Latest Updates
BC mining reform: NGOs release “Top 40″ list
MiningWatch Canada, Friends of Clayoquot Sound, David Suzuki Foundation and Rivers Without Borders have released a list of Top 40 Mining Reforms urgently needed in BC in order to limit the destructiveness of mining on the environment and communities, and to reduce land use conflicts. BC’s antiquated mineral tenure laws, dating from the 1850s, allow for “free entry” whereby mineral claims can be staked and take precedence just about anywhere, including private property and most public lands...
‘Namgis Nation to open land-based fish farm
The 'Namgis First Nation, on eastern Vancouver Island, is preparing to open the first commercial-scale, land-based Atlantic salmon farm in Canada. Their aim is to prove economic viability in raising Atlantic salmon in tanks on land, rather than open net-cages floating in the ocean. The project is being watched by conservation groups and the salmon-farming industry, which has long maintained that land-based aquaculture is not economically feasible. The ‘Namgis have watched open net-cage fish...
Tla-o-qui-aht opposed to Imperial gold mine
Imperial Metals, a Vancouver-based mining company (also the proponent of a contentious copper mine proposal on Catface Mountain in Ahousaht territory), is keen to explore the potential of re-opening the old Fandora gold mine in the Tranquil Valley, just 20 km northeast of Tofino. They have permits to begin exploration, but are currently seeking amendments to their permits in order to do more work than originally planned for. The Tranquil Valley is within the ha'houlthee (territories) of the...
Oil-free Clayoquot!
Her yellow rain gear smeared with crude oil, Valerie Langer is standing on the red carpet in the BC legislature lobby. In her gloved hand is a dead oil-soaked seabird. Flecks of oil hit the freshly painted wall as she gesticulates. A distressed commissionaire scurries about wiping up spots of oil, while explaining that the Environment Minister is not in his office today. It's January 1989, just weeks after the Nestucca oil spill. During the holidays, the Nestucca oil barge rammed it's own...
Cohen’s recommendations apply to Clayoquot Sound
Friends of Clayoquot Sound were heartened by the final report of the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River. Salmon runs in Clayoquot Sound are equally vulnerable to the stressors outlined by Justice Cohen—the rationale to limit his inquiry to Fraser River sockeye was political, not scientific. The globally rare temperate rainforests and wildlife of the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve are utterly dependent on wild salmon, and Cohen’s...
FOCS Winter print newsletter now available
Our beautiful print newsletter is now available at many locations in Tofino, Vancouver, and Victoria. You can also read it online here.
Cohen Inquiry findings discussed on Long Beach Radio
Just after the 9am news on November 5th 2012, Long Beach Radio interviewed Bonny Glambeck live on air about the findings of the recent Cohen Inquiry:- Cohen Report Chat With FOCS and Statement From Mainstream Canada on Long Beach Radio - Nov 5, 2012 by Long Beach Radio on Mixcloud
First new salmon farm approved under DFO
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the BC Liberals have approved a new salmon farm in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Norwegian-owned Mainstream Canada plans to site the 55-hectare open net-cage feedlot at Plover Point along the shore of Meares Island near Tofino. This is the first new salmon farm approved in BC since DFO assumed responsibility for regulating the industry in 2010. In July, FOCS joined with Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture...
Victory against global aquaculture industry
Don Staniford, a passionate wild salmon activist, recently won a court battle with Norwegian-owned aquaculture giant Mainstream Canada. Their defamation case against Staniford was dismissed September 28th. This is fantastic news for Don, and also a win for free speech. Much environmental damage these days is caused by huge corporations with substantial financial resources, thus making any challenge to their activities a case of 'David versus Goliath'. Individuals may be afraid to take on big...
Opposition building to new salmon feedlot near Tofino
Summer is winding down in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Days are growing shorter, but the weather is clear and sunny, the nights star-filled. It's the time of year when wild salmon return to their natal rivers, where more than two hundred other species also depend on the sustenance provided by the spawning fish. The salmon, who have grown to full size in the open Pacific, bring marine-based nitrogen into the rainforest, feeding the ancient cedars in a crucial ecological process...
Mainstream cuts corners on fish health
Post edited August 27, 2012. There was a second outbreak of the IHN virus in July at Mainstream Canada's Millar Channel salmon feedlot here in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The salmon farming industry claims that they are very concerned about fish health. A video produced by the BC Salmon Farmers Association states that "we vaccinate the fish to ensure that the endemic diseases which are prevalent in the open ocean do not affect our stocks". Watch video. However, according to...
Second viral outbreak on Mainstream farm
Mainstream Canada announced Monday they have detected the Infectious Haematopoietic Necrosis (IHN) virus on another one of their open net-cage salmon farms in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Christy Clark: Stand up for wild salmon!
Friends of Clayoquot Sound (FOCS) sent an open letter to Premier Christy Clark today calling on her to postpone the decision on Mainstream Canada’s proposed 55-hectare salmon farm tenure at Plover Point in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The letter is signed by Tla- o-qui-aht First Nations and seven environmental groups.
DoT approves Plover Point
The Department of Transport has approved Mainstream’s Plover Point salmon feedlot application. Two more permits are needed before they begin work. The Province of BC and the federal Department of Fisheries are still considering this application.
Summer 2012 print newsletter available
Our beautiful print newsletter is now available at many locations in Tofino, Vancouver, and Victoria. You can also read it online here.
