in the Pacific, the solution is equally as simple.”
Even Norway's richest man, John Fredriksen, an avid fisherman and majority owner of the world's largest salmon-farming corporation, Marine Harvest, was alarmed: “I am worried for the wild salmon’s future. Fish farming should not be allowed in fjords with salmon rivers,” said Fredricksen in 2007 to Norway's Altaposten.
Staniford, who was in Norway last May, reported sympathy among Norwegians, whose own wild salmon are plagued by infestations of sea lice, and who support an end to open-water net salmon farming.
“Norwegians are now rising up and standing up for wild salmon,” said Staniford. “Over the last year there has been a sea change in public perception of the salmon farming industry in Norway." Staniford sees Norwegian fishermen, river owners, politicians, environmentalists and citizens as increasingly critical of the salmon-farming industry plagued with sea lice and escapes of farmed salmon.
The Vancouver Olympics brought another opportunity to pressure the Norwegian government: Norway's King Harald V was in attendance at the Games. On a sunny Saturday, February 20, the eighth day of the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) and Wild Salmon Circle held a rally in Vancouver’s Vanier Park. Although Harold V was not among them, about 200 people turned out to hear featured speakers Morton, Staniford, ex-DFO biologist Otto Langer, and Kwicksutaineuk Ah-kwa-mish First Nation Chief Bob Chamberlin.
“Considering the Olympics were on—a big distraction and the reason we held the rally now—there was a great turnout,” said Maria Morlin, biology professor and emcee at the rally. “I hope our message gets through to the Norwegian government loud and clear: don’t mess up our waters; you have enough problems with your own Atlantic salmon escapees and wild salmon collapses.”
“We have a long tradition of salmon in our culture, and to be unable to pass this tradition to our children is unthinkable,” said hereditary Chief Chamberlin, emphasizing the issue was not a short-term one.
Langer argued that moving the salmon to closed-containment was an unsatisfactory solution because of negative protein production. Langer said feeding the salmon would still require 5 to 10 kilograms of other fish to produce one kilogram of food pellets. Farming carnivorous fish in open net-cages or in closed containment facilities, he held, is simply not sustainable.
For those proud of the Brundtland Commission's work on sustainability, the unsustainability of Norwegian-owned salmon farms is a stark contradiction.
"I am not talking about all aquaculture. I am referring specifically to the massive scale Norwegian feedlots," Morton announced on March 15's Get Out Migration.
"There are Canadian fish farmers who know how to use tanks on land who are not impacting our wild salmon and herring. This is about saving wild salmon and all of us who depend on them."
Get Out Migration will promote the cause of wild salmon through a walk, open to all the public, from Sointula to Victoria.
"We hold salmon as sacred because they so generously feed our world," said Morton. "They built the soil of this province with their flesh, they grow our children, they feed the trees that make the oxygen we breath, they are food security in a world losing ability to even pollinate flowers."
Kim Petersen is Original People's editor at The Dominion.
http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/3273
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The Courier-Islander, 24th March 2010
Controversial fish farm site rezoning defeated
Dan Maclennan
The tentative and controversial rezoning of Grieg Seafoods' Gunner Point fish farm site has been defeated, nine months after it received preliminary approval from the Strathcona Regional District (SRD).
Following the advice of staff, SRD directors defeated Grieg's application to rezone the Gunner Point site - near the mouth of Sunderland Channel north of Sayward - for a farm of 14 net cages - each 30m X 30m - capable of raising 700,000 Atlantic salmon at a time. The SRD board had given first three readings to the application but told Grieg it must supply a letter of undertaking promising to take a number of measures to minimize the farm's impact on wild salmon, including a zero sea lice policy and a move to closed containment "as soon as it is commercially available."
In a report to the board, SRD CAO Brian Reardon recommended that the rezoning bylaw be defeated.
He also recommended that further rezoning applications for finfish aquaculture only be considered by the regional board after a new federal regulatory regime has been established. Reardon noted that Grieg had not yet met the conditions.
He also said a January BC Supreme Court ruling that regulation of finfish aquaculture is a federal responsibility - and a subsequent provincial moratorium on new finfish farm licenses - had raised serious questions about the future of aquaculture regulation.
"Staff has sought legal advice on potential impacts of the ruling which confirmed that we do not know what the new legislative regime will look like, how it will impact the finfish industry or what the impacts may be on land use decisions," he said. "Without certainty on regulatory regime or on the agency referral process, the regional board may be rezoning for finfish aquaculture activities without adequate information."
SRD directors agreed and defeated the application.
"What started out as a well-intentioned attempt to precipitate major changes in how the fish farm industry operated seems to have proven to be unattainable at this time," said Quadra Island Director Jim Abram. "We can't leave this hanging around any longer."
He said Grieg would hopefully come back with a closed containment proposal in future once new regulations were in place.
The Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) praised the decision afterward.
"This decision is the first step in reducing the burden on wild salmon not only from this area, but all juvenile salmon that migrate through the northern Georgia Strait," said Michelle Young of the Georgia Strait Alliance.
"There is great concern that Fraser River sockeye may be infected with lice from net-cage salmon farms in this area, so it is essential that the regional government continue to act to restrict the proliferation of open net-cages on a migration route of so many important salmon runs."
"We commend the SRD for exercising their responsibility to protect the marine environment from net-cage salmon farms, consistent with the expressed concerns of their constituents and their call for both Provincial and Federal governments to transition the salmon farming industry to closed containment technology," commented Will Soltau of Living Oceans Society.
Grieg spokespersons were unavailable for comment at the meeting prior to press time.
http://www2.canada.com/courierislander/news/story.html?id=f143b9f8-b499-4158-ba3d-b28708d66283
Seafood Intelligence, 24th March 2010
NEW BC website (A. Morton): 'Wild salmon are sacred' & Get Out Migration event; 1-month countdown
Salmon Are Sacred is calling on everyone who loves wild salmon to participate in ‘The Get Out Migration’ which starts on Earth Day (22nd April) and ends with a Mother’s Day blessing (9th May). In British Columbia, Alexandra Morton will start the migration in the Ahta River in the heart of the Broughton Archipelago with Quoashinis Lawson leaving the Bedwell River in Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve before joining up en route to Victoria. Other migrations are planned from Gold River, the Cowichan Valley, the Gulf Islands, the Fraser River Valley, Adams River and Washington State.
Public events are planned in Sointula (22nd April), Port McNeill (23rd April), Nimpkish Lake (23rd April), Tofino (24th April), Quadra Island (28th April), Campbell River/Courtenay (29th April), Big Qualicum River/Parksville (30th April), Port Alberni (1st May), Nanaimo (2nd May), Saltspring Island (3rd/4th May), Duncan (5th May), Bamberton (6th May), Sidney (7th May) and Victoria (8th May). Support is flooding in from around the world with people in Norway, Scotland, Ireland, United States and Canada pledging to stand up for wild salmon with migrations of their own and offers of solidarity.
Alexandra Morton, who was last week awarded an honorary degree by Simon Fraser University, said:
“The science is done, we know enough to act, but government continues shielding this industry from the laws of Canada. I think it is essential that everyone who understands the importance of wild salmon to our communities and ecology stand up so government can see you. As our wild salmon head out to sea, we will migrate in the opposite direction to the B.C. Parliament Buildings to demand safe passage by the removal of open net cage salmon farms to create. Save wild salmon, remove the farms”.
“Wild salmon are the backbone of the B.C. coast and we challenge those businesses and communities who depend upon healthy wild salmon returns to swell the ranks of the migration,” said Anissa Reed of Ocean Aura Design. “Please show your support for wild salmon by getting out on the streets and out onto the water. You need wild salmon and wild salmon need you. Will you heed the call of the wild salmon and stand up to be counted?”
“The calls from the coast are reaching a crescendo as more and more people stand up for wild salmon,” said Don Staniford, Global Coordinator for the Pure Salmon Campaign. “Open net cages have spread like a malignant cancer on coastlines around the world and must be ripped out as a matter of urgency. Even John Fredriksen (the owner of Marine Harvest – the largest salmon farm company in the world) has called for salmon farms to be moved out of the path of migrating wild salmon. The time is now to show your support and get out for wild salmon.”
For more information please visit: www.salmonaresacred.org
www.seafoodintelligence.com
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Georgia Strait Alliance, 23rd March 2010
CAAR applauds Strathcona Regional District's denial of zoning for Grieg Seafood Gunner Point open net-cage salmon farm
CAMPBELL RIVER, BC - Member groups of the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) are pleased that the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) has denied zoning to Grieg Seafood for a massive new open net-cage salmon farm at Gunner Point in the northern Georgia Strait area.
"This decision is the first step in reducing the burden on wild salmon not only from this area, but all juvenile salmon that migrate through the northern Georgia Strait", according to Michelle Young of Georgia Strait Alliance. "There is great concern that Fraser River sockeye may be infected with lice from net-cage salmon farms in this area, so it is essential that the regional government continue to act to restrict the proliferation of open net-cages on a migration route of so many important salmon runs."
Conditions were previously applied to the Gunner Point zoning in an attempt to leverage the industry toward closed containment. Although the remoteness of Gunner Point is not an ideal site for a closed containment facility, the SRD has sent a very strong message that closed containment is the only acceptable direction for the salmon aquaculture industry in BC.
CAAR member groups, along with hundreds of local citizens concerned about the effects of open net cage salmon farms, participated in two public hearings and made numerous written submissions expressing serious concerns about the likely impacts of expanding the open net-cage salmon farm industry.
"We commend the SRD for exercising their responsibility to protect the marine environment from net-cage salmon farms, consistent with the expressed concerns of their constituents and their call for both Provincial and Federal governments to transition the salmon farming industry to closed containment technology," commented Will Soltau of Living Oceans Society.
"The SRD recognizes the importance of wild salmon to BC's economy, as well as the importance of promoting sustainable aquaculture alternatives," adds Young. "We look forward to continuing our work with industry, the SRD, and all levels of government, to phase out environmentally destructive net-cage farms and to foster the development of a vibrant, newly-emerging closed containment aquaculture industry in BC."
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For more information contact:
Michelle Young, Georgia Strait Alliance (250) 757-8464 michelle@georgiastrait.org
Ruby Berry, Georgia Strait Alliance (250) 218-6818 ruby@georgiastrait.org
Will Soltau, Living Oceans Society (250) 973-6580 Ext: 203 wsoltau@livingoceans.org
http://www.georgiastrait.org/?q=node/958
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he New Aquaculture blog, 22nd March 2010
IBSS discussion: Farmed salmon
Last Monday afternoon, close to 100 people gathered in one of the myriad rooms at the International Boston Seafood Show for a panel discussion on the future of farmed salmon. There were the basic updates, forecasts for the future and, not surprisingly, some tough questions from the audience.
On the panel were Jason Paine, general manager of Multiexport Foods USA; Katherine Bostick, senior program officer at the World Wildlife Fund's Aquaculture Program (she also moderated the panel discussion); Mary Ellen Walling, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association; and Nell Halse, VP of communications for New Brunswick-based Cooke Aquaculture and its operating arm, True North Salmon Co.
The first issue addressed was whether the recent earthquake in Chile had any impact on that country's salmon farming operations. The quake did not affect Multiexport Foods, which owns salmon farms 400 miles north of the quake's epicenter, except for some tense moments the day of the earthquake when communication was spotty, Paine said. The earthquake happened on a Saturday morning, but by Wednesday the company was back to normal, flying farmed salmon out of Santiago. The earthquake had "virtually no impact," he said.
Cooke Aquaculture, which also owns a salmon farm in Chile, was not severely impacted by the quake, besides some of the expected disruptions to transportation and logistics, Halse said.
The conversation then shifted to an overall assessment of Chile's salmon farming industry. The Infectious Salmon Anemia outbreak in that country has been "nothing short of catastrophe," Paine said. He said this year will be the most difficult, but his future outlook is positive. There's been no more cases of ISA reported in the past year and the number of smolts being put in the water is on the way up. However, it's cost the industry there billions of dollars. "It's been a very expensive lesson to learn," he said.
Halse said Cooke's Chile operation is expecting "significant recovery." She pointed out that ISA is very difficult to eradicate, but can be addressed through better management. Given the fact that ISA first appeared in New Brunswick waters -- Cooke's native territory -- in 1996, and did significant damage to the salmon farms there and in Down East Maine, the company has dealt with this problem before. Halse said ISA has not been a serious problem in New Brunswick and Maine since then because of the measures undertaken to keep it under control. Cooke Aquaculture operates on a three-bay management system. At any given time, one bay is reserved for new smolts, another for market-size fish, while another lies fallow for a minimum of four months. The system is very similar to that used by terrestrial farms.
A question from the audience raised the worrying issue of sea lice gaining an increased resistance to Slice, the commercial name for the pesticide emamectin benzoate. Halse acknowledged that Cooke Aquaculture has noticed the reduced effectiveness of the pesticide. She said it highlighted the necessity for a broader, fully-integrated system for pest management, which includes not just pesticides, but operational changes like the company's bay management system. Cooke Aquaculture is also planning to bathe roughly two million market-ready caged salmon in the pesticide deltamethrin, marketed as AlphaMax, according to a recent story in The Working Waterfront. Halse said in an ideal world "we'd rather not use chemicals." She said Cooke is also considering alternative methods, from using hydrogen peroxide to farming cleaner species.
Walling, from the BC salmon farming industry, added that the over use of chemicals is a very serious concern for fish farmers, not only because of the risk that pests will develop a resistance, but "frankly it drives up costs."
One question from an audience member associated with Pure Salmon, a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to improving the way salmon is produced, created a heated, though brief, discussion. The question was who is legally liable in a case where farmed salmon in Canada, treated with chemicals approved for use in that country, are exported to a country, such as the United States, where that chemical is not approved for use. Walling said she was not a lawyer and therefore could not answer the liability question, but "if Pure Salmon has an opportunity to take a company to court, I'm sure you'll do that," she said. Often, she said, the chemicals are not approved in the United States purely because the U.S. fish farming industry is still so small that the chemical companies have not seen it worthwhile financially to go through the process to get the pesticides approved.
The issue of using chemicals approved in one country and not another does create unique challenges for a company like Cooke Aquaculture, which farms salmon in the Canadian province of New Brunswick and the neighboring U.S. state of Maine. "It is a challenge because we don't have the same regulations, but we farm in the same body of water," Halse said.
As far as the next big thing in the salmon farming industry, the consensus of the panel seemed to be a focus on value-added products, from processed foods to innovative and convenient packaging.
Katherine Bostick, senior program officer at the World Wildlife Fund's Aquaculture Program, also said that organization is a month away from releasing a draft copy of its sustainable salmon farming standards. It's the result of a process begun five years ago.
Speaking of standards, a member of the audience directed a question at Halse about True North Salmon Co.'s marketing its salmon under the Seafood Trust Eco Label certification. The audience member said she knew several people who were unsuccessful in obtaining the standards the certification are based on, which raises questions of transparency. Halse said the certification standards are not the company's to disclose. She directed questions to Global Trust, but said she had heard the group was disclosing the standards.
Corey Peet, aquaculture campaigner for the David Suzuki Foundation, used the floor not to ask a question, but to comment on what he believes is the aquaculture industry's nonchalant attitude that reaching sustainability -- which he defined as reconciling economic, social and environmental issues -- will be a piece of cake.
He singled out the BC salmon farming industry as an example. Claiming it would be easier if there were one or two issues that needed reconciling, Peet said the industry has at least eight issues that need to be addressed. "I don't think these sustainability issues are easy to resolve," he said.
Another audience member from the David Suzuki Foundation also brought up David Suzuki's recent visit to one of Cooke Aquaculture's New Brunswick salmon farms. His criticism was that from what he had heard from Suzuki, not much has changed in the salmon farming business in the last five years, but now, all of a sudden, True North is marketing its salmon under the Seafood Trust Eco Label certification.
Halse disagreed with the assessment and negative tone the audience member assigned to David Suzuki's visit to Cooke's operations. She said Suzuki's visit was a very meaningful experience for the company. And, despite an acknowledgment that more needs to be done, she said it's that kind of positive dialogue is exactly what is needed. "That kind of approach will change the industry," she said.
She stressed that the dialogue needs to change from critics always focusing on the negative and the past, instead of focusing on the positive changes that the salmon farming industry is making. And they are making progress, she said. "We're on the road [to sustainability] and we're going to keep going," Halse said.
http://thenewaquaculture.blogspot.com/2010/03/ibss-discussion-farmed-salmon.html
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Mark Hume
Vancouver, BC — From Monday's Globe and Mail
Published on Monday, Mar. 29, 2010 11:42AM EDT
Last updated on Monday, Mar. 29, 2010 4:59PM EDT
.The Salmon & Trout Association of the United Kingdom has His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales as its patron, and Ralph Percy, the Duke of Northumberland, as its president.
Founded 107 years ago, the organization works quietly to promote the proper management of aquatic resources, often focusing its efforts on influencing the highest levels of government.
As its name suggests, the association, which has 100,000 members, has a special interest in trout and salmon.
So it was only a matter of time before it took a stand on one of the most troubling environmental issues of the day: fish farming.
After a careful study of peer-reviewed science, the S&TA last week released its position paper on the impact of aquaculture on wild Scottish salmon stocks. And it is a stunning condemnation of an industry that is also under fire in British Columbia.
The S&TA does not equivocate. It states a review of the leading science “reveals a devastating catalogue of malpractice in the way salmon farming is impacting wild salmon, sea trout and the marine environment, and provides incontrovertible proof that it is a sword of Damocles suspended over some of Scotland's most iconic natural resources.”
The report accuses the salmon farming industry in Scotland “of precipitating an environmental disaster” and calls on government for the immediate implementation of a survival plan to save wild stocks.
It identifies the three biggest problems as the spread of sea lice from farmed to wild stocks; the interbreeding of escaped farmed fish with wild stocks and the pollution of the sea floor around ocean net pens.
“It has been a sobering experience researching the evidence surrounding the interaction between salmon fish farming and wild fish stocks,” says Janina Gray, S&TA's Head of Science. “The evidence is clear that aquaculture can have a significantly negative impact, in some areas, on wild salmon, sea trout and their environment. We must learn from the scientific evidence available, enforce the precautionary principle and take action before it's too late.”
Paul Knight, S&TA's CEO, said fish farming “can offer enormous benefits to mankind and significantly reduce the [fishing] pressure on our precious wild oceanic stocks,” but it must be done differently.
“The scientific literature unequivocally demonstrates that fish farms, as presently constructed and operated, are having a disastrous impact on native fisheries, the wider environment and the many public benefits associated with it,” said Mr. Knight.
“It must be the government's statutory responsibility, and the industry's moral one, to protect two of Scotland's most valuable and iconic natural resources – wild salmon and sea trout – before it is too late,” he said.
The report calls for industry to shift from open-net pens, to enclosed systems, “therefore cutting out any interaction between farmed and wild salmon and sea trout.”
It says government, industry and wild fish organizations should work out a timeline for that transition, and that they should do so with a sense of urgency.
The report says the precautionary principle should be adhered to at all times; a list of ecologically sensitive sites should be drawn up and “sea-based salmon farms must be moved away from locations with significant salmon and sea-trout migration runs, within estuaries, locks and offshore.”
In short, the organization makes pretty much the same key demands that environmental groups have been calling for in B.C. for years.
The provincial government and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans have so far ignored those groups, dismissing them as loud, single-interest advocates.
But now, on the far side of another ocean, a group with impeccable peerage and an impressive track record of working with government has come to similar conclusions.
Fish farming urgently needs to be reformed. That's not some radical environmental group saying that, but an organization backed by Prince Charles and The Duke of Northumberland.
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Machiavellian corporate/government collusion
Campbell River Mirror
Published: March 30, 2010 3:00 PM
The Vancouver Sun (March 25) recently posted an item stating that a new system of Salmon Farming had been discovered allowing them to remain in salt water without wrecking the place. This is spectacularly good news ? If it proves to be true and if it can be implemented immediately.
In the meantime?
For those of you still unaware of who Alexandra Morton is, here is a brief rundown. Alexandra Morton has spent the last decade demonstrating in peer reviewed scientific journals and our courts of law the gross errors of management occurring in the BC Salmon Farming Industry. For her troubles, the Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans once threatened her with criminal charges when she tried to move salmon smolts past the sea lice infested salmon farms of the Broughton Archipelago. All this and apparently it doesn’t even pay that well. Just google her and you’ll learn more.
The fact that Alexandra remains relatively unknown is puzzling. Perhaps our media has something to do with it. To think that everyone knows and seemingly cares what Tiger Woods is up to, yet the most amazing and sinister soap opera is occurring unnoticed under our noses is pretty hilarious – in a tragic comedy sort of way. And just so I am clear, this Machiavellian drama I refer to doesn’t involve fish so much as government and corporate collusion. A bit of a steamy and clandestine sexy affair, if you will, with the citizenry of B.C. getting a side role as the clueless hubby. But, hey, it’s just part of a long boring series called BC Politics. Remember the sale of BC Rail? Anyone?
The irony of one private individual (Alexandra Morton) doing the job our Department of Fisheries and Oceans is mandated with, yet refuses to do, should not be lost on anyone. Furthermore, what the generally good people in the DFO think about this we’ll never know due to the Harper government’s effective muzzling of all federally employed scientists. Fortunately, there are other sources of good, factual information on the subject, often from terrible mistakes occurring on other sides of the world – mistakes that we have had ample opportunity to learn from. The facts are clearly damning and our governments are complicit. Something to do with political campaign contributions perhaps. Again, just google it.
The big burning question I’d like an answer to is: will we the people raise an appropriate stink or will the fine Canadian tradition of “keep yer head down and yer nose clean” rule the day? Our wild salmon are not just iconic or economically valuable, but also act as our canary in the coal mine. The clock is ticking. At the very least anyone who has ever tossed a line needs to step up to the plate by informing your MP and MLA, Premier and Prime Ministers Office exactly what you think of their scandalous conduct in taking such huge and needless risks with our salmon.
For the more energetic, I urge you to sacrifice a little time and Join Alexandra on her march from Port Hardy to Victoria from April 23 to May 9.
I repeat, anyone who calls themselves a fisherman in any way, shape or form should be mortally ashamed of themselves if they don’t at least enquire as to what the hell I am talking about and then proceed appropriately. And remember.... friends don’t let friends eat farmed salmon. Maybe if they ever get their act together we can change that. Unless we provide the incentive they won’t.
Bruce Kay
Whistler, B.C.
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Weekly Update April 5, 2010
Salmon Farming
This was another week of strong rejection, condemnation, denial and disturbing evidence regarding net pen salmon farms. It seems everyone can see the evidence globally, except industry CEOs and government. Jobs, economy, food security, local towns all thrive with the diversity made possible by abundant wild salmon. The era of a free dump into public waters for Norwegian salmon farming industry is coming to a rapid closure. If they want to exist fish farmers need to get out of the ocean.
The Get Out Migration is building. I am walking the length of Vancouver Island beginning on April 23 at the north end from Sointula. People are telling me they plan to walk too from their towns and along the same route and this is fantastic! If enough people do this, politicians might finally understand that wild salmon are much too valuable to risk in this way. Please know this is not an “event”, it is simply individuals who feel it is time to take a stand for wild salmon in a visible way and if you decide to do this please know you must be self-sufficient. www.salmonaresacred.org <http://www.salmonaresacred.org>
The Salmon & Trout Association of the United Kingdom, with Prince Charles as its patron and 100,000 members, made a stunning condemnation of salmon farming. It states that a review of the science:
“reveals a devastating catalogue of malpractice in the way salmon farming is impacting wild salmon, sea trout and the marine environment, and provides incontrovertible proof that it is a sword of Damocles suspended over some of Scotland's most iconic natural resources.”
The report lists sea lice as one of the biggest problems and accuses the salmon farming industry in Scotland “of precipitating an environmental disaster” and calls on government for the immediate implementation of a survival plan to save wild stocks.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/calls-to-save-salmon-from-across-the-pond/article1515880/
Meanwhile, while visiting BC Norwegian CEO of Mainstream (Cermaq) Mr. Geir Isaksen said that there is “no validity” in the research on sea lice and that we should all work together. He does not suggest that Mainstream release disease information however.
"I feel some of the arguments they use are not really real... for instance it's been a long debate on sea lice and the impact of sea lice on the migrating smolts on this area.... And in my view it seems at least that some of the arguments used against fish farming are not verified in this research," Isaksen said.
http://www2.canada.com/westerly/story.html?id=d9ec075f-2f48-4e39-87ce-4b897a926551
Last week I attended a meeting on the Fraser River sockeye and saw a graph depicting productivity of the different sockeye runs within the Fraser. All but one started into accelerating decline in the early 1990s. During this time period the % taken by the commercial fishing has been steadily cut back. If fishing was the driving problem, fish numbers should have increased as fishing decreased. The one run that is producing more and more fish per spawner is the Harrison and a recent DFO study found that while most juvenile Fraser sockeye travel north past 60 fish farms, the Harrison go south around southern Vancouver Island and do not encounter salmon farms.
In Ottawa, Mr. Trevor Swerdfager, Director General for Aquaculture DFO is telling our Federal Standing Committee on Aquaculture is saying there is no evidence of fish farms negatively affecting wild salmon populations.
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4367913&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=3#Int-3050053 <http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4367913&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=3#Int-3050053>
The Union of BC Indian Chiefs rejected Mr. Swerdfager’s Aquaculture Regulation Strategic Plan in an open letter to Minister of Fisheries Shea “because it does not meet Canada’s legal and constitutional obligations to First Nations.”
http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/News_Releases/UBCICNews03301001.htm
The Intertribal Treaty Organization put out a press release on March 11, 2010:
“During the March 9-10, 2010 inaugural AGA of the Intertribal Treaty Organization (ITO) held in Prince George, attending Chiefs voted unanimously to support Indigenous Nations of the Broughton Archipelago and Georgia Straits for the immediate removal of fish farms from their territories to support in the survival of Fraser River bound fish stocks.”
The Town of Tahsis also wrote to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans asking for the fish farms near them to be removed:
“In conclusion, Tahsis needs to protect not just the wild salmon but its own economic interests. After the closure of our sawmill and subsequent collapse of our local logging industry, we need to look after what we have left for our economic survival. With that in mind, we ask that the federal government close the open containment fish farms in Nootka Sound. While this may negatively impact the local fish farm industry, we have proposed to them that they relocate to Tahsis and build land-based, closed containment facilities here. We are willing to work with them to find a solution that is mutually beneficial to all.”
I still have not receive any explanation from the provincial Ministry of Agriculture and Lands on why their own graphs and statements do not appear in agreement on the issue of drug-resistant sea lice in Nootka area.
March 22, 2010, Trevor Swerdfager told the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans:
“We have absolutely no evidence of that (Slice resistance) whatsoever in British Columbia. We know that this is one of the latest suggestions that has come forward. We have looked into that situation, which has been profiled frequently on the web. But it's not just that.”
While Mr. Swerdfager says they looked into the situation it would be good to know what he found. These lice have now spread to the wild chum salmon heading to sea, pictures: http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/
Perhaps you can understand why I feel it is time to stand up and be counted. There are solutions. This is a mess brought on by very poor leadership they need direction.
Thank you for reading,
Alexandra Morton
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Department of Justice lays charges against fish farm company
Unlawful by-catch of wild salmon by Norwegian fish farm company
(April 20, 2010, Port Hardy) Today, Todd Gerhart of the Department of Justice, stayed charges laid by biologist Alexandra Morton against Marine Harvest, the largest Norwegian fish farm company in the world, for unlawful possession of wild salmon. In a landmark initiative Gerhart advised the Court that on April 16, 2010, DOJ filed a new indictment against Marine Harvest, including the original charges laid by Alexandra Morton as well as new charges for unlawful possession of herring reported in October 2009. Mr. Gerhart will be the prosecutor.
Morton and her lawyer Jeffery Jones are relieved. “It is my strong opinion,” says Mr. Jones, a former Crown Prosecutor for DOJ, “that this industry was given access to the BC coast and appears to have been conducting itself as if it were above the law. Today’s decision by Mr. Gerhart and the Department of Justice confirms that no corporation is above the law. This is why private prosecutions are important democratic safeguards. Ms. Morton’s prosecution has triggered enforcement action by DOJ. I am extremely pleased by Mr. Gerhart’s decision.”
In June of 2009, young wild salmon were observed falling from a load of farm salmon being off-loaded from Marine Harvest’s vessel Orca Warrior. Some of these fish were collected and Marine Harvest admitted in the newspaper to catching the wild salmon. “By-catch” is fish caught without a licence in the process of fishing for other species. By-catch is strictly controlled in all other fisheries and in some cases causes entire fisheries to be shut down.
“For decades we have heard reports of wild fish trapped in fish farms, eaten by the farm fish and destroyed during harvest,” says biologist Alexandra Morton, “but when DFO was informed of these offenses they would not, or could not, lay a charge. Canada cannot manage wild fish like this. You can’t regulate commercial and sport fishermen and then allow another group unlimited access to the same resource. BC will lose its wild fish.”
In 1993, the Pacific Fishery Regulations exempted salmon farms from virtually all fishing regulations. Unlike commercial fishermen, salmon farmers can use bright lights known to attract wild fish. The oily food pellets they use also attract fish and wildlife. Commercial fishermen are required to pay for observers and cameras on their vessels that record by-catch, so that fishing can be halted to preserve non-targeted stocks. No such enforcement has been applied to salmon farmers, despite regular reports of black cod, rock cod, herring, lingcod, wild salmon, Pollock, capelin and other species in the pens, in stomachs of the farmed fish and destroyed at harvest time….Until now.
“This is a ray of hope that we can work through the issue of Norwegian salmon farming in BC waters. I am thankful to hand this over to the Department of Justice. Aquaculture is not the problem. The problem is the reckless way government sited it, managed it and gave it priority over the public fisheries. I call on government to protect the families now dependant on this industry as it undergoes the long overdue scrutiny of the courts, the judicial inquiry and public opinion.“
Alexandra Morton
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/ottawa-takes-over-prosecution-of-salmon-farm/article1541338/
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Saw an interesting sign in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay hotel's "Shark Reef Aquarium".
Good to see people in other parts of the world have the same ideas:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/BCfisher/Fishfarms.jpg)
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Worth the watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vekW4FgXefo
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Please find enclosed a press update including:
"Saving Salmon – with Alexandra Morton" (CBC, 6th April): http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/schedule/#april
"How to help the May Day effort" (Salmon Are Sacred, 4th April): http://www.salmonaresacred.org/how-to-help
"Candidates of Canada - will you remove salmon feedlots from BC waters?" (Wild Salmon People, 4th April): http://www.wildsalmonpeople.ca/
"Boom year for B.C. salmon belies deeper troubles with Pacific fishery" (This Magazine, 4th April): http://this.org/magazine/2011/04/04/bc-salmon/
"NDP Leadership Race: Will You Remove feedlots from Our Ocean?" (Wild Salmon People, 4th April): http://www.wildsalmonpeople.ca/will-you-remove-feedlots-our-ocean
"Environmental issues loom large in B.C., where Green party hopes to stake its claim - Federal election issues affecting West Coast include salmon, oil tankers and climate change " (Vancouver Sun, 2nd April): http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Environmental+issues+loom+large+where+Green+party+hopes+stake+claim/4548800/story.html
"Politicians must face wild salmon queries" (The Courier-Islander, 1st April): http://www2.canada.com/courierislander/news/letters/story.html?id=f1d837cb-d32a-46a2-b5fa-eb5766c951e4
"Salmon Connection" (Burnaby Now, 1st April): http://www.burnabynow.com/Teacher+helm/4549162/story.html
"BC Salmon Farmers find frugal fashion a fit for Heart and Stroke Foundation" (BCSFA, 1st April): http://www.salmonfarmers.org/bc-salmon-farmers-find-frugal-fashion-fit-heart-and-stroke-foundation
"Morton charges DFO coverup, declares 'May Day' for wild salmon" (The Tyee, 31st March): http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Food-Farming/2011/03/31/MayDay/
"May Day for Wild Salmon – it is up to us!" (Alexandra Morton, 31st March): http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/alexandra_morton/2011/03/may-day-for-wild-salmon-it-is-up-to-us.html
(ECO, 31st March): http://huffstrategy.com/MediaManager/Media/Text/1301572718_Mayday+Press+Release+31st+March.pdf
"Oceans a major source of employment" (North Island Gazette, 31st March): http://www.bclocalnews.com/opinion/letters/118869694.html
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Please find enclosed a press update including:
"Candidates Speak: Will You Remove Feedlots from Our Ocean?" (Wild Salmon People, 6th April): http://www.wildsalmonpeople.ca/will-you-remove-feedlots-our-ocean
"Fish farming is going to be an issue" (The Courier-Islander, 6th April): http://www2.canada.com/courierislander/news/story.html?id=b8dfda61-c702-4be7-a600-7444f34bad2a
"Saving Salmon – with Alexandra Morton" (CBC, 6th April): http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/schedule/#april
"New report examines sustainability claims of farmed salmon eco-certifications" (Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform, 6th April): http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/media-releases/2011/04/2299/
"Bringing fish farming into the modern age" (The Vancouver Sun, 6th April): http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Bringing+fish+farming+into+modern/4566983/story.html
"Unguarded note conveys Fisheries’ manager’s frustrations" (The Globe & Mail, 6th April): http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/unguarded-note-conveys-fisheries-managers-frustrations/article1972228/
"DFO Briefing Note for Director General of Habitat Management: Meeting with the BC Salmon Farmers Association regarding public confidence and aquaculture" (Watershed Watch, 5th April): http://www.watershed-watch.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/16-EV-CAN-0008-002000-CAN014324-2.pdf
"Biologist Alexandra Morton launches a "vote salmon" campaign to coincide with federal election" (The Straight, 5th April): http://www.straight.com/article-385081/vancouver/alexandra-morton-launches-vote-salmon-campaign
"Forcing Politicians to "Speak for Salmon" - All we are saying..is give fish a chance!" (All Voices, 5th April): http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8692833-forcing-politicians-to-speak-for-salmon
"Fisheries habitat being steadily eroded, panel told" (The Globe & Mail, 5th April): http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/fisheries-habitat-being-steadily-eroded-panel-told/article1970790/
"B.C. voters need to know: which federal candidates have the backbone to stand up and protect wild salmon?: Alexandra Morton begins election education campaign" (Wild Salmon People, 5th April): http://www.wildsalmonpeople.ca/
"Climate change – not sea lice – killing wild salmon" (Fish Farming Xpert, 5th April): http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?page_id=76&article_id=91232
"Salmon label bill should be thrown back" (Orange County Register, 4th April): http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/-294938--.html
"Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Fraser River Sockeye and Concerns about Viral Disease" (Save Our Salmon Fund, April): http://www.saveoursalmon.ca/
"Let federal election candidates know that to get your vote, they must commit to protecting wild salmon and furthering the development of closed containment" (Farmed & Dangerous, 31st March): http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/newsletter/2011/03/2185/#election
"DFO fails to follow through on information transparency concerning salmon farming licenses" (Farmed & Dangerous, 31st March): http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/newsletter/2011/03/2185/#transparency
"Sockeye inquiry reveals potential virus that may be linked to sockeye deaths" (Farmed & Dangerous, 31st March): http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/newsletter/2011/03/2185/
Including revelations at the Cohen Inquiry yesterday how DFO is promoting aquaculture:
"DFO Briefing Note for Director General of Habitat Management: Meeting with the BC Salmon Farmers Association regarding public confidence and aquaculture": http://www.watershed-watch.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/16-EV-CAN-0008-002000-CAN014324-2.pdf
And from Don Davies (NDP, Vancouver Kingsway):
"Under the federal government's watch, we have see the slow extinction of wild salmon species because of misguided policies, inept management, and a refusal to respect fundamental principles of sound science. I call for an emergency summit on salmon, an increase in funding for salmon enhancement programs, and an immediate ban on open net fish farms": http://www.wildsalmonpeople.ca/will-you-remove-feedlots-our-ocean
Follow the Cohen Inquiry (including a schedule, list of witnesses and exhibits) via: http://www.cohencommission.ca/en/Schedule/
Join the Superheroes 4 Salmon at the Cohen Inquiry on Thursday 14th April – meet outside the building (Granville/W Georgia) from 9.30am. Join the "Justice League for Wild Salmon" including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern, Captain Condom, Supergirl, Catwoman, Robin, The Flash and Night Owl. Superhero volunteers needed. Details to be posted via: www.superheroes4salmon.org
At 1pm on 14th April there will also be a peaceful protest at DFO's office on Burrard St. with a mock citizen's arrest of Gail Shea – details via Facebook's event page 'DFO Crime Scene': http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=153362878061624
For details on 'Mayday for Wild Salmon' including details of a rally in Victoria on May Day (1st May) visit: www.salmonaresacred.org
For details on 'Vote Salmon' visit: www.votesalmon.ca
Join Alexandra Morton in Campbell River on 13th April – all candidates have been invited to Spirit Square at 12 Noon. Follow Alex's progress on the campaign trail for wild salmon online via: http://www.salmonaresacred.org/node/529
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Worth the watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vekW4FgXefo
this video does an excellent job in showing the facts in a straight forward way. you can see why the salmon farmers are putting so many commercials on tv to try to make us believe this is not true. imo the writing is on the wall.
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Rafe here ... below is the most egregious breach of public trust I have ever seen - and that covers a lot of ground.
Please pass this on to your address book and as them to do the same.
This from www.thecanadian.org April 7, 2012
DFO Shilling for Salmon Farmers: Outrageous Briefing Note
* !
Over the years, starting in earnest with the Kemano Completion Project fight in 1993, I’ve been highly critical of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and its politicization by the Mulroney government of that day. I was hit with a massive lawsuit by former Minister Tom Siddon which my insurers stupidly settled (I made that comment publicly immediately upon the news release). I had support from many former DFO scientists and I’m satisfied that my statements were accurate. When the KCP was approved in 1986 this was because the politicians told DFO to do as it was told.
Now we have proof of DFO working on behalf of salmon farmers via a document filed at the Cohen Commission. To be truthful, it makes me feel ill to read it and report on it. The only conclusion one can come to is that the DFO is a willing arm of the fish farm Industry.
It’s styled as a “BRIEFING NOTE FOR THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF HABITAT MANAGEMENT”
MEETING WITH BC SALMON FARMERS ASSOCIATION REGARDING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE AND AQUACULTURE.
The meeting was for May 4, 2005 with Mary Ellen Walling of the BC Salmon Farmers' Association, David Rideout of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, the Deputy Minister and other senior DFO staff and – get this – the primary purpose of the meeting was to discuss the challenges facing the BC salmon farming industry with respect to public confidence in aquaculture practices, as well as in the government regulation of the industry. (You will note that none of the independent scientists who had raised concerns about fish farming were to be present. No Alexandra Morton...no Martin Kroksek...no John Volpe...no Neil Frazer...no Daniel Pauly...and on the list of absentees goes).
It goes on to say, "As lead federal department for aquaculture, DFO has explicitly committed to improving public confidence in aquaculture. To deliver on this commitment, the department has undertaken several initiatives to raise public confidence in the context of aquaculture." (my emphasis)
Can you believe this?
The document is a screed of helpful hints for the director as he marches hand in hand with the fish farmers to bury the truth, to be replaced with fish farmer propaganda including such gems as “developing a long term proactive strategy for raising pubic confidence in aquaculture…targeting information for the general public, rather than trying to directly challenge the media campaigns being carried out by well funded ENGOs." It speaks of Regional Communications and Aquaculture Management Staff to “manage the file”.
Ponder that: a “Communications and Aquaculture Management staff”??? Would not “Fish Farmers' Propaganda Department” be synonymous? This is our DFO taking care of the public interest?
The fish farmers have corrupted the DFO, which in turn was more than willing to be corrupted.
Here’s a little gem for you:
“Indications from pacific region are that the recent meeting with Mary Ellen Walling [flack for the fish farmers - eidtor's note] was positive and industry seemed satisfied with the progress made at the meeting. The region committed to regular meetings with Mary Ellen Walling." (emphasis mine)
Can you believe this! Industry seemed satisfied!
Thank God for that! One trembles to think of the consequences if good old Mary Ellen had been dissatisfied!
There is a link provided to this document and you can read it all for yourself.
I scarcely know where to start.
This is a huge vindication for people like Alexandra Morton who stood, unfunded, up to the bully. I can only imagine how she must feel seeing the despicable supposedly protector of our fish as corrupt as a Tammany Hall sort of City Hall. I don’t speak of monetary corruption. I’m reminded of the jingle:
“You cannot hope to bribe or twist,
(thank God!) the British journalist.
But, seeing what the man will do
Unbribed, there's no occasion to.”
How the hell do these people sleep at night? What do they tell people what they do for a living? It surely would be easier in that regard to be the piano player in a house of ill repute.
Where have our politicians been? Where the hell has the mainstream media been? I’ve never been prouder of the fact that I was forced out because of my support for Alexandra Morton. To be in journalism and not report on this would be to accept dirty money.
Do not, for the love of God, let the provincial government off the hook. Until Ms. Morton’s lawsuit, the BC government was the leading shill.
The governments ought to be ashamed but so should backbenchers for not asking questions. There was no shortage of questions raised outside the house – they knew what I was saying all too well. Where the hell were they when to be a politician took a little guts?
The governmental process at both levels of senior government should hang their heads in shame and more fool us if we don’t throw them all out on their tender asses
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http://www.youtube.com/user/ANewsVanIsland#p/u/0/RpsCMg4P9y8
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http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Rules+keep+fish+findings+under+wraps/4731508/story.html
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http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/story.html?id=47a3f4e0-3ed4-4df4-9cd8-5f058104697d
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"B.C. biologist Morton may soon give up her campaign" (Nanaimo Daily News, 6th May):
http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/story.html?id=47a3f4e0-3ed4-4df4-9cd8-5f058104697d
"Not so public public inquiry" (The Courier-Islander, 6th May): http://www2.canada.com/courierislander/news/opinion/story.html?id=ffd0aa09-d018-4414-94f2-a196906f463f
"Salmon disease information kept under wraps" (The Courier-Islander, 6th May): http://www2.canada.com/courierislander/news/story.html?id=bcea1bc9-6d73-497d-9e9b-25ae78b60fce
"No data means no answers, sockeye inquiry told" (The Globe & Mail): http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/no-data-means-no-answers-sockeye-inquiry-told/article2011963/
"Poor return on investment" (Comox Valley Echo, 6th May): http://www2.canada.com/comoxvalleyecho/news/opinions/story.html?id=c4b18d2c-daaa-4fd0-a4c1-2d967c4c0257
"Norway feels sting of China's Nobel anger" (Associated Press, 6th May): http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/05/06/general-industrials-eu-norway-china-nobel-backlash_8453124.html
"Morton highlights challenges, alternatives for salmon aquaculture" (The Westerly, 5th May): http://www.canada.com/Morton+highlights+challenges+alternatives+salmon+aquaculture/4733825/story.html
"Salmon farmers take issue with the letter" (North Island Gazette, 5th May): http://www.farmfreshsalmon.org/salmon-farmers-take-issue-letter
"Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Leaders Question Reasoning Behind the Development of an Aquaculture Farm in St. Mary’s Bay" (Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs, 29th April): www.mikmaqrights.com
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Norwegian horrors.
http://vimeo.com/10542920
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Please find enclosed a press update including:
"Closed containment: Neither viable nor 'green'" (The Telegraph Journal, 26th May): http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/opinion/
"ORGANIC Aquaculture: 2nd public comment period ends May 31st for Canada's proposed draft standards" (Seafood Intelligence, 26th May): www.seafoodintelligence.com
"CAAR Say No To Net-Cage Salmon Farm" (The Fish Site, 26th May): http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/14897/carr-say-no-to-netcage-salmon-farm
"Environmental group opposing new BC fish farm" (Fish Farming Xpert, 26th May): http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?page_id=76&article_id=91636
"FDA petitioned to complete environmental impact review for AquaBounty salmon" (Fish News EU, 26th May): http://www.fishnewseu.com/latest-news/world/5860-fda-petitioned-to-complete-environmental-impact-review-for-aquabounty-salmon.html
"Hatcheries vs fish farms" (Sooke News Mirror, 25th May): http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/sookenewsmirror/opinion/122517028.html
"Fish often mislabeled as wild salmon or red snapper, report alleges" (LA Times, 25th May): http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/05/seafood-fraud.html
"New Canadian Fisheries Minister" (Fish Farming Xpert, 25th May): http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?page_id=76&article_id=91622
"Proposed new fish farm site said Christy Clark's first test" (The Courier-Islander, 25th May): http://www.canada.com/Proposed+fish+farm+site+said+Christy+Clark+first+test/4834735/story.html
"A Biotech Fish Story" (Corporate Counsel, 25th May): http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202495028661&A_Biotech_Fish_Story
"California Must Label Genetically Engineered Fish" (Huffington Post, 24th May): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jean-halloran/california-must-label-gen_b_866284.html
"Fish farming takes a strong stomach" (Pacific Fishing, 24th May):
"Feces in imported food from less developed countries a rising concern: scientists" (Vancouver Sun, 23rd May): http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Feces+imported+food+from+less+developed+countries+rising+concern+scientists/4827169/story.html
"Aquacultured Pt. 2 - Fishers and aquaculturalists get to the bottom of pesticide concerns" (The Independent, 9th May): http://theindependent.ca/2011/05/09/aquacultured-pt-2/
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Please find enclosed a press update including:
""Organic" Farmed Salmon Must Meet Organic Standards" (Change, 27th May): http://www.change.org/petitions/organic-farmed-salmon-must-meet-organic-standards?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=own_wall
"CLOSED-CONTAINED: AgriMarine increases salmon production in China; Assembly cost halved" (Seafood Intelligence, 27th May): www.seafoodintelligence.com
"Dam releases are killing hundreds of thousands of fish, farmers say - Fish farmers say nitrogen gas generated by the Grand Coulee Dam’s increased water flow is killing their crop downstream" (CNN, 27th May): http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/27/dam-releases-are-killing-hundreds-of-thousands-of-fish-farmers-say/
"Video: Mainstream Plans New Farm Amidst Tanking Clayoquot Wild Salmon" (The Common Sense Canadian, 26th May): http://thecanadian.org/k2/item/782-mainstream-plans-new-farm-amidst-tanking-clayoquot-wild-salmon-damien-gillis
"Donnelly confident fish farm bill will succeed" (New Westminster News Leader, 26th May): http://www.bclocalnews.com/greater_vancouver/newwestminsternewsleader/news/122666169.html
"New Clayoquot fish farm proposal prompts call for moratorium on net-cage tenures" (The Westerly News, 26th May): http://www2.canada.com/westerly/story.html?id=906c1095-7aef-44c4-b36f-28090adeb88d
"Will genetically modified salmon be labelled?" (High Country News, 26th May): http://www.hcn.org/hcn/blogs/goat/will-genetically-modified-salmon-get-a-label
"Tests Reveal Mislabeling of Fish/Some Foul Play at Fish Market" (New York Times, 26th May): http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/science/earth/27fish.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimesscience&seid=auto
"Groups Demand Feds Complete Environmental Study of Genetically Engineered Salmon" (Eat Drink Better, 26th May): http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2011/05/26/groups-demand-feds-complete-environmental-study-of-genetically-engineered-salmon/
"Disease + Parasiticides + Habitat Destruction = Organic?" (Farmed & Dangerous, 24th May): http://blog.farmedanddangerous.org/2011/05/disease-parasiticides-habitat-destruction-organic/
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Online petition launched against WWF collusion with salmon farm polluters" (Fly Fishing & Fly Tying, 10th June): http://www.flyfishing-and-flytying.co.uk/news/view/online_petition_launched_against_wwf_collusion_with_salmon_farm_polluters/
"Nova Scotia environmentalists upset by government approval of aquaculture site" (The Canadian Press, 10th June): http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5isP-AAUDPL2cjQhy1lt3yma-9oHA?docId=7111389
"Controversial aquaculture sites OK’d: Plan that includes 2 farms near Digby may create 400 jobs" (The Chronicle Herald, 10th June): http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1247856.html
"Stop the Certification of Farmed Salmon as "Sustainable" and "Responsible"" (Change, 10th June): http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-certification-of-farmed-salmon-as-sustainable-and-responsible
"Nova Scotia controversially approves plans for two salmon farms " (FIS, 10th June): http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?l=e&country=0&special=&monthyear=&day=&id=43501&ndb=1&df=0
"Over 4.3 million salmon confirmed dead" (Fisheries Information Service, 10th June): http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?l=e&country=0&special=&monthyear=&day=&id=43483&ndb=1&df=0
"Chemicals used in salmon farming" (Farmed & Dangerous, 9th June): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp-536AbJw8
"Fish farm approved" (CBC, 9th June): http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningns/2011/06/fish-farms-approved.html
"Nova Scotia Aquaculture Minister misstates facts on CBC Radio??" (Responsible Aquaculture, 9th June): http://responsibleaquaculture.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/nova-scotia-aquaculture-minister-misstates-facts-on-cbc-radio/
"Peer review clarified" (The Westerly, 9th June): http://www2.canada.com/westerly/news/upfront/story.html?id=3b1d3104-dd5f-4d1d-8479-2d019c25bdfe
"Why your fish is foreign" (Time, 9th June): http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/06/09/why-your-fish-is-foreign/
"NOAA Debuts Nation's First Safe, Sustainable Aquaculture Policy: Can we really regulate the seafood industry when much of our consumption is imported?" (Planet Green, 9th June): http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/noaa-debuts-nations-first-safe-sustainable-aquaculture-policy.html
"New federal aquaculture policy paves way for Gulf of Mexico fish farms" (Times Picayune, 9th June): http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2011/06/new_federal_aquaculture_policy.html
"Wild Salmon Narrows Campaign: Your Input Needed ~ Twice!" (Farmed & Dangerous, 9th June): http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/make-a-difference/wild-salmon-narrows-spring-cleaning-crew/
"Plover Point Q&A" (Mainstream Canada, 8th June): http://www.mainstreamcanada.com/plover-point-qa
"Eco-Washing McFarmed Fish: McDonald's Sells MSC-Certified Fish - Farmed Salmon Next?" (Pacific Free Press, 8th June): http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1-/8922-eco-washing-mcfarmed-fish.html
"Paje orders filing of raps vs illegal fish pen operators" (Philippine Daily Inquirier, 8th June): http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/13326/paje-orders-filing-of-raps-vs-illegal-fish-pen-operators
"New fish farm proposed for Clayoquot Sound—you can help stop it: The deadline for comments is June 18, 2011" (Friends of Clayoquot Sound, June): http://www.focs.ca/fishfarming/cermaq.asp
"Mi’kmaq Chiefs oppose St. Mary’s Bay salmon farm application" (Atlantic Salmon Federation, 6th June): http://www.asf.ca/news.php?id=685
Note two public consultations with deadlines coming up soon:
The second and FINAL Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue (SAD) standards are now open for public comment – deadline is 14th June:
http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/markets-certifications/certifications-eco-claims/salmon-aquaculture-dialogue/
Mainstream Canada has applied for a new crown land tenure for a proposed net-cage salmon farm at Plover Point in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve – deadline for public comment is 18th June (extended from 28th May): http://www.georgiastrait.org/?q=node%2F815
Come to the public meetings in Tofino (14th June) and Port Alberni (16th June) and ask Mainstream why they need another salmon farm in Clayoquot Sound.
Sign the petition: "Stop the Certification of Farmed Salmon as "Sustainable" and "Responsible"": http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-certification-of-farmed-salmon-as-sustainable-and-responsible
Sign onto the letter to WWF: "Salmon Farming: No Right Way to Do the Wrong Thing" via: http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/blog/stop-certification-farmed-salmon-sustainable-and-responsible
Best fishes,
Don
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Thanks for these links Chris, apparently supplied by Don. Just wondering, who's Don? He obviously has the autonomy to pick his headline material so what is his connection to his views on aquaculture?
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Thanks for these links Chris, apparently supplied by Don. Just wondering, who's Don? He obviously has the autonomy to pick his headline material so what is his connection to his views on aquaculture?
http://www.harbourpublishing.com/author/DonStaniford
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Thanks Chris, guess I expected that. See you Saturday at Cultus.
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More reading for you Dave. ;D ;D
ase find enclosed a press update including:
"Cermaq’s Crime Scene in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve" (Superheroes 4 Salmon, 13th June): http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/blog/cermaq%E2%80%99s-crime-scene-clayoquot-sound-unesco-biosphere-reserve
"ONLINE PETITION launched against WWF’s “collusion” with salmon farmers; ASC certification & label" (Seafood Intelligence, 13th June): www.seafoodintelligence.com
"Upset Over Approval Of Aquaculture Sites" (The Fish Site, 13th June): http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/14990/upset-over-approval-of-aquaculture-sites
"Opponents fight fish farm approval: N.S. ruling on Digby County facilities ‘shocked’ residents, citizens group says" (Chronicle Herald, 12th June): http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1248105.html
"Community ignored in process—Islanders" (Souwester, 11th June): http://www.souwester.ca/News/2011-06-11/article-2577194/Community-ignored-in-process%26mdash%3BIslanders-/1
"Belliveau knows best - As Simple as That" (Digby Courier, 11th June): http://www.digbycourier.ca/Opinion/2011-06-11/article-2577265/Belliveau-knows-best/1
"Salmon group calls sale of trout farm ‘shameful’" (Chronicle Herald, 11th June): http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1247963.html
"Salmon leases will displace 20 fishermen" (Digby Courier, 10th June): http://www.digbycourier.ca/News/2011-06-10/article-2575693/Salmon-leases-will-displace-20-fishermen-/1
"Prince Philip quotes: Relive 90 classic gaffes to mark his 90th birthday" (The Daily Mirror, 10th June): http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/06/10/birthday-boy-prince-philip-s-90-greatest-gaffes-115875-23191024/
"Administration issues new rules for fish farms" (Washington Post, 10th June): http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/administration-issues-new-rules-for-fish-farms/2011/06/10/AGvlmIPH_story.html
"NOAA OKs Factory Fish Farming for the Gulf of Mexico" (Care 2, 10th June): http://www.care2.com/causes/real-food/blog/noaa-oks-factory-fish-farming-for-the-gulf-of-mexico/
"Open Net Pen Salmon Farming Is NOT Sustainable" (Osprey Steelheader, 9th June): http://ospreysteelheadnews.blogspot.com/2011/06/open-net-pen-salmon-farming-is-not.html
"Open house to be held for proposed fish farm site" (The Westerly News, 9th June): http://www.canada.com/Open+house+held+proposed+fish+farm+site/4920742/story.html
"Plover Point Q&A" (Mainstream Canada, 8th June): http://www.mainstreamcanada.com/plover-point-qa
"B.C. Salmon Farmers Association's Online Battle" (BC Business, 6th June): http://www.farmfreshsalmon.org/bc-salmon-farmers-associations-online-battle
"Four decades of farming later: salmon is Scotland's single largest food export: the salmon farming industry is celebrating 40 years of production in Scotland" (STV, 8th June): http://news.stv.tv/scotland/north/255844-40-years-of-salmon-farming/
"Plover Point open house dates announced" (Mainstream Canada, 6th June): http://www.mainstreamcanada.com/plover-point-open-house-dates-announced
"New fish farm proposed for Clayoquot Sound—you can help stop it" (Friends of Clayoquot Sound, June): http://www.focs.ca/action/Plover_Pt_action.htm
Note two public consultations with deadlines coming up soon:
The second and FINAL Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue (SAD) standards are now open for public comment – deadline is 14th June:
http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/markets-certifications/certifications-eco-claims/salmon-aquaculture-dialogue/
Mainstream Canada has applied for a new crown land tenure for a proposed net-cage salmon farm at Plover Point in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve – deadline for public comment is 18th June (extended from 28th May): http://www.georgiastrait.org/?q=node%2F815
Come to the public meetings in Tofino (14th June) and Port Alberni (16th June) and ask Mainstream why they need another salmon farm in Clayoquot Sound.
Sign the petition letter: "Stop the Certification of Farmed Salmon as "Sustainable" and "Responsible"": http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-certification-of-farmed-salmon-as-sustainable-and-responsible
Best fishes,
Don
Superheroes 4 Salmon, 13th June 2011
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Read about a dangerous virus from fish farms.
http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/
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Please find enclosed a press update including:
"Sounding the Alarm in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve" (Superheroes 4 Salmon, 17th June): http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/blog/sounding-alarm-clayoquot-sound-unesco-biosphere-reserve
"Stop Net-Cage Expansion" (Farmed & Dangerous, 17th June): http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/make-a-difference/stop-net-cage-expansion/
"Stop a Massive Fish Farm in Clayoquot Sound" (Supporters of Wild Salmon Circle, 17th June): http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=120186001399229
"Lobster fishermen and coastal communities bring salmon fight to Halifax" (Ecology Action Centre, 17th June): http://www.ecologyaction.ca/
"Salmon have a dollar value" (Times & Transcript, 17th June): http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/sports/article/1416172
"Nova Scotia defends fish farming" (Fish Farming Xpert, 17th June): http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?page_id=76&article_id=91818
"Alaska's Don Young pulls a fast one with GM salmon vote" (Intrafish, 17th June): http://www.intrafish.no/global/news/article288627.ece
"Lower chamber votes to bar FDA from using funds to approve GE salmon - Alaska Republican representative Don Young opposed the approval of GE salmon for human consumption" (Fisheries Information Service, 17th June): http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?l=e&country=0&special=&monthyear=&day=&id=43675&ndb=1&df=0
"Voices for Wild Salmon - we have been played for fools" (Alexandra Morton, 16th June): http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/alexandra_morton/2011/06/voices-for-wild-salmon-we-have-been-played-for-fools.html
"Alexandra and the golden straitjacket" (Vancouver Observer, 16th June): http://www.vancouverobserver.com/Sustainability/2011/06/16/alexandra-and-golden-straitjacket
"Mainstream responds" (The Westerly News, 16th June): http://www2.canada.com/westerly/news/upfront/story.html?id=b85b3460-3562-46d4-ae50-e1f965b871bd
"House Moves to Ban Modified Salmon" (New York Times, 16th June): http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/06/16/16greenwire-house-moves-to-ban-modified-salmon-84165.html
"GM Salmon Barred by U.S. House" (Vital Choices Newsletter, 16th June): http://newsletter.vitalchoice.com/e_article002134796.cfm?x=b11,0,w
"Fish Farming The Solution To Global Food Woes, Report Says" (Huffington Post, 16th June): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/16/fish-farming-safety-environment_n_878255.html
"Aquaculture means jobs for rural N.S." (Chronicle Herald, 16th June): http://thechronicleherald.ca/Letters/1248723.html
"Lobster & jobs in danger" (Chronicle Herald, 15th June): http://thechronicleherald.ca/Letters/1248568.html
"Salmon Farms are Sited Irresponsibly" (Farmed & Dangerous, 14th June): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIee2Gnz5oA
"Closed containment technology on a more responsible path for salmon aquaculture" (Farmed & Dangerous, 14th June): http://blog.farmedanddangerous.org/2011/06/closed-containment-salmon-aquaculture/
"Sex, Lies and Salmonoids: Farms putting GM Frankenfish into the food chain" (The Valley Voice, 13th June): http://thevalleyvoice.ca/Voice%20Stories/June%202011/Sex%20Lies%20and%20Salmonoids%20-%20Farms%20putting%20GM%20Frankenfish%20into%20the%20food%20chain%20-%20June%2013%202011.htm
Final call for objections to a new salmon farm application by Mainstream (Cermaq) in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (deadline for public submissions is tomorrow - 18th June): http://www.georgiastrait.org/?q=node%2F815 and http://www.focs.ca/action/Plover_Pt_action.htm
For more background:
Action Alert from Friends of Clayoquot Sound: "New fish farm application in Clayoquot Sound - Your input is needed!": http://www.focs.ca/action/Plover_Pt_action.htm
Sign the petition: "Demand a provincial moratorium on net-cage salmon farm tenures": http://www.change.org/petitions/demand-a-provincial-moratorium-on-net-cage-salmon-farm-tenures
And watch the films:
"Ground-truthing salmon farming in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve" from Salmon Are Sacred: http://vimeo.com/25123716
"Clayoquot Sound: Wild Salmon in Trouble" by Damien Gillis:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEEMGshhhRw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEEMGshhhRw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEEMGshhhRwBest fishes,
Don
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http://thecanadian.org/k2/item/837-fin-donnelly-reintroduces-bills-on-salmon-oil-tankers
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/mark-hume/cohen-commissions-calm-hides-turmoil-behind-scenes/article2079410/
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I've always thought you should be able to sue people who hide behind confidentiality when they know that they are really trying to keep the general public in the dark. If ISA wipes out the fish here you would think that some heads would roll. But look at the Cod fishery back east and you can see that the exploiters know they will not be on the guillotine. High time for some accountability in the form of lawsuits and jail time.
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Please find enclosed a press update including:
"Dr. Alexandra Morton, biologist-wild salmon activist: “We don’t realize that we as individual human beings on this planet have the power"" (Kickass Canadians, 1st July): http://kickasscanadians.ca/dr-alexandra-morton
"Trekker Cermaqs toppsjef for kanadisk rett - Miljøaktivisten Don Staniford varsler at rettssaken i Canada vil bli brukt til å avsløre norsk oppdrettsindustri" (Dagbladet, 1st July): http://www.dagbladet.no/2011/07/01/nyheter/oppdrett/helse/miljovern/rettssak/17144131/
"Cermaq in the Dock in Canada - CEO Geir Isaksen challenged to testify in Supreme Court of British Columbia" (GAAIA, 1st July): http://www.wildsalmonfirst.org/restaurants
"Is a Virus Ravaging BC's Sockeye?: As pressure mounts to shine more light on the question, the politics get hotter" (The Tyee, 30th June): http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2011/06/30/SockeyeVirus/
"Government deceit, DFO disorganization shown at Cohen Inquiry" Responsible Aquaculture, 30th June): http://responsibleaquaculture.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/government-deceit-dfo-disorganization-shown-at-cohen-inquiry/
"Norwegian salmon prices seen sliding further - Chilean production surge to flood global markets" (Reuters, 30th June): http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/30/norway-salmon-idUSLDE75T1LL20110630
"Salmon farm comment deadline extended further" (The Westerly, 30th June): http://www.canada.com/Salmon+farm+comment+deadline+extended+further/5028661/story.html
"Mainstream using closed containment" (The Times Colonist, 30th June): http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/Mainstream+using+closed+containment/5028717/story.html
"UMaine researchers: mussels can combat sea lice outbreaks" (Bangor Daily News, 29th June): http://bangordailynews.com/2011/06/29/news/hancock/umaine-researchers-mussels-can-combat-sea-lice-outbreaks/?ref=latest
"The Silence of the Mainstream Media on Private Power, Fish Farms" (The Common Sense Canadian, 29th June): http://www.thecanadian.org/k2/item/874-mainstream-media-private-power-fish-farm-rafe
"GLOBE AND MAIL: Confidentiality and the Cohen Commission" (Sea to Sky Report, 29th June): http://seatoskyreport.wordpress.com/tag/alexandra-morton/
Including an article in Kickass Canadians today - Canada Day - ending with:
"The other reason Alex will not give up is that she knows it isn’t too late. She admits that we don’t yet see “how far how far off the cliff we’ve gone.” But while “we’ve boxed ourselves into this,” she says we’ve also developed the science to fix it. “It’s like in The Wizard of Oz. With her slippers, her red, beautiful ruby slippers, Dorothy had the power all along. She went through living hell, but she didn’t know that she just had to click those heels together. I feel like we’re in such a similar place right now. We don’t realize that we as individual human beings on this planet have the power."
Track the Cohen Inquiry online via http://www.cohencommission.ca/en/Schedule/ - the evidentiary hearings in Vancouver continue until 8th July when there is a summer recess until 18th August (the aquaculture hearings are expected to start on 25th August and run until 9th September).
Keep up to date on the Cohen Inquiry online via: http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/cohen
And follow via Facebook's "Salmon Inquiry - Cohen Commission Watch".
Best fishes,
Don
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Dear wild salmon people:
Over the weekend Don Staniford found minutes of a recent meeting of Cermaq's BC Corporate Team posted on the web. This posting has now disappeared, but not before we saved it.
In it the Cermaq's BC Corporate Team is asked to keep quiet on the "situation" in BC.
I have explained the context of this in my blog: http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/
I strongly suggest that if you want to see BC wild salmon survive that you attend the fish farm hearings at the Cohen Commission in Vancouver, August 25 - September 9 (check commission website to confirm as date approaches as they have experienced many delays). I will be blogging about the proceedings. However, if you have a legal or personal interest in wild salmon, nothing is better than witnessing this first hand.
First Nations, commercial and sport fishing organizations, wilderness tourism associations, municipal governments, environmental organizations, MLAs, MPs the NDP, Conservatives, Liberals, Green Party should all send representatives. I don't believe in the power of government to work for the people anymore. I don't believe the Cohen Commission will be able to save the Fraser sockeye without us. But together, truth can be served. Justice Cohen has done his part by making the province of BC release their salmon farm disease records. No one has ever done that before worldwide, but what we do with this information is up to us, the wild salmon people.
If you can donate even the smallest amount of money, we can stay with this until people with real resources realize that it is time for them to step in and help us.
There are no losers here. We can protect the 1,250 fish farm jobs, but where we are headed now is not serving them either.
Many of us received a huge advertisement newspaper from the BC Salmon Farmers in the mail this week. They are spending millions to make us think Atlantic salmon we are not allowed near, fed on fish shipped from Chile are better and more sustainable than the millions of wild salmon that flowed home to us every year. They spread stories that I am a corporation, wealthy, funded by Americans. They are so deep in this now, they don't see what they have become.
Thank you for sticking with me on this,
alexandra morton
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Please find enclosed a press update including:
"Farming fish in oil tankers" (Intrafish, 7th July): http://www.intrafish.no/global/news/article289412.ece
"The End of the Line: Fish are the last wild food, but our oceans are being picked clean. Can farming fish take the place of catching them?" (Time, 7th July): http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2081796,00.html#ixzz1RQouUSdk
"Nova Scotia citizens want answers from Aquaculture Minister" (Responsible Aquaculture, 7th July): http://responsibleaquaculture.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/nova-scotia-citizens-want-answers-from-aquaculture-minister/
"52 Questions for Minister Sterling Belliveau about Aquaculture in Nova Scotia" (Save Our Coastal Fishery, 7th July): http://www.saveourcoastalfishery.com/52questions/
"Urban aquaculture in Chicago" (Fish Farming Xpert, 7th July): http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?page_id=76&article_id=91976
"Salmon often mislabeled - University of Washington Tacoma study" (News Tribune, 7th July): http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/07/07/1735663/salmon-often-mislabeled.html
"Unique fish farm aims to dash environmental concerns" (CTV, 6th July): http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110706/bc_fish_farm_110706/20110706/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
"Cermaq with mistake-leak on the internet - revealed how to deal with troublesome environmental activists" (Dagbladet, 6th July): http://www.dagbladet.no/2011/07/06/nyheter/oppdrettsindustrien/miljo/fiskehelse/soksmal/17210737/
"Salmon farming company answers critics" (Fish Farming Xpert, 6th July): http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?page_id=76&article_id=91967
"SECOND set of ISA tests on Shetland farmed salmon to be carried out in the autumn of 2011" (Seafood Intelligence, 6th July): www.seafoodintelligence.com
"Nations finally agree on GM food labelling" (The Vancouver Sun, 5th July): http://www.vancouversun.com/Nations+finally+agree+food+labelling/5052580/story.html
"GM salmon needed to combat world food shortage" (Seafood Source, 5th July): http://www.seafoodsource.com/newsarticledetail.aspx?id=10978
"MAINSTREAM Canada communicates on internal meeting minutes accidental posting & ‘real ISA situation’" (Seafood Intelligence, 5th July): www.seafoodintelligence.com
"There are 15 ISA 'suspicious' salmon farms" (FIS, 4th July): http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?l=e&country=0&special=&monthyear=&day=&id=44119&ndb=1&df=0
"“WHAT do we really know about infection between farmed and wild fish?”; Little documented evidence" (Seafood Intelligence, 4th July): www.seafoodintelligence.com
"Aquaculture debate: Jerry West looks at how the controversy over aquaculture is affecting the community of Shelburne" (CBC, 4th July): http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningns/2011/07/aquaculture-debate.html
"Suspicion of infectious salmon anemia in Alta municipality" (Stockline, 6th June): http://www.stocklink.no/Article.aspx?id=80827
Track the Cohen Inquiry online via http://www.cohencommission.ca/en/Schedule/ - the evidentiary hearings in Vancouver continue today until tomorrow (8th July) when there is a summer recess until 18th August (the aquaculture hearings are expected to start on 22nd August and run until 9th September).
Today's witnesses include Dr. Dick Beamish from DFO. The public hearing starts today at 9.15am – and is at 701 W Georgia (8th floor).
Keep up to date on the Cohen Inquiry online via: http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/cohen
And follow via Facebook's "Salmon Inquiry - Cohen Commission Watch".
Best fishes,
Don
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Recieved today.
> Superheroes 4 Salmon, 13th July 2011
> DFO's "Shoddy Science" Revealed at Cohen Inquiry
>
> An internal DFO memo from 2003, finally made public today by the Cohen Commission, provides a damning verdict on DFO's sea lice science and Dr. Dick Beamish's integrity and scientific credibility in particular.
>
> "This really is shoddy science," wrote DFO's Dr. Brent Hargreaves in an internal memo following a meeting with the BC Salmon Farmers Association.
>
> Dr. Hargreaves wrote that he agreed with criticisms of DFO's sea lice science in the scientific community and the public media. "I think to a large degree it was the inadequacies of Beamish's research and conclusions that led to the lack of public confidence in DFO science," wrote Dr. Hargreaves. "There is no acceptable or legitimate excuse for Beamish's behaviour."
>
> The memo went on to describe Dr. Beamish's scientific research as "unethical", "unprofessional" and a "'lapse' in judgment".
>
> Download in full via the Cohen Commission's web-site: Memo from B Hargreaves re Nov 20 2003 Meeting with BC and BCSFA on Preliminary Sea Lice Results, undated - CAN386274 (Exhibit #1342 - from 8th July).
>
> Or click online here.
>
> In his testimony to the Cohen Inquiry last week, which saw his career flash before his eyes like Klingons off the starboard bow of the Star Trek ship 'The Enterprise', Dr. Beamish said: "Maybe it's aliens" before adding unbelievably: "Obviously I don't believe in aliens".
>
> Dr. Beamish certainly doesn't believe that sea lice from salmon farms are killing wild salmon and spent his career staunchly defending the Norwegian-owned salmon farming industry. At last year's 'Sea Lice 2010' conference in Victoria, Dr. Beamish refused to answer questions on sea lice from salmon farms. This was even more incredible since Dr. Beamish was the plenary speaker in a session on 'Wild/Farmed Interactions'.
>
> The audience in the public gallery at the Cohen Inquiry last week were left in no doubt which side Dr. Beamish was on when he greeted Mary-Ellen Walling, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association. "My inspiration," he gushed as he hugged her like an old flame.
>
> "This is bad science?" asked lawyer Greg McDade as he ripped apart Dr. Beamish's scientific work. Thankfully, Dr. Beamish recently called last orders on his career with the DFO. His future scientific credibility would be in jeopardy otherwise.
> Read more background via "Beamish Me Up Dicky"
> Article in full with photos online via: http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/blog/dfos-shoddy-science-revealed-cohen-inquiry
> See also on the Cohen Inquiry:
> "Heatwave as Cohen Inquiry Heads for Summer Break" (7th July)
> "Cohen's Countdown on Disease Time-Bomb" (29th June)
> "Cracking the Cohen Code, Deciphering the Disease Conundrum" (27th June)
> "Cohen Clampdown on Confidentiality" (24th June)
(cc'ing to wild salmon circle, et al-- document attached everyone-- this is the kind of thing we've been fighting against-- good to know that there are heads within dfo who feel the same)
:
> Superheroes 4 Salmon, 13th July 2011
>
> DFO's "Shoddy Science" Revealed at Cohen Inquiry
> An internal DFO memo from 2003, finally made public today by the Cohen Commission, provides a damning verdict on DFO's sea lice science and Dr. Dick Beamish's integrity and scientific credibility in particular.
>
> "This really is shoddy science," wrote DFO's Dr. Brent Hargreaves in an internal memo following a meeting with the BC Salmon Farmers Association.
>
> Dr. Hargreaves wrote that he agreed with criticisms of DFO's sea lice science in the scientific community and the public media. "I think to a large degree it was the inadequacies of Beamish's research and conclusions that led to the lack of public confidence in DFO science," wrote Dr. Hargreaves. "There is no acceptable or legitimate excuse for Beamish's behaviour."
>
> The memo went on to describe Dr. Beamish's scientific research as "unethical", "unprofessional" and a "'lapse' in judgment".
>
> Download in full via the Cohen Commission's web-site: Memo from B Hargreaves re Nov 20 2003 Meeting with BC and BCSFA on Preliminary Sea Lice Results, undated - CAN386274 (Exhibit #1342 - from 8th July).
>
> Or click online here.
>
> In his testimony to the Cohen Inquiry last week, which saw his career flash before his eyes like Klingons off the starboard bow of the Star Trek ship 'The Enterprise', Dr. Beamish said: "Maybe it's aliens" before adding unbelievably: "Obviously I don't believe in aliens".
>
> Dr. Beamish certainly doesn't believe that sea lice from salmon farms are killing wild salmon and spent his career staunchly defending the Norwegian-owned salmon farming industry. At last year's 'Sea Lice 2010' conference in Victoria, Dr. Beamish refused to answer questions on sea lice from salmon farms. This was even more incredible since Dr. Beamish was the plenary speaker in a session on 'Wild/Farmed Interactions'.
>
> The audience in the public gallery at the Cohen Inquiry last week were left in no doubt which side Dr. Beamish was on when he greeted Mary-Ellen Walling, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association. "My inspiration," he gushed as he hugged her like an old flame.
>
> "This is bad science?" asked lawyer Greg McDade as he ripped apart Dr. Beamish's scientific work. Thankfully, Dr. Beamish recently called last orders on his career with the DFO. His future scientific credibility would be in jeopardy otherwise.
>
> Read more background via "Beamish Me Up Dicky"
>
> Article in full with photos online via: http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/blog/dfos-shoddy-science-revealed-cohen-inquiry
>
> See also on the Cohen Inquiry:
>
> "Heatwave as Cohen Inquiry Heads for Summer Break" (7th July)
> "Cohen's Countdown on Disease Time-Bomb" (29th June)
> "Cracking the Cohen Code, Deciphering the Disease Conundrum" (27th June)
> "Cohen Clampdown on Confidentiality" (24th June)
-
Pulling Together For Wild Salmon: Rally organizers plan to encircle the Cohen Commission building August 30 to have their voices heard" (The Valley Voice, 20th July): http://thevalleyvoice.ca/Voice%20Stories/July%202011/Pulling%20Together%20For%20Wild%20Salmon%20-%20Unbroken%20Circle%20of%20Hope%20-%20July%2020%202011.htm
"Cermaq Challenged to Come Clean in Chile and Canada - Non-Disclosure on Diseases Misleads Shareholders and Investors" (GAAIA, 20th July): http://www.wildsalmonfirst.org/restaurants
"Op Ed: Congress Ramps Up Opposition to Genetically Engineered Fish" (Triple Pundit, 20th July): http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/07/op-ed-congress-ramps-opposition-genetically-engineered-fish/
"Why Did Dick Do This?" (Alexandra Morton, 19th July): http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/alexandra_morton/2011/07/on-july-6-8-dr-dick-beamish-was-on-the-stand-at-the-cohen-inquiry-beamish-is-a-very-influential-recently-retired-dfo-s.html
"Are new viruses ravaging BC’s wild salmon stocks? Despite the Cohen Commission, no answers are forthcoming" (Geoff Meggs, 19th July): http://www.geoffmeggs.ca/2011/07/19/are-new-viruses-ravaging-bcs-wild-salmon-stocks-despite-the-cohen-commission-no-answers-are-forthcoming/
"Sockeye salmon run will fall far below last year's" (CKNW, 19th July): http://www.cknw.com/Channels/Reg/NewsLocal/Story.aspx?ID=1459543
"ATAMANENKO: Genetically Engineered Salmon, not worth the risk to health or the environment" (The Rossland Telegraph, 19th July): http://rosslandtelegraph.com/news/general/atamanenko-genetically-engineered-salmon-not-worth-risk-health-or-environment-12664
"The Trouble With High-Tech 'Sustainable' Aquaculture: Why genetically modified fish and other seafood innovations don't address the root of the world's fisheries crisis" (The Atlantic, 19th July): http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/07/the-trouble-with-high-tech-sustainable-aquaculture/242189/
"Lawmakers Tell FDA to Back Off on GE Salmon" (Food Safety News, 18th July): http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/07/a-bipartisan-group-of-lawmakers/
Including from Alexandra Morton in her blog yesterday:
"Be there: If you want wild salmon attend the aquaculture hearings at the Cohen Inquiry August 22 – September 9. When you have senior DFO scientists behaving in this manner we have got to realize wild salmon survival is up to us. I do not want to be your only source of information on what is being said about our fish at these hearings. First Nations, fishermen, local people, youth, environmental organizations, sport fishing clubs, tourism, tackle shops, wild fish processors, and any who want to step between government and the demise of wild salmon need to witness these proceedings themselves".
And from Geoff Meggs in his blog yesterday:
"Ominous reports of potentially-devastating viruses raging through BC’s wild salmon stocks, perhaps linked to the salmon farming industry, seem no closer to resolution despite the countless hours logged in a Vancouver courtroom by the Cohen Commission inquiry into the decline of Fraser sockeye"
The Cohen Inquiry reconvenes after a summer recess on 18th August. From 22nd August to 8th September the Cohen Inquiry will focus on salmon farming and the disease issue – for a list of witnesses and schedule visit: http://www.cohencommission.ca/en/Schedule/ (schedule not currently available)
For more background on the Cohen Inquiry including a rally on 30th August see: http://www.salmonaresacred.org/cohen-inquiry
Best fishes,
Don
-
Hello
In early July a very senior and celebrated government scientist, Dick Beamish, was on the stand at the Cohen Inquiry. What transpired is a travesty, theater of the absurd.
See my blog http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/
Second on my blog are photos I took yesterday of lice - infested young herring off the north end of Vancouver Island.
Our fisheries are in big trouble under current management. Please consider attending or sending your own representatives to the aquaculture hearings at the Cohen Inquiry in Vancouver August 22 - September 9. My concern is that the proceedings will be unbelievable unless people hear it for themselves. I do not want to be your only source of information on this.
www.cohencommission.ca
Thank you all who donated, you are keeping us going for the next couple of months. If you want to help out:
Pay Pal via www.salmonaresacred.org
or
Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society
Box 399
Sointula, BC V0N 3E0
Consider joining our 100,000 voices for wild salmon www.salmonaresacred.org
If we don't step between government and our fish, our children (and theirs) will lose a major food resource and essential part of the natural world. If a senior DFO scientist can behave like this we should consider ourselves warned. I sincerely hope that the people with resources and interests in wild salmon step up soon and straighten this out. Ottawa cannot manage our fisheries.
Until then - onward
alex
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Please find enclosed a press update including:
"Scientist muzzled over missing-salmon study: Privy Council Office gags B.C. biologist, dismisses her findings, blacks out documents" (The Province/Vancouver Sun, 27th July): http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Feds+silence+scientist+over+West+Coast+salmon+study/5162745/story.html
"Importing salmon eggs increases disease risk" (The Times Colonist, 27th July): http://www.timescolonist.com/business/Importing+salmon+eggs+increases+disease+risk/5165569/story.html
"ISA 'suspicious' salmon farms have risen" (FIS, 27th July): http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?monthyear&day=27&id=44736&l=e&special&ndb=1+target%3D
"Real danger is salmon farming" (Cowichan Valley Citizen, 27th July): http://www2.canada.com/cowichanvalleycitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=2a432011-66da-4fcd-9e4e-c9f3b311ad00
"Another closed containment expert emerging" (Fish Farming Xpert, 27th July): http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?page_id=76&article_id=92102
"Salmon disease would hurt fish farms" (The Times Colonist, 26th July): http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/Salmon+disease+would+hurt+fish+farms/5159188/story.html
"SARF supports new algae based fish feed research" (Fish News EU, 26th July): http://www.fishnewseu.com/latest-news/scottish/6283-sarf-supports-new-algae-based-fish-feed-research.html
"Study: GM Atlantic Salmon Can Breed With Wild Fish" (OPB News, 26th July): http://news.opb.org/article/study_gm_atlantic_salmon_can_breed_with_wild_fish/
"Transgenic salmon farmer condemns senators' 'paranoia'" (FIS, 26th July): http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?l=e&country=0&special=aquaculture&monthyear=&day=&id=44728&ndb=1&df=0
"Crony Capitalism Strikes the Salmon Industry" (Conservative Blog, 26th July): http://www.conservativeblog.org/amyridenour/2011/7/26/crony-capitalism-strikes-the-salmon-industry.html
"Skway meeting gets wild salmon activists fired up about August aquaculture hearings" (Sea to Sky Report, 21st July): http://seatoskyreport.wordpress.com/tag/alexandra-morton/
Come to the Cohen Commission – it reconvenes after a summer recess on 17th August and from 22nd August to 8th September will focus on salmon farming and the disease issue.
'Diseases' will be discussed on 22nd, 23rd and 24th August; 'Aquaculture' will be on the agenda on 25th, 26th, 29th, 30th and 31st of August and then following the long Labour Day weekend again on 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th and 8th September. For a list of witnesses and schedule visit: http://www.cohencommission.ca/en/Schedule/ (names of witnesses will be posted soon)
For more background on the Cohen Commission including a rally on 30th August see: http://www.salmonaresacred.org/cohen-commission and http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/cohen
Best fishes,
Don