Many of the speakers at the recent wild salmon flotilla including Tsimka Martin, Gisele Martin, Skookum John, and FOCS organizer German Ocampo highlighted the fact that the same impacts and sickness from salmon farming on wild salmon exist here in the Tla-o-qui-aht and Ahousaht lands and waters, known as Clayoquot Sound. Photo: Marnie Recker @marniereckerphoto
A total of 101 B.C. First Nations, tourism operators, and commercial and sport fishing groups have united in a show of solidarity to demand the federal government take immediate action on the collapse of Fraser River salmon stocks by ordering the removal of open-net fish farms near Campbell River.
The Liberal Party’s campaign platform said a re-elected Trudeau government “will work with the province [B.C.] to develop a responsible plan to transition from open net pen salmon farming in coastal waters to closed containment systems by 2025.” But when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued mandate letters for his ministers to the new Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan, all mention of closed containment systems had vanished, leaving the phrasing open to interpretation.
This summer in Clayoquot Sound, Cermaq introduced an experimental Semi-Closed Cage System for salmon farming that the Norwegian corporation intends to operate at Millar Channel. Does the removal of the “closed containment” phrasing in the Fisheries Minister’s mandate letter from Prime Minister Trudeau signal a move to semi-closed containment for the salmon farming industry?
Have your say about the future of salmon farming in Canada through DFO’s consultation online: https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/act-loi/index-eng.html
