Latest Updates
The “Wild Salmon Paddle” Expedition Begins!
On Tuesday, April 5 at 9am, Wild Salmon Paddle launched from Victoria, BC to promote wild salmon conservation efforts. The sea kayaking expedition will cover a distance of more than 2000 kilometers, following the migration routes of wild salmon. Simon Behman will lead the expedition from Victoria, BC to the finale in Juneau, Alaska in July 2016. “Salmon are the backbone of the coast, playing an integral role for coastal livelihoods, cultures, and ecosystems,” said Wild Salmon Paddle Expedition...
Collective action is the solution to the climate crisis
2015 is officially in the books as “the hottest year on record”. According to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Earth’s average surface temperature has risen about 1 degree Celsius in the last 135 years. The scientific community agrees that the warming is being driven by human-made emissions into the atmosphere. Concluding that the warming must stay within a threshold of 2 degree C to limit the worst impacts of climate destabilization...
Global climate march comes to Clayoquot Sound
First published on the Westerly news on November 25th, 2015 The 21st United Nations' Climate Summit (COP 21) begins in Paris next week marking the continuing effort of nations around the world to finally make a substantial agreement to address the climate crisis. Last week, the U.N. released their latest climate report confirming the need for massive globally cooperation to overhaul energy supply chains and reform farming and forest management. The good news is about 150 countries, out of...
Fall/winter 2015 newsletter now available
The fall/winter 2015 edition of our twice-yearly newsletter is out. Articles include: Ahousaht salmon farm eviction Is BC a climate leader or laggard? Hesquiaht say NO to logging Transition Town movement in Tofino-Ucluelet Plus updates on our campaigns, and action items for you to take forward. Take a read and please share! Click this link to download (PDF, 1.3MB). You can find print copies at many outlets in Tofino and around BC. Contact us if you want to help with distribution in your...
Breaking: An end to industrial logging in Ahousaht territory!
Ahousaht Chiefs announce a moratorium on industrial logging! The Maaqutusiis Hahoulthee Stewardship Society (MHSS) issued the following press release today (click image for full PDF, text also on the MHSS Facebook page): Ahousaht territory holds almost two-thirds of the ancient rainforest in all of Clayoquot Sound. Once almost all of it was threatened with clearcut logging; now it is preserved for future generations. Friends of Clayoquot Sound send our biggest respect, thanks, and solidarity...
Huge die-off at Cermaq fish farm
Cermaq Canada announced the death of 25,750 kg (over 55,000 pounds) of farmed Atlantic salmon at the company's Mussel Rock farm, off the north corner of Meares Island. The fish died within a 24-hour period last week, leading to a frantic effort to suck the bodies from the net-pens before their dead weight compromised the site's flotation. First public news of the die-off came from a letter (right) the company sent to Ahousaht council and Hawiih (hereditary chiefs), in whose territory the fish...
Ahousaht salmon farm eviction sets global precedent
The newest salmon farm in Clayoquot Sound – Yaakswiis – had a life span of only two weeks and was removed by its owner, Cermaq, before it started operating. This marks a first in BC and the world. At the end of July 2015, federal and provincial governments approved Cermaq’s new open net-pen Atlantic salmon farm, Yaakswiis, located in Millar Channel off the east shore of Flores Island, in territory of the Ahousaht First Nation. The band’s hereditary chiefs announced Yaakswiis would be a...
Ahousaht Chiefs announce salmon farm initiatives
The bad news is that the BC government recently approved a new Atlantic salmon farm: Yaakswiis, off the east shore of Flores Island. Ahousaht hereditary chiefs announced on 11 August that they have asked Cermaq to replace its existing Dixon Bay farm, located in a pristine area of northern Clayoquot, with the new Yaakswiis farm. (Read the chiefs’ press release here (PDF). So the good news is that, with the denial of the Herbert Inlet West site application, the number of operating farms in...
Spring/summer 2015 newsletter now available
The summer 2015 edition of our twice-yearly newsletter is out, with articles including: At Risk: Chinook Salmon in Clayoquot Sound Tsilhqot'in, Mining, and Tribal Parks: Implications for the West Coast The Wisdom of Permaculture Invitation to Wild Salmon Awareness Week in Tofino plus updates on our campaigns, and action items for you to take forward. Take a read and please share! Click this link to our newsletter (PDF, 759k), or find print copies at many outlets in Tofino and around BC....
Activists at Vancouver meeting hold Imperial Metals accountable for mining disaster
Photo by Nicky Young “Water is the most sacred, important, beautiful gift of creation”, announced Dawn Morrison, of the Secwepemc Nation, outside the Imperial Metals’ annual general meeting for shareholders in downtown Vancouver. On Wednesday, May 27 around 50 Indigenous warrior women and activists voiced opposition to Imperials Metals. A delegation of Clayoquot Sound activists participated in the action as part of the #ImperialNoMore movement, including members of the Tla-o-qui-aht Nation,...
Depredations of an Industry
Friends of Clayoquot Sound volunteer Robert Zurowski recently wrote a response to an article supporting mining in Clayoquot Sound. The article suggested that because we use mining products we must support and endorse the industry. Here is Roberts eloquent response: “Look beneath the surface and you’ll see that mining has something to do with everything.” A line often repeated by supporters of the mining industry, but their right. With over 60 percent of the world’s mining companies listed on...
Rights and Title Forum Feb. 26th coverage
Tsilhqot'in, Mining, and Tribal Parks: Implications for the west coast was a rights and title forum hosted by Friends of Clayoquot Sound on February 26th 2015. The range of speakers addressed some of the outstanding questions raised by the supreme court case victory of the Tsilhqot'in people, they also explore how local indigenous sovereignty on the west coast ties to conservation. You can watch the the event here online; each speech has been separated to make for easier viewing, the topic of...
Newsletter for Fall 2014/Winter 2015 now available!
FOCS publishes a bi-annual news letter with updates on our campaigns, education about the sound, and some handy ways to take action. This issue includes an advisory about Interfor's new plans in Clayoquot, some of the mining history in the sound, and some words from our summer intern. FOCS Winter News 2014
*Wild* Salmon Awareness Week
The following letter (in shorter form) appeared in the 24-Sep-2014 Westerly News. It didn't make it onto their website yet, so we present it here for linking purposes. Industry has declared this "Aquaculture Awareness Week," but we at Friends of Clayoquot Sound think it’s more appropriate to have a Wild Salmon Awareness Week. Wild salmon have sustained both people and the land here for milennia, a true cornerstone of our ecology and economy. But now, wild salmon runs in Clayoquot are in...
Peoples Climate March – Tofino
Peoples Climate March: Coast-to-Coast calls for Climate Action Tofino – On Sunday the 21st of September west coast residents, lead by Friends of Clayoquot Sound, took part in an international call for climate action. There were hundreds of actions across Canada from St. Johns Newfoundland all the way to Tofino; showing that coast to coast addressing human driven climate change is something Canadians care deeply about. Read about the possible impacts of Climate Change on Clayoquot Sound....
