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BC Budget: CAAR Dismayed by Absence of Closed Containment Investment In Budget
Wild salmon are in trouble and the BC government is refusing to do anything to protect this precious resource that fuels one of the most biologically rich areas of our planet. The provincial government’s budget was released on Tuesday and there was absolutely no commitment for improving the harmful salmon farming industry; closed containment didn’t get a dime.
The government ignored not only the mountain of scientific evidence that shows open net-cages are responsible for wild salmon mortality, but also all of us that expressed our support for an investment in closed containment technology for the sake of our wild salmon.
Public support for closed containment could not be stronger - polls have shown over 80% of British Columbians favour the move towards closed containment systems. Twenty five restaurants and retailers as well as eleven local and regional governments and community associations voiced their support for a Provincial fund to kick start closed containment development.
Sadly, the BC government doesn’t seem interested in working towards long-term solutions. The Pacific coast depends on wild salmon and their future depends on us.
We need to tell the provincial government that if they aren’t going to fund a sustainable solution like closed containment, they will need to make serious changes to the salmon aquaculture industry now.
So pick up the phone -- or send an email, fax, or an old fashioned letter -- and help us remind the government that they have the duty to act on behalf of us and our wild salmon. If they aren’t interested in funding long-term solutions, we demand emergency measures.
If you live in BC, please contact your local MLA and if you live outside of the province, please do your part and drop a line to Premier Campbell – here’s the info:
Hon. Gordon Campbell
Premier, Province of British Columbia
Room 156 Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
premier@gov.bc.ca
Phone: 250-387-1715
Or send a personal on line note to Premier Campbell.
A few points to keep in mind:
• Wild salmon are still in trouble; 2008 was one of the worst years on record with dismally low returns of wild salmon. And next month juvenile salmon will once again start heading to the ocean as vulnerable as ever to unnaturally high levels of parasitic sea lice from salmon farms.
• Closed containment is a promising solution to some of the most devastating impacts of open net-cage aquaculture including escapes, wastes, diseases, and parasites.
• The Pacific Salmon Forum’s final report (with a $5 million price tag to taxpayers) frankly acknowledges the magnitude of the problems created by open net-cage salmon farms.
• If the BC government is not going to fund closed containment, then they need to start implementing emergency measures right now – before the May 17 election.
BC Pacific Salmon Forum Report Acknowledges Magnitude of Problems with Open Net-Cages
On February 5, after four years of research and dialogue, the BC Pacific Salmon Forum released its Final Report and Recommendations on what needs to be done to improve understanding of the economic, social and environmental sustainability of BC wild salmon stocks and open net fish farming on the coast. Some of the news was good; some news was cause for concern.
CAAR commended the Pacific Salmon Forum report for acknowledging the myriad of problems created by open net‐cage salmon farms on the BC coast, calling for better environmental protection, recommending an Ecosystem Based Management approach for watersheds and the marine environment, and recommending that the Provincial government get on with funding a commercial‐scale closed containment project. The future of aquaculture isn’t to be business as usual with small tweaks to an already failing system. CAAR will continue to advocate for an industry shift to closed tank systems.
“With the usual state of denial, disinterest, and inaction, it’s gratifying to finally see recognition of sea lice impacts,” said Craig Orr of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society. “Now we need action, given the extremely dire state of Broughton pink and chum wild salmon.”
CAAR groups also raised some serious concerns in the report that include:
• While we agree with the Forum’s proposal of an Ecosystem Based Management approach for watersheds and the marine environment heavily depends on full cooperation between the Province and the Federal government for implementation and this has been lacking to date.
• The report places a strong reliance on the use of Coordinated Area Management Plans (CAMP) for salmon farms, such as currently being proposed for the Broughton Archipelago, but fails to acknowledge that CAMP is only an interim measure designed to mitigate the impact on migrating juvenile wild salmon until a more lasting and ecologically sound technology is fully adopted.
• The report emphasized a continued reliance on SliceTM (emamectin benzoate, a pesticide used to treat sea lice on farmed fish), and an implication that only exceptionally small juvenile pink and chum salmon may be at risk from lice. Much larger smolts of other salmon species have succumbed to sea lice in Europe.
• The threshold recommended for lice on juvenile wild salmon is seriously flawed and wild juveniles will still die from lice infestations.
“The recommendation that Health Canada be encouraged to license SliceTM and other drugs is worrisome,” said Michael Price of Raincoast Conservation Foundation. “Licensing a biocide not recommended for use in water will not solve the problem of the industry’s reliance on drugs and chemicals or the impact of these treatments on other species.”
Read the BC Pacific Salmon Forum Full Report (pdf).
Lawsuits Abound Over Impacts From Salmon Farms on Wild Salmon
First Nations, scientists and environmental groups have long said that waste from the farms is dangerous to wild fish, and that farmed salmon spread disease and contribute to higher concentrations of sea lice that decimate juvenile wild salmon. Now First Nations in the Broughton Archipelago announced they are taking the BC Government to court in a lawsuit over damages inflicted by salmon farms. Then on February 9 a BC Supreme Court judge ruled on a case about jurisdiction.
The suit highlights the Broughton Archipelago, the traditional territory of the Guilford Island First Nation.
Also, in a ruling delivered February 9, a BC Supreme Court judge ruled that the Federal Government, not the provinces, should license and regulate fish farms. The court ruled that aquaculture is a federal responsibility but gave governments a one-year stay to sort out the transfer of powers. The Province of BC has 30 days from the decision to file an appeal. The Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada has a clear constitutional responsibility to conserve wild salmon and has continued to fail spectacularly in fulfilling this mandate.
Read more about these two cases as reported in The Vancouver Sun:
First nations sue over salmon
B.C. loses salmon farm jurisdiction
Is Your Dinner Starving an Eagle?
In January CAAR ran a series of radio ads in strategic California markets asking consumers to stop buying farmed salmon until the industry cleans up its act.
 We also ran a web banner ad, “Is Your Dinner Starving an Eagle?” on the New York Times home page that was viewed by 3+ million readers during the US Presidential inauguration week.
Better Salmon radio & banner ads
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